Today, August 19th,  is designated by the United Nations General Assembly as World Humanitarian Day: a day to recognize the sacrifices and contributions of humanitarian workers around the world who risk their lives to give others help and hope. It is also a day to examine our own lives and consider what more we can do to help those people enduring conflict, disaster and hardship.

As the UN states:

There is never a year without humanitarian crises (at this moment over 12 million people are suffering in the Horn of Africa due to a catastrophic combination of conflict, high food prices and drought). Wherever there are people in need, there are people who help them. Aid workers help people who have lost their homes, loved ones and sources of income.

These humanitarians often brave great danger, far from home. They work long hours, in the most difficult conditions.  Their efforts save lives in conflict and natural disaster.  They also draw the world closer together by reminding us that we are one family, sharing the same dreams for a peaceful planet, where all people can live in safety, and with dignity.

On World Humanitarian Day, we honour these aid workers and thank them for their dedication. And we pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice – in Afghanistan, Haiti and beyond.  Too many have died, or suffered their own loss, in the course of duty.  We pledge to do all we can to ensure the world’s humanitarians are kept safe to do their essential work.

The World Humanitarian Day website provides information, stories and interactive games for those interested in learning more about humanitarian work and how they can become involved. Of course another great way, especially for youngsters to learn about humanitarian work  and what it entails, is via books.  It is interesting to note that over the past few years there has been an increasing number of children’s and young adult books (both fiction and non-fiction) that feature areas of humanitarian work. Deborah Ellis’  books and Rukhsana Khan‘s Wanting Mor immediately come to mind, and others include:

Armando and the Blue Tarp School by Edith Hope Fine and Judith Pinkerton Josephson, illustrated by Hernan Sosa

Books for Children of the World: The Story of Jella Lepman by Sydelle Pearl, illustrated by Danlyn Iantorno

The Brighter Side of the Road: Upbeat and Offbeat Yarn from Home and Abroad, edited by Helen Coughlan and Janet Lawrence

Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed, illustrated by Doug Chayka

Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Susan Roth, illustrated by Susan Roth

One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss, illustrated by Rosemary Woods

A Song for Cambodia by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Shino Arihara

Please feel free to share your choices in our comments section.

 

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American Indian Heritage Month~ USA

November Events for Kids at Dar el Shorouk Stores~ Cairo, Egypt

Govenor General’s Literary Award Winners Announced~ Montreal, QC, Canada

SCBWI Write-ins to Celebrate National Novel Writing Month~ France

Sharjah International Book Fair and Announcement of the Etisalat Prize for Arabic Children’s Literature Winner~ ongoing until Nov 6, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Antwerp Book Fair~ ongoing until Nov 11, Antwerp, Belgium

30th Santiago International Book Fair~ ongoing until Nov 14, Santiago, Chile

Nambook-010: The 5th Nami Island International Children’s Book Festival~ ongoing until  Nov 14, Nami, Korea

Entries Accepted for the 2011 PBBY-Salanga Prize~ ongoing until Nov 15, Philippines

The Children’s Bookshow: Stories From Around The World~ ongoing until Nov 17, United Kingdom

2010 Original Art: Celebrating the Fine Art of Children’s Book Illustration~ ongoing until Nov 24, New York, NY, USA

Scholastic Asian Book Award~ submissions accepted until Dec 31, Singapore

Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award 2011~ entries accepted until Dec 31, Singapore

An Exquisite Vision: The Art of Lisbeth Zwerger~ ongoing until Jan 9, Hannover, Germany

Monsters and Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books~ ongoing until Jan 23, Amherst, MA, USA

Drawn in Brooklyn Exhibit of Original Picture Book Art by Brooklyn Illustrators~ ongoing until Jan 23, Brooklyn, NY, USA

National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Presents From Houdini to Hugo: The Art of Brian Selznick~ ongoing until Jan 29, Abilene, TX, USA

International Youth Library Exhibit: The World in Miniature. The Family in Historic Picture Books and Children’s Literature~ ongoing until Aug 31, Munich, Germany

EXEtreme Imagination: A Festival of Literature for Children and Young People~ Nov 1 – 7, Devon and Exeter, United Kingdom

Exclusive Screening: Library of the Early Mind~ Nov 2, New York, NY, USA

Asian Literacy Conference~Nov 3 – 5, Manila, Philippines

NAME’s (National Association for Multicultural Education) 20th Annual Conference ~ Nov 3 – 6, Las Vegas, NV, USA

An Evening with SCBWI Published Authors~ Nov 4, London, United Kingdom

Children’s Book Council of Australia – Zart Art Seminar~ Nov 4, Melbourne, Australia

