The exhibition was Badolhisham Mohamad Tahir’s, head of exhibitions at Galeri Petronas, idea.  It was his past experience as an illustrator for The Institute of Language and Literature that led him to consider the possibility of a picture book exhibition. “I felt it was time for picture books to be highlighted as a valid art form and I wanted especially to show contemporary Malaysian illustration,” said Badrolhisham.

His initial idea was to showcase award-winning Malaysian illustrators. A little known fact is that six Malaysian picture book illustrators have won prizes at the Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations. Three of these receipients:Yusof  Gajah, Jainal Amimbing and Awang Fadillah, are  part of the exhibition.

What makes this exhibition particularly noteworthy, however, is that it doesn’t showcase art from existing picture books: instead, the participating illustrators were given just five days to create a picture book from scratch. Words+Pictures=Book has been quite a success, attracting up to 300 visitors a day. Although Daphne has some reservations about the way the illustrations are displayed, she concludes that:

While I feel Words+Pictures=Book fails to convey the complexities of picture book art creation, it at least serves to bring the art form to the attention of the Malaysian public and also to highlight the important role of visual art in children’s literature.

…And that can only be a good thing. If you go to the exhibition, do let us know your highlights.

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Exhibition of Prize-Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

The Nye Memorial Children’s Literature Tour of the Ukraine~ ongoing until Jul 10, Ukraine

READ!Singapore 2009 – Dreaming A Good Read~ ongoing until Aug 31, Singapore

Enchanted Worlds – Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ ongoing until Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Exhibition – Drawings from the Heart: Tomie de Paola Turns 75 ~ Jul 3 – Nov 1, Amherst, MA, USA

Kids and Young Adult Literature Festival~ Jul 4 – 5, Rozelle, Australia

West Cork Literary Festival~ Jul 5 – 11, Bantry, Ireland

NAIDOC Week~ Jul 5 – 12, Australia

Asterisks and Obelisks: Classical Receptions in Children’s Literature~ Jul 6 – 10, Lampeter, United Kingdom

Worlds in Dialogue Conference~ Jul 8 – 11, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Storytellers of Canada Annual Conference~ Jul 8 – 12, Victoria, BC, Canada

SCBWI British Isles Hosts an Evening with Tamarind Books Founder Verna Wilkins~ Jul 9, London, United Kingdom

Tokyo International Book Fair~ Jul 9 – 12, Tokyo, Japan

American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference~ Jul 9 – 15, Chicago, IL, USA

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Program and Meeting Schedule at the ALA Annual Conference~ Jul 9 – 15, Chicago, IL, USA

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Program and Meeting Schedule at the ALA Annual Conference~ July 9 – 15, Chicago, IL, USA

National Conference for Teachers of English and Literacy~ Jul 9 – 12, Hobart, Australia

SHCY Biennial Conference: Children and Youth at Risk and Taking Risks: Historical Inquiries in International Perspective~ Jul 10-12, Berkeley, CA, USA

The 45th UKLA International Conference Making Connections: Building Literate Communities in and Beyond Classrooms~ Jul 10 – 12, London, United Kingdom

USBBY/YALSA Present Mixing it Up: The Process of Bringing International Children’s Books to the US~ Jul 11, Chicago, IL, USA

Creative Exchange: The Bologna Experience with Ayano Imai, Kiyo Tanaka and Shimako Okamura~ Jul 11, Tokyo, Japan

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ Jul 11 – Aug 16, Tokyo, Japan

Children’s Books Ireland Wild About Books Day~ Jul 12, Dublin, Ireland

10th Annual Pacific Northwest Children’s Book Conference~ Jul 13 – 17, Portland, OR, USA

20th Annual Children’s Book Fair~ Jul 13 – Aug 1, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Voices on the Coast, A Youth Literature Festival~ Jul 14 – 18, Sunshine Coast, Australia

2nd National Conference on Children’s Literature~ Jul 16 – 17, Diliman, Philippines

Harlem Book Fair~ Jul 17 – 19, Harlem, NY, USA

18th Storytelling Festival at the Edge~ Jul 17 – 19, Stokes Barn, United Kingdom

Kathalaya’s Intensive Course on Art of Storytelling~ Jul 20 – 25, Bangalore, India

16th European Conference on Reading and 1st Ibero-American Forum on Literacies: Discovering Worlds of Literacy~ Jul 19 – 22, Braga, Portugal

Racial Harmony Day~ Jul 21, Singapore

National Children’s Book Day~ Jul 21, Philippines

20th Annual Hong Kong Book Fair~ Jul 22 – 28, Hong Kong

Lima International Book Fair~ Jul 23 – Aug 5, Lima, Peru

Montana Poetry Day~ Jul 24, New Zealand

Latin American Regional Conference/Congreso Latinoamericano~ Jul 30 – Aug 1, Lima, Peru

Somewhere inside the secret rooms of the soul a child, alone with a book, creates personal images that surpass everything else. Such images are necessary for human beings. The day
that children’s imaginations no longer have the energy to create them will be the day when the human race becomes poor. All the big things that happened in the world happened first in the imagination of one person, and how the world of tomorrow will look depends largely on the measure of imaginative power in the minds of those who right now are learning how to read. That is why children need books.

