If you want something for young children that’s full of zing and just a little bit different on the poetry front, then Anything But A Grabooberry is exactly what you’re looking for! First published by the wonderful Tara Books in 1998, it still feels as innovative as it was then.

Anushka Ravishankar’s nonsense poem that fills the book is based on the premise that I’d rather be anything else apart from a Grabooberry… The examples that make up that “anything else” will have young readers laughing aloud, as well as letting imaginations fly with what the dreadful grabooberry might be. And Rathna Ramanathan has incorporated the words into the book’s design, creating a visual treat in red and green through her exuberant combination of the words’ meanings and physical appearance.

As you read, you find yourself having to slow down over each page to savour the design. This in turn encourages deeper pondering of the meaning – thereby intensifying the enjoyment of reading nonsense! Choosing favorite bits is difficult, but here goes:

i want to be an elephant or a packing trunk

- I love the juxtaposition of elephant and trunk, and you can see these pages on this post from a Japanese blog, which also reproduces the book’s blurb in English;

i think i’d like to be sneeze
flying through the sky

- where “sneeze” and “flying” fizz across the pages and some of the letters are spun at angles – the “i” in “flying” becoming, appropriately enough, an exclamation mark; and

the sun, the moon or sixteen stars
any planet, even ours

Anything But A Grabooberry is perfect for getting children chuckling aloud, and both they and the adults they share it with will appreciate the book’s visual wit and sophistication. Do read this article by Rathna Ramanathan for some fascinating insight into the book’s creation – I especially liked what she said about children’s feedback on early drafts, and Gita Wolf’s comments:

I tested the pages out on several friends’ kids – their reading aloud of the typographic text on the page was an invaluable input. It gave the bee many more ‘e’s, and the grabooberry more ‘ooo’s… [...] As Gita Wolf, publisher at Tara Books explains, ‘We found that children enjoy figuring out words like puzzles, since they have no pre-conceptions about this. Adults are not necessarily faster at comprehending it.’

This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Tabitha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference – head on over…

Aline Pereira is an independent writer, editor and media consultant specializing in multicultural children’s books, and until January this year, she was Managing Editor of PaperTigers, a post she had held since 2004. So we are very happy to welcome her back with a Personal View she wrote following her attendance of the Asian Festival of Asian Content in Singapore in May.

Aline had a special part to play in the Festival as she was one of the judges for the inaugural Scholastic Asian Book Award, along with “Chief Judge Nury Vittachi, journalist and Hong Kong’s best-selling English language author; Anushka Ravishankar, award-winning children’s poet and author (India); John McKenzie, principal lecturer at the School of Literacies and Arts in Education at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand); and literary agent Kelly Sonnack (Kelly grew up in Singapore), from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency (US).”

In her article, Aline shares with us her impressions of the Festival as a whole, and gives us a peek behind the scenes of the award. You can read the whole article here - and here are a couple of extracts to whet your appetite.

The big picture

A consistent thread seemed to run through a good number of the panels and sessions, as well as through informal conversations: “There are plenty of valid ways to produce and deliver a book”. This naturally led to discussions about the enormous changes the publishing world has gone through in the last decade or so, and all the things that have played a part in these changes. And to think that there was a time, not long ago, when people believed the Internet was a passing fad… Now one can only ignore the internet, social media and digital platforms at one’s peril. Without a doubt, these new technologies have affected the way children’s books are acquired, published and marketed, but one of the many things I came away with from those sessions and conversations was that having these new tools, platforms and processes is simply a means, not the end goal. Without losing sight of readers’ needs, the end goal continues to be finding ways to foster the creation, reception, and dissemination of a diverse children’s literature in all genres, mediums and platforms. When it comes to bringing children and books together, it should never be an either/or scenario, but a “the more, the better” one. After all, why get territorial and deaf to voices (platforms, devices) that are not our own? With regards to Asian content, AFCC was a call to join forces in that effort.

One of my favorite sessions was presented by US publisher Neal Porter (Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press) on which types of books travel well to other countries, which don’t, and why. He calls himself (more…)

The National Book Development Council of Singapore has just released more information on activities being held at this year’s Asian Festival of Children’s Content. You will see that the first item noted below is a pre-AFCC panel discussion that I will be doing with Tarie Sabido and Dr. Myra Garces-Bacsal on May 25th! For those of you attending the 2011 AFCC, plan on kick-starting the event by attending our free discussion. We would love to meet you and have you join! Plus, if you are already registered for the AFCC, you can officially sign in during our event and avoid the hassle of potential line-ups at the sign-in table on opening day.

Highlights at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2011, Sign Up Now!

As part of this exciting festival’s aims to engage, educate and empower children on a global stage through uniquely Asian content, we are offering a Free Panel Discussion on Building a Nation of Readers via Web 2.0, Specialised Workshops on writing and illustrating, and a Masterclass on Picture Books, led by some of the most accomplished children’s books creators around.