YALSA’s Young Adult Literature Symposium: Diversity, Literature and Teens, Beyond Good Intentions~ Nov 5 – 7, Albuquerque, NM, USA

2010 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition~ Nov 5 – Dec 5, Nanao, Japan

Children’s Literature Council Fall Gala~ Nov 6, Los Angeles, CA, USA

14th Annual Rochester Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 6, Rochester, NY, USA

OKI (Ohio Kentucky Indiana) Children’s Literature Conference~ Nov 6, Crestview Hills, KY, USA

Adeline Foo’s Book Launch for Famous Amos’ 3rd Diary~ Nov 6, Singapore

8th International Conference on the Book~ Nov 6 – 8, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Once Upon A World Children’s Book Award Program~ Nov 7, Los Angeles, CA, USA

21st Annual Children’s Illustration Show~ Nov 7 – Jan 1, Northampton, MA, USA

Fins and Feathers: Original Children’s Book Illustrations from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art~ Nov 7 – Jan 30, Raleigh, NC, USA

SCBWI Children’s Lit Booktalk: Meet Author Luis Gatmaitan~ Nov 8, Manila, Philippines

1st Annual Children’s Poetry Festival~ Nov 8 – 10, San Salvador, El Salvador

National Young Readers Week~ Nov 8 – 12, USA

Northern Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 8 – 20, United Kingdom

International Youth Library Exhibit: The Fabulous World of John Kilaka, Pictures and Drawings by a Tanzanian Artist~ Nov 8 – Feb 28, Munich, Germany

Author Deb Ellis at Kidsbooks~ Nov 8 – 9, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards Winners Announced~ Nov 9, Toronto, ON, USA

Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award Presentation~ Nov 10, Auckland, New Zealand

The Mazza Museum: International Art from Picture Books Weekend Conference~ Nov 12 – 13, Findlay, OH, USA

NBDCS Presents Literacy Instruction for Delayed Readers~ Nov 13, Singapore

Savannah Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 13, Savannah, GA, USA

The Foundation for Children’s Books Presents: What’s New in Children’s Books~ Nov 13, Boston, MA, USA

The 17th Annual British IBBY/NCRCL MA Children’s Literature Conference: Conflicts and Controversies~ Nov 13, London, United Kingdom

Connecticut Children’s Book Fair~ Nov 13 – 14, Storrs, CT, USA

The 108th Annual Conference of the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association~ Nov 13 – 14, Honolulu, HI, USA

SCBWI British Isle’s Third Conference For Writers & Illustrators~ Nov 13 – 14, Winchester, United Kingdom

National Book Week~ Nov 14 – 20, India

Bookaroo in the City! A Celebration of Books in Schools Across Delhi~ Nov 14 – 25, New Delhi, India

South Korean Adventure – Peace Story, Nambook-010~ Nov 15, Auckland, New Zealand

Author/Illustrator Seta Toroyan Presents: The Page Turn in the Picture Book- What it Does and How Children’s Writers and Illustrators Make Use of It~ Nov 16, Brooklyn, NY, USA

13th Literary Youth Festival at the Institut Français~ Nov 17 – 20, London, United Kingdom

28th Annual National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference “In the Tradition”~ Nov 17 – 21, Little Rock, AR, USA

2010 Fall Book Launch for Orca Books Authors~ Nov 18, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Manila International Literary Festival~ Nov 18 – 20, Manila, Philippines

Children’s Literature Assembly Events at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention~ Nov 18 – 22, Orlando, FL, USA

International Illustrators Forum~ Nov 19 – 20, Munich, Germany

International Children’s and Young Adult Literature Celebration: Open a Door… Open a Book…Open your Mind to the World~ Nov 20, Madison, WI, USA

USBBY Co-sponsored Session at the NCTE Annual Convention: Celebramos con Pura Belpré, Highlighting Hispanic Voices in Literature for Children and Teens~ Nov 21, Orlando, FL, USA

Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) Sessions at the NCTE Annual Convention~ Nov 22 – 23, Orlando, FL, USA

Inky Awards Ceremony~ Nov 25, Melbourne, Australia

National Conference on Poetry~ Nov 25 – 26, Manila, Philippines

Bookaroo Children’s Literature Festival~ Nov 26 – 28, New Delhi, India

Calgary Children’s Book Fair and Conference~ Nov 27, Calgary, AB, Canada

Guadalajara Book Fair~ Nov 27 – Dec 5, Guadalajara, Mexico

SCBWI Japan Presents: Children’s Literature Scholar Leonard Marcus — Advice from a Legendary Editor: How Ursula Nordstrom Made Children’s Books That Last~ Nov 28, Tokyo, Japan

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African American History Month~ USA