Lindgren’s powerful words leave no doubt as to the importance of children’s books… But how do we find the best books, if we can’t read them all? That’s one of the reasons why we need book awards.

Our newly-added features highlight prize-winning books, book creators, and the many awards that honor them and help the shining light of great stories reach near and far… Some of the new features include: interviews with Américas Award Coordinator, Julie Kline; Asian/Pacific American Award Committe Chair, Dora Ho; and Jane Addams Award Committee Chair, Susan C. Griffith. Plus opinion pieces by Malathi Michelle Iyengar and Mitali Perkins, illustrators’ gallery features, and more. Enjoy them, and let us know what you think!

We’ll also be further exploring the theme of children’s book awards, here, on the blog, for the next two months, so check back often for more treats and information!

image credit: © Wen Hsu, winner of the 2009 NOMA Concours Grand Prize

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Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Week~ ongoing until Jun 3, Sweden

World Book Fair~ ongoing until Jun 7, Singapore

Once Upon a Time: Children’s Book Illustrators, Then and Now~ ongoing until Jun 14, Oakland, CA, USA

Books Illustrated Traveling Exhibition: An Australian Menagerie – Australian Picture Books~ ongoing until mid Jun, China

Seoul Arts Center Exhibit: Voyage to the World of Illustration~ ongoing until Jun 23, Seoul, Korea

Skipping Stones Magazine’s Youth Honor Award Program – Multicultural Awareness and Nature Appreciation~ entries accepted until Jun 25

Illustration Exhibition for Children: Pictures of Fantasy~ ongoing until Jun 30, Siena, Italy

Exhibition of Prize-Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

READ!Singapore 2009 – Dreaming A Good Read~ ongoing until Aug 31, Singapore

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Reading Matters on the Road Series~ Jun 1 – 2, Bendigo, Australia

Don Quixote in “Sunny Spain”: the Mediation of National and Cultural Identity in Children’s Literature~ Jun 2, London, United Kingdom

Mitali Perkins and Rachel Vail, Resonating with Young Readers~ Jun 4, Greenwich, CT, USA

Nairn Book and Arts Festival~ Jun 5 – 13, Nairn, United Kingdom

Building Bridges – Bilingual Tandem Telling for Multicultural Audiences~ Jun 6, Singapore

Antioch University’s 2nd Annual Children’s Literature Conference~ Jun 6, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Book Launch for Grace Lin’s Newest Book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon~ Jun 6, Cambridge, MA, USA

Librarian’s Day~ Jun 7, Cuba

A Passion for Poetry Series Featuring Steven Herrick (Australia) in conversation with Paula Green (New Zealand)~ Jun 10 – 12, New Zealand

FNLIJ’s 11th Book Fair of Children’s and Young Adult Literature~ Jun 10 – 21, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

36th Annual Children’s Literature Association Conference~ Jun 11-14, Charlotte, NC, USA

The Art of Children’s Books~ Jun 12, Toronto, ON, Canada

Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival~ Jun 12 – 13, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Eric Carle’s 80th Birthday Bash and Children’s Book Festival~ Jun 13, Amherst, MA, USA

Cape Town Book Fair~ Jun 13-16, South Africa

Enchanted Worlds – Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ Jun 13 – Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Giving Voice to Children’s Literature~ Jun 15, Sacramento, CA, USA

International Day of the African Child~ Jun 16,

Borders Book Festival~ Jun 18 – 21, Melrose, United Kingdom

The Great Story Picnic Season~ Jun 20, Oxford, United Kingdom

The Torquay Froth and Bubble Literary Festival~ Jun 20 – 21, Torquay, Australia

New Rochelle Festival of Books ~ Jun 20 – 21, New Rochelle, NY, USA

The Nye Memorial Children’s Literature Tour of the Ukraine~ Jun 23 – Jul 10, Ukraine

CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards Winners Announced~ Jun 25, London, United Kingdom

