It’s International Children’s Book Day! Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, April 2, International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books.

Each year a different National Section of IBBY is the international sponsor of ICBD. That section decides upon a theme and invites a prominent author from their country to write a message to the children of the world and a well-known illustrator to design a poster. These materials are then used in different ways to promote books and reading. Many IBBY Sections promote ICBD through the media and organize activities in schools and public libraries. Often ICBD is linked to celebrations around children’s books and other special events that may include encounters with authors and illustrators, writing competitions or announcements of book awards.

For 2013 the sponsor is the USA section of IBBY (USBBY) and the theme is “Bookjoy around the World”. The 2013 poster (shown above) was designed by Ashley Bryan and a high resolution image of it can be downloaded here. The 2013 message (which you can read here) was written by Pat Mora. To learn more about Ashley Bryan, Pat Mora, the term “Bookjoy”, click here to read the 2013 International Children’s Book Day brochure.

The IBBY press conference at the 2013 Bologna Children’s Book Fair will take place March 25 at 2:30 pm. Highlights will include:

~ IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Disabled Young People
~ IBBY Projects (including the the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund and the IBBY-Yamada Programme)
~ International Children’s Book Day 2013
~ 2013 Selection of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities
~ 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Awards

The United Arab Emirates Section of IBBY (UAEIBBY) will organize the First International Board on Books for Young  People Conference for the Region of Central Asia and North Africa (CANA): Bringing Books and Children Together in Sharjah, UAE,  April 21 – 23, 2013.

The Indonesian Section of IBBY (INABBY) has announced the  1st Asia and Oceania Regional IBBY Congress to be held in Bali, Indonesia, May 23 – 26, 2013.

The USA section of IBBY ( USBBY) is sponsoring the 10th IBBY Regional Conference: BookJoy Around the World in St. Louis, MO,  October 18 – 20, 2013.

IBBY Cuba will be hosting the Congreso Internacional Lectura 2013: para Leer el XXI  to be held October 22 – 26, 2013 in Havana, Cuba.

IBBY India and Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children (AWIC) is organizing The International Conference on Literacy Through Literature to be held in New Delhi, India, February 6 – 8, 2014.

The IBBY 34th International Congress: May everyone really mean everyone. Reading as an inclusive experience will be held in Mexico City, Mexico, September 10 – 13, 2014. Submissions are now being accepted for a special issue of Bookbird to coincide with the Congress. Papers are welcomed that examine texts for children from Mexico or the Latin American world as they relate to or intersect with the conference theme. See Bookbird’s website at www.ibby.org/bookbird for full submission details.

The 33rd IBBY Congress took place this past summer in London and a selection of videos of some of the plenary and other sessions are now available on the Congress website. Click here to watch them. Hopefully PaperTigers Editor Marjorie Coughlan’s session Escaping Conflict, Seeking Peace: picture books that relate refugee stories, and their importance will be uploaded soon so that those of us that couldn’t attend can enjoy her presentation.

Oakland University will exhibit a collection of rare books featuring a variety of illustrative styles and tactile reading experiences for readers with disabilities. Some books are presented in Braille with embossed pictures, others are made of cloth and still others have attached pieces intended for readers to handle.On loan from the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities collection will debut at an open house from 4-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10,in OU’s Educational Resource Lab. The lab is located in Pawley Hall on the campus of Oakland University.The books in the collection – which feature special needs topics, characters and designs – promote understanding and knowledge, as well as foment ideas for the publication and promotion of new books in the field.Linda M. Pavonetti, chair of OU’s Department of Reading and Language Arts and vice president of IBBY, said she is pleased to have OU included among a number of international locations the collection is sent to each year.”Many of OU’s students have had limited exposure to international books. Because of that, there is a perception that the U.S. has cornered the market for children’s publishing,” she explained. “This exhibit may be the first step in understanding that we all need to help children learn – no matter the situation or difficulties. One of the best ways of doing this is through high quality books for all children in their native languages.”

The award-winning books in the exhibit were selected from more than 130 nominees submitted by IBBY National Sections and friends of the Haug School in Oslo, Norway, where the collection of more than 3,500 books is housed. They come from nations across the globe, including Japan, Finland, France, Spain, England, Australia, United States, South Africa, Italy, Quebec, Mexico, China, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Korea, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Iran.

“The importance of this type of collection is clear to anyone who has ever tried to find reading material for children who are visually impaired,” Pavonetti said. “Books printed in Braille, BLISS or other tactile languages are rare and expensive. They are generally not available in libraries or bookstores. Parents and teachers of hearing-impaired students also understand the need for books that mirror other children who deal with the same problems their children face on a daily basis.”

For more information on the exhibit click here.

International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has just posted the latest regional newsletters from IBBY Asian and IBBY Europe.  When you have moment, be sure to give them a read. The newsletters, which are written in English, contain a wealth of information on the events that IBBY national sections were involved with during the past year as well as plans for 2012. For those of you that are on Facebook many of the IBBY national sections now have Facebook pages. Do a Facebook search for IBBY, “like” the pages and the postings will automatically be delivered to your Facebook newsfeed.

The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are presented every two years by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children’s literature. IBBY National Sections from 33 countries have made their selections and submitted 28 authors and 31 illustrators as candidates for the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Awards. The winners will be announced at the IBBY Press Conference at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair on Monday, 19 March 2012.

The first issue of IBBY Asian Newsletter has come out and is definitely a must read! This newsletter belongs to all national sections in Asia: from the Middle East to the Far East, and contains a wealth of information and photos. Following the decision of the Asian national sections’ gathering at the 2010 IBBY Congress, two issues of this newsletter will be published each year (April and September).