National African American Read-in~  USA

Black History Month~ Canada

February Literacy Workshops for Parents, Teachers and Writers with Daphne Lee~ Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

National Storytelling Week~ ongoing until Feb 6, United Kingdom

Kolkata Book Fair~ ongoing until Feb 7, Kolkata, India

“Tea with Chachaji” A Musical Production based on Chachaji’s Cup by Uma Krishnaswami~ ongoing until Feb 11, New York, NY, USA

Stories from Childhood: Lin Hai-yin’s Children’s Literature Book Exhibition and Activity Series~ ongoing until Mar 1, Tainan City, Taiwan

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ ongoing until Mar 1, Seoul, Korea

Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books Presents: Journey to Adventure~ ongoing until Mar 6, Toronto, ON, Canada

Entries Accepted for the Growing Up Asian in America Contest~ ongoing until Mar 10, San Francisco, CA, USA

The Making of the Word Witch: The Poetic & Illustrative Magic of Margaret Mahy & David Elliot~ ongoing until  Mar 14, Ashburton, New Zealand

21st Annual Children’s Book Illustrators Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 3, Hayward, CA, USA

Mother Goose in an Air-Ship: McLoughlin Bros. 19th Century Children’s Books from the Liman Collection~ ongoing until Apr 18,  Amherst, MA, USA

Heart and Soul: Art from Coretta Scott King Award Books, 2006–2009~ ongoing until Apr 18, Chicago, IL, USA

From The Tiger Who Came to Tea to Mog and Pink Rabbit; A Judith Kerr Retrospective~ ongoing until May, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Leo Lee Arts Centre Presents Renowned Canadian Author Deb Ellis~ Feb 1 – 2, Hong Kong

Association of Jewish Libraries Presents the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour~ Feb 1 – 5

Book Signing Event with Paula Young Shelton author of Child of the Civil Rights Movement~ Feb 2, Washington, D.C., USA

Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable Presents Authorfest 2010~ Feb 2, Vancouver, BC, Canada

International Conference on Children’s Libraries – Building a Book Culture~ Feb 4 – 6, New Delhi, India

New York Public Library Exhibit: 2010 Caldecott Winner Jerry Pinkney’s African-American Journey to Freedom~ Feb 5 – Apr 18, New York City, NY, USA

SCBWI Workshop: Picture Books – The Perils, Pitfall and Promise~ Feb 6, Ventura, CA, USA

8th Annual Orion School Author and Illustrator Festival~ Feb 6, Redwood City, CA, USA

Imagine 2010: Children’s Literature Festival~ Feb 6 – Mar 2, London, United Kingdom

Seven Stories Presents Taffy Thomas, First Laureate for Storytelling~ Feb 6, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Words on Wheels~ Feb 12 – 17, New Zealand

Kids ♥ Authors Day~ Feb 14

First Nations Public Library Week~ Feb 15 – 20, Province of Ontario, Canada

SCBWI’s Annual Golden Gate Conference At Asilomar~ Feb 19 – 21, Pacific Grove, CA, USA

Freedom to Read Week~ Feb 21 – 27, Canada

Northern Ireland Booktrust Conference: The Gift of Books – Inspiring a Lifelong Love of Reading~ Feb 22, Antrim, Ireland

Exhibition of Joy Mallari’s Artwork From the Book Doll Eyes~ Feb 25, Makati City, Philippines

International Conference on Children’s Literature in Language Education~ Feb 25 – 27, Hildesheim, Germany

Latvian Book Fair~ Feb 25 – 28, Riga, Latvia

Hubbs Children’s Literature Conference~ Feb 27, Saint Paul, MN, USA

Joy Cowley Writing Workshop: Writing from the Heart~ Feb 27 – 28, Auckland, New Zealand

Bath Literature Festival~ Feb 27 – Mar 7, Bath, United Kingdom

Another year has flown by and it is almost time to ring in 2010. At this time of the year we are inundated with “Best of 2009″ lists and, for those of us interested in children’s and young adults literature, there is no better place to see the literature lists  than at Susan Thomsen’s blog Chicken Spaghetti. Susan has compiled a Best Children’s Books of 2009: The Big List of Lists which is truly an amazing resource and well worth your time to check it out!

In my mind 2009 was truly an outstanding year for children’s and young adult literature especially multicultural books. One of my resolutions for the year was that I would focus on reading more young adult books than adult books and I am proud to say that I succeeded! However I can’t say the same for my other resolution of keeping a list of all the books I read during the year. I’ll have to make a better attempt at that list in 2010!

Some of my highlights from 2009 were:

Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing by Guo Yue and Clare Farrow, illustrated by Helen Cann

The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland

What about you? What did you enjoy reading in 2009? Any book related resolutions for 2010?