International Authors’ and Illustrators’ Forum~ Jun 25 -26, Munich, Germany

Sunthorn Phu Day (celebrated poet)~ Jun 26, Thailand

Canadian Multiculturalism Day~ Jun 27, Canada

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The Art of Picture Books Exhibition~ ongoing until Mar 27, Bristol, United Kingdom

20th Annual Children’s Book Illustrator Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 18, Hayward, CA, USA

Read Across America Day~ Mar 2, USA

Words on Wheels~ Mar 2 – 7, New Zealand

Papirolas Festival for Children and Youth~ Mar 3 – 8, Guadalajara, Mexico

World Book Day~ Mar 5, United Kingdom and Ireland

Growing Up Asian in America Art and Essay Contest~ entry deadline Mar 5, San Francisco, CA, USA

40th Annual Conference on Children’s Literature~ Mar 6 – 7, Athens, GA, USA

Asilomar Regional Reading Conference: Fired Up for Literacy~ Mar 6 – 8, Pacific Grove, CA, USA

Shanghai International Literary Festival~ Mar 6 -22, Shanghai, China

Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)Choices Day and Charlotte Zolotow Award Event~ Mar 7, Madison, WI, USA

Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival~ Mar 8 – 18, Hong Kong

ALA’s Teen Tech Week~ Mar 8 – 14, USA

Share a Story – Shape a Future, A Blog Tour for Literacy~ Mar 9

12th Time of the Writer International Writers Festival~ Mar 9 – 14, Durban, South Africa

Rhinelander Children’s Book Fest~ Mar 10 -11, Rhinelander, WI, USA

Annual SCBWI (SA) Publishers Show & Tell Day~ Mar 11, Cape Town, South Africa

19th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair~ Mar 12 – 22, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Children’s Books in Asia, Africa and Latin America Symposium~ Mar 13, Tokyo, Japan

13th Annual Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 13 – 14, Redlands, CA, USA

Salon du Livre Paris~ Mar 13 – 18, Paris, France

41st Annual Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 15 – 17, Warrensburg, MO, USA

Exhibition of Prize Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ Mar 15 – Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

Somerset Celebration of Literature~ Mar 16 – 20, Mudgeeraba, Australia

World Storytelling Day~ Mar 20

Harmony Day~ Mar 21, Australia

World Poetry Day~ Mar 21

Bologna Children’s Book Fair~ Mar 23 – 26, Bologna, Italy

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Winners Announced~ Mar 24, Vimmerby, Sweden

All-Saints College Festival of Young Adult and Children’s Literature~ Mar 25 – 27, Bull Creek, Australia

7th Bangkok International Book Fair & 37th National Book Fair~ Mar 26 – Apr 6, Bangkok, Thailand

Oxford Children’s Literature and Youth Culture Colloquium Presents an International Conference: Place and Space in Children’s Literature~ Mar 27 – 28, Oxford, United Kingdom

Children’s Literature Council Spring Workshop: I Can Read It by Myself…But Do I Want To? Inspiring Emergent Readers~ Mar 28, Glendale, CA, USA

Margaret Mahy Day~ Mar 28, New Zealand

Reading the World: A Conference Celebrating Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults~ Mar 28 – 29, San Francisco, CA, USA

Norman Lindsay Festival of Children’s Literature~ Mar 28 – 29, Faulconbridge, Australia

Childhood in its Time Conference: The Child in British Literature~ Mar 28 – 29, Canterbury, United Kingdom

Latino Book & Family Festival~ Mar 28 – 29, Chicago, IL, USA

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International Library of Children’s Literature Exhibition “Palette of Dream Colours III: Winning Works of the 15th Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations from Asia, Africa and Latin America”~ ongoing to Jan 13/08, Tokyo, Japan

Santiago International Book Fair~ Oct 23 – Nov 4, Santiago, Chile

National Association for Multicultural Education Conference~ Oct 31 – Nov 4, Baltimore, MD, USA

National Family Literacy Day~ Nov 1, USA

Multicultural Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 3, Washington, DC, USA

Children’s Book Week~ Nov 12-18, USA

Indonesia Book Fair~ Nov 14-18, Jakarta, Indonesia

International Children’s Literature and Young Adult Literature Celebration~ Nov 17, Milwaukee, WI, USA

Pacific Islander Education Conference~ Nov 17, Paramount, CA, USA

Children’s Book Week~ Nov 17-24, Canada

Guadalajara International Book Fair~ Nov 24 – Dec 2, Guadalajara, Mexico

Governor General’s Literary Award Winners Announced~ Nov 27, Montreal, QC, Canada