The South Asia Book Award, administered by the South Asia National Outreach Consortium, is given annually for up to two outstanding works of literature, from early childhood to secondary reading levels, which accurately and skillfully portrays South Asia or South Asians in the diasporas, that is the experience of individuals living in South Asia, or of South Asians living in other parts of the world. Up to five Honor Books and Highly Commended Books will also be recognized by the award committee for their contribution to this body of literature on the region.

PaperTigers congratulates the recently announced 2012 South Asia Book Award winners:

2012 Winners

Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw (Henry Holt and Company, 2011). Pen Pals Elliot and Kailash discover that even though they live in different countries—America and India—they both love to climb trees, own pets, and ride school buses (Grade 5 & under).

Island’s End by Padma Venkatraman (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2011). A young girl trains to be the new spiritual leader of her remote Andaman Island tribe, while facing increasing threats from the modern world(Grade 6 & above).

2012 Honor Books

Sita’s Ramayana by Samhita Arni, illustrations by Moyna Chitrakar (Groundwood Books, 2011). The  Ramayana, one of the greatest legends of ancient India, is presented in the form of a visually stunning and gripping graphic novel, told from the perspective of the queen, Sita (Grade 6 & above).

Following My Paint Brush by Dulari Devi and Gita Wolf (Tara Books Pvt. Ltd, 2010). Following My Paint Brush is the story of Dulari Devi, a domestic helper who went on to become an artist in the Mithila style of folk painting from Bihar, eastern India (Grade 5 & under).

No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books, 2011). Valli has always been afraid of the people with leprosy living on the other side of the train tracks in the coal town of Jharia, India, so when aa encounter with a doctor reveals she too has the disease, Valli rejects help and begins a life on the streets. (Grade 6 & above).

Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan (Simon & Schuster, 2011). In 1919, independent-minded Rosalind lives in India with her English parents, and when they fear she has fallen in with some rebellious types who believe in Indian self-government, she is sent “home” to London, where she has never been before and where her older brother died, to stay with her two aunts (Grade 6 & above)

  2012 Highly Commended Books

Beyond Bullets: A Photo Journal of Afghanistan by Rafal Gerszak with Dawn Hunter (Annick Press, 2011). Award-winning photographer Rafal Gerszak spent a year embedded with the American troops in Afghanistan to bear witness to its people, culture, and the impact of war (Grade 6 & above).

The Wise Fool: Fables from the Islamic World by Shahrukh Husain, illustrations by Micha Archer (Barefoot Books, 2011). Meet Mulla Nasruddin, a legendary character whose adventures and misadventures are enjoyed across the Islamic world (Grade 5 & under).

The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Uma Krishnaswami (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 2011). Eleven-year-old Dini loves movies, and so when she learns that her family is moving to India for two years, her devastation over leaving her best friend in Maryland is tempered by the possibility of meeting her favorite actress, Dolly Singh (Grade 6 & up).

 Karma by Cathy Ostlere (Razorbill, Penguin Group, 2011). Written in free verse poems in a diary format, this novel straddles two countries and the clash of Indian cultures in the tale of 15-year-old Maya (Grade 6 & up).

Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy (Scholastic Inc., 2011). Zulaikha, a thirteen-year-old girl in Afghanistan, faces a series of frightening but exhilarating changes in her life as she defies her father and secretly meets with an old woman who teaches her to read, her older sister gets married, and American troops offer her surgery to fix her disfiguring cleft lip (Grade 6 & up).

The 2012 South Asia Book Award Ceremony will be held in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, October 13, 2012. For more details on the ceremony click here. For additional award information including submission guidelines for 2013, click here.

Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers by Gloria Whelan, illustrated by Yan Nascimbene (Sleeping Bear Press, 2008) is the story of a young girl from seventeenth century Japan who travels with her family in a palanquin to the imperial palace of Edo.  Little Yuki’s father is a samurai, and as such, must make the ritual visit to the shogun to pay his respects.  Yuki, however, is not excited by the prospect of this long  journey that will require the ‘thousand carriers’ to bear them and all their gifts and goods to the capital.   Yuki’s teacher suggests she write haikus on her journey about the things she experiences.

Yuki’s first haiku is wistful about her departure, but eventually she goes on to observe exciting things that keep her attention away from her homesickness like the trail of the thousand carriers and the appearance of blossoms in the rain and fishermen at sea.  The illustrations by Yan Nascimbene illustrate in a very Hiroshige-esque way the many sights Yuki witnesses.  One of the other illustrated delights of the book are the colorful kimono Yuki wears.

I enjoyed reading this book to my daughter.  In Japan, we traveled to sites like the castles, riverbanks and bridges that are depicted in the story.  We once even took a tour of an old inn, especially used for samurai lords and their entourages.  Reading Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers reminded us of that time.  My daughter also mentioned not understanding the word ‘palanquin’ until I explained to her how she had one as part of her Girls’ Day doll set.   Her eyes lit up in recognition when I mentioned it.   Little Yuki, of course, being a young female of the nobility, rode in the palanquin with her mother.

Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers is a good picture book to share with a young girl as a bedtime read. You can read our PaperTigers review of the book here.