25 May, 5.30pm – 7.00pm
Free Panel Discussion: Building a Nation of Readers via Web 2.0
An Introduction to Kidlitosphere and the YA Blogosphere
by Corinne Robson, Canada (www.papertigers.org), Tarie Sabido, Philippines (http://asiaintheheart.blogspot.com) and Dr. Myra Garces-Bacsal, Singapore (www.gatheringbooks.org)

We know that blogging is the 21st century’s “word-of-mouth marketing”, and it is presently one of the most popular ways to promote a product, but what is Kidlitosphere?

Let us show you how to reach out to your current and prospective readers who are on the Internet. Download event flyer here. Admission is free. To register, email to info@bookcouncil.sg with your name and contact number.

28 May, 9.30am – 12.30pm
Writing Stories for Picture Books (in Mandarin)
by Chen Chih-Yuan, Taiwan

So you want to write a picture book. Stories for young children are usually short and that leads many to think that writing for them is easy. You’ll be in for a surprise as it is even more difficult than writing for adults. Join Chen Chih-Yuan, three-time winner of the prestigious Hsin Yi Picture Book Award, as he shows you how he writes stories for picture books. Download brochure here.

28 May, 1.30pm – 4.30pm
Picture Book Production Workshop (in Malay); Bengkel Menghasilkan Buku Bergambar
by Yusof Gajah, Malaysia & Murti Bunanta, Indonesia

In this workshop, you will have a better idea on producing picture books. Come, learn and expand on your initial efforts into a publishable picture book.Yusof Gajah is a much loved artist from Malaysia who is well known for his iconic elephant paintings, and Dr. Murti Bunanta is children’s literature specialist from Indonesia who has written 50 books for children. Download brochure here.

29 May, 10.00am – 1.00pm
Illustrating Picture Books (in Mandarin)
by Chen Chih-Yuan, Taiwan

Chen Chih-Yuan, renowned picture book writer and illustrator who has books published in various countries; the US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, and Korea, will show you practical, creative techniques and solutions to different types of picture books, from wordless to those heavy on text.
Download brochure here.

29 – 30 May, 10.00am – 6.00pm
Masterclass on Picture Books

Join the AFCC 2011’s Masterclass on Picture Books and get this fantastic opportunity to meet Anushka Ravishankar, one of India’s most celebrated children’s authors, Gavin Bishop, New Zealand’s multiple award-winning author and illustrator, and John Mckenzie, the guru in Children’s Literature at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

The Masterclass will take you inside the minds and creative processes of these renowned experts in children’s literature today. Whether you are just beginning the path towards publication, or are already well-established, this Masterclass offers an invaluable guide to the craft of writing and illustrating picture books. Download brochure here.

Sign up early as seats are limited! Also visit www.afcc.com.sg for more information on the Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2011. We hope to see you in May!

You’re invited to take part in CROCUS 2010, Saffron Tree‘s exciting annual book festival in celebration of their anniversary. They’re turning 4 this year and have planned a week-long romp in honor of culturally diverse and unique stories. Make sure to drop by at some point between Oct 23-30 to wish them a happy anniversary and to enjoy all the special book reviews, interviews, contests and giveaways planned for the occasion. As a matter of fact, you should plan on stopping by and joining in on the fun all seven days of it!

PaperTigers’ current issue, focusing on children’s literature from India and the Indian diaspora, features personal view pieces by Saffron Tree contributors’ UTBT (Anitha Rumkumar) and Choxbox (Namrata), about Anushka Ravishankar’s books and a young readers’ series on Indian history, respectively. Check them out, on PaperTigers and at their blog! We are big fans of Saffron Tree, and all their talented and passionate contributors, and highly recommend it as a source of excellent multicultural reading material.

Poster artwork by Lavanya Karthik

The Asian Festival of Children’s Content has launched it’s new website. Be sure to check out the Programme Schedule as well as the Speaker Profiles! You can also see the schedule herewith the names of their relevant speakers. And what a rich programme it is – there will be some hard decisions to make as to which sessions to attend! Among the speakers lined up are Chris Cheng, Sally Heinrich, Rukhsana Kahn, Uma Krishnaswami, Anushka Ravishankar and Holly Thompson, to name but a few.

Two new children’s book awards will also be announced during the Festival: the Asian Children’s Book Prize, and the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award for Singaporean children’s books.

There was quite a buzz about this Festival at the Bologna Book Fair and I’m sure it will be a resounding success! The event is co-hosted by the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS), a non-profit organization that promotes storytelling, reading, writing and publishing. NBDCS does a fabulous job bringing the book industry and literary community together through social events, courses, seminars, conferences and author lectures. A visit to their website and blog gives great insight on the literary goings-on in Singapore.

Today while perusing the NBDCS website, I came across the inspiring story of Singaporean author Emily Lim. At the age of 28, Emily was diagnosed with Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD), a rare neurological condition that was robbing her of her speech. A few years later, during a breather from her extremely successful corporate career, Emily decided to pursue her dream of writing and entered her story Prince Bear and Pauper Bear in the 2007 First Time Writers and Illustrators Publishing Initiative, a competition co-organized by the NBCDS. Prince Bear and Pauper Bear, which drew on her own emotional responses to SD, was one of eight winners. With the cash prize and her own savings Emily went about getting (more…)