Included in the April 2011 issue are:
• Report from Australia
• IBBY India’s activities
• News from Iran
• JBBY describes its wide ranging activities
• KBBY reports
• Alif Laila Book Bus Society Brings Children and Books Together!
• Palestinian IBBY

The 2011 Bologna Children’s Book Fair takes place March 28 – 31 in Bologna, Italy.  The IBBY stand will include the following presentations:

• IBBY Honour List 2010
• Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities 2011
• International Children’s Book Day 2011
• IBBY Congress 2012 London
• Bookbird

On March 28th  IBBY will hold a press conference at 14:30 (Sala Concerto room) featuring:

• International Children’s Book Day: 2011 Sponsor IBBY Estonia
• IBBY Projects and activities
• Bookbird: introduction of new president
• IBBY Congress 2012 London, United Kingdom

This will be followed by a reception at the IBBY stand: 15:30, Hall 29, stand A 51.

The poster and message to celebrate the 2011 International Children’s Book Day (April 2nd) is now available here. Each year a different National Section of IBBY has the opportunity to be the international sponsor of ICBD and for 2011 the sponsor is IBBY Estonia. This year’s theme is “The Book Remembers”, the poster was designed by Jüri Mildeberg (aka Jüri Mildebergius) and the message written by Aino Pervik.

Registration has opened for the 9th IBBY Regional Conference: Peace the World Together With Children’s Books, to be held October 21 – 23 at the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature in Fresno, CA, USA. Click here for flyer and go to www.usbby.org for more information and conference updates.

First call for IBBY Cuba’s Congreso Internacional Lectura 2011: Para Leer el XXI Se ha de conocer las fuerzas del mundo para ponerlas a trabajar has gone out. The event will be held October 25 – 29 in Havana, Cuba.

The 33rd International IBBY Congress will be held August 23 – 26, 2012 in London, UK. The theme is Crossing Boundaries: Translations and Migrations. Delegates will explore how books and stories for children and young people can cross boundaries and migrate across different countries and cultures. The congress will look at issues such as globalisation, dual-language texts, cultural exchange and the art of translation.

You can now register your interest in the Congress. Visit the website and sign up to get all the latest information and news directly to your email.

Recently posted on the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) bulletin board:

Best of Bologna: Edgiest Artists of the 2008 International Children’s Book Fair

For a fascinating <on-line> exhibition of young artists selected for the Bologna Illustrators’ Exhibition in 2008 go to: exhibits.library.northwestern.edu/bestofbologna/

Included within the site is an interview with Wolf Erlbruch, winner of the 2006 Hans Christian Andersen Award, given at the 2007 book fair.

This exhibit was originally presented in 2009 at the Northwestern University Library, Evanston, IL, USA. In October 2010 it became a permanent exhibit and is located on  the 4th Floor of the Main Library (in the corridor between the two towers)  at Northwestern University. The exhibit  is free and open to the public during the Library’s regular public hours. To learn more, click here.

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look at our 1,000th post, with the chance of winning a Spirit of PaperTigers 2010 book set…

The 32nd International IBBY Congress was held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain this past September with the theme The Strength of Minorities:

Why would the majorities want to change a society in which they are perfectly comfortable and privileged? It may seem at a first glance that the majority is the dominant force in every society, but those who dramatically change their world, now and throughout history, always belong to the minority. Minorities –social, ethnic, linguistic, gender, religious- possess a force and an internal dynamism that this Congress will address by critically evaluating and highlighting today’s situation for all minorities. We hope that the Congress will encourage equity that will lead to empowerment of minorities throughout the world.

You can now read the detailed program and speeches from the Congress online by clicking  here. Photos from the event can be seen here.

Planning for the 33rd International IBBY Congress in London is already underway. The dates are set for August 23 – 26, 2012 and the theme of the Congress is Crossing Boundaries: Translations and Migrations. Participants will explore how books and stories for children and young people can cross boundaries and migrate across different countries and cultures. The congress will look at issues such as globalization, dual-language texts, cultural exchange and the art of translation. For more information, check out the IBBY 2012 Congress website.

IBBY United Arab Emirates (UAEBBY) has taken over the management of the  Etisalat Prize for Arabic Children’s Literature. Publishers have until August 31st to submit their entries for this year’s prize. The winner of the prize which is valued at AED 1 million dollars ($275,000 usd) will be announced in October at the Sharjah International Book Fair.

The Etisalat Award was established in 2009 by Sheika Bodour Al Qasimi in order to bring about some healthy competition between the  publishing houses in the Arab World. At that time Sheika Bodour Al Qasimi said:

The Arab-speaking world does not have a reading culture per se as in the West. Parents don’t read bedtime stories to their children and there is a tendency for parents to rely on schools to give their children their first reading experience. As a consequence, parents don’t have the habit of buying books as presents for their children, so publishers have become relatively laid back and produce mediocre books that require very little investment.

My intention is for us to see eye-catching, well produced, interesting books for children out there in our bookshops. At the end of the day publishing is a business and money is a motivating factor and will hopefully spur the publisher’s interest to put more time and effort into the books they produce.

Now with UAEBBY’s management, the Etisalat Prize has evolved slightly and is intended to be an incentive not only for publishers but also for authors and illustrators to develop quality books, both form and content, that motivate children to be open to the world of knowledge and culture.

For a press release of the announcement of the 2010 prize , click here.