In her Personal View for our current issue of PaperTigers, Uma Krishnaswami ponders some of the questions that have come her way as a writer recently. Make sure you head on over to the main website to read the whole article; in the meantime, here’s the introduction. I found her pondering over the word ‘swale’ particularly fascinating as I live not too far from Swaledale in the UK – and it certainly catches a lot of rain too! – could there be a connection?

Four years ago, an uncle of mine, D.V. Sridharan, started the crazy, impossible, madcap project, of restoring a wasteland in a rural area near the city of Chennai in India, and turning it into a sustainable farm. The reason this has anything to do with my own crazy, impossible, madcap occupation, writing books for children, is that his endeavor too had to do with words.

Words like “swale”: Roll it on your tongue. How round and beautiful it is. How it creates a resonance in the air. Swale. A low tract of land, a swale follows the contour line, and can catch water when it rains. Holding the rush of a monsoon shower, the swale in turn recharges underground water sources so that in the dry season, wells can remain refreshed. Swale. The thing is as magical as its name.

The name of that restoration project is “point Return.” The capitals are intentionally placed, intentionally withheld. The point, Sridharan says, is to return. To come back again and again to the places and the ideas that give us sustenance and hope, that are generative and regenerative in nature, that keep us going, that lead to a larger sense of who “we” are.

Story does this too. Thinking of story as cyclical in nature rather than linear, with a beginning, middle and end, changes everything. It stops me from rushing after answers, grabbing the first one that comes along. It allows me instead to live with questions.

I am happy to say that I have managed to make a career out of living with questions.

As I said, do read the rest of the article, in which Uma talks about her latest picture-book, Out of the Way! Out of the Way! (illustrated by her near-namesake, Uma Krishnaswamy, Tulika Books, 2010), which certainly provides scope for lots of questions, and gives a tantalising look ahead at her forthcoming middle-grade novel The Grand Plan to Fix Everything (Atheneum Books, due out 2011) – and then pay a visit to Uma’s wonderful blog, Writing with a Broken Tusk.

Observed by Muslims all over the world, the Islamic holy month of prayer and fasting, known as Ramadan, started this year on August 11th in North America and will culminate on Eid, a three day celebration that marks the end of the period of fasting.

Here are some children’s books about Ramadan that have been featured on PaperTigers:

A Party in Ramadan, by Asma Mobin-Uddin, illustrated by Laura Jacobsen (Boyds Mills Press)

Leena, a young girl who is fasting “part time” for the first time (children are not expected to fast every day of Ramadan until they have passed puberty), is disappointed when she finds out that her best friend’s party will be held on the afternoon of the day she had chosen to fast. How she deals with her conflicted feelings makes for a very gentle story about faith and friendship. This is “a picture book that can help bridge divides and reassure children of any faith who sometimes have to make the choice between fitting in and following their hearts.”

Many Windows: Six Kids, Five Faiths, One Community, by Rukhsana Khan, with Uma Krishnaswami and Elisa Carbone (Napoleon & Company)

Many Windows is a book of stories about six children of different faiths sharing one community. In the story about Ramadan, a young boy is suspicious of his uncle, who is visiting from Pakistan to celebrate it with his family. The book includes an information section on the religious celebrations and, through its interlinked stories, “shows a community whose members respect and value one another—a gentle and crucial message our youth would benefit from finding in other contemporary stories.”

Moon Watchers: Shirin’s Ramadan Miracle, written by Reza Jalali and illustrated by Anne Sibley O’Brien, recently published by Tilbury House, is the story of a nine year-old girl who is too young to fast like her older brother and how she comes to understand that there’s more to Ramadan than just fasting. We will be reviewing the book ourselves soon, but in the meantime, here’s a lovely review from ForeWord magazine.

For more books for children and teens about Ramadan, I suggest you head over to UmmahReads, where you will find great reading lists divided by age group.

We’re delighted to welcome Out of the Way! Out of the Way! on this the third day of the book’s blog tour, when it will also be visiting Tarie at Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind.

Written by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy and newly published by Tulika Books in eight languages, it is a delightful and deceptively simple story. A small boy finds a tree seedling in the middle of a path and puts some stones around it to protect it. As time goes by, the tree grows, the path changes its course to go round the tree, and becomes a road and then a major thoroughfare with urban spread growing up around it. Meanwhile, we see the boy become a young man, a father and a grandfather. The illustrations contextualise the story in its Indian setting and extend the detail of the narrative, showing nature and development growing together. The tree is a landmark, a meeting place; the road takes people at different paces to their various destinations – and there’s always someone in a hurry, shouting “Out of the Way! Out of the Way!”

You can read a full review by Pooja Makhijani at Chicken Spaghetti from yesterday’s Blog Tour stop. I was also fascinated to read in Saffron Tree’s interview with (writer) Uma that part of her inspiration for the story came from her father reading a newspaper story to her about trees being planted in pot-holes to protest against the state of roads.

For our PaperTigers leg of the Blog Tour, I’m excited to present some artwork created in response to Out of the way! Out of the Way!. On Friday, I had the enormous pleasure of spending the afternoon with Class 2 (Ages 5-7) at St Benedict’s RC Primary School in Ampleforth, North Yorkshire (UK). We set the scene by looking at photographs from I is for Inda by Prodeepta Das (Frances Lincoln, 1996) and then read the story together, with plenty of resounding participation.

We looked closely at the illustrations, which are an effective blend of color and black ink vignettes, and picked out lots of details (you can see some of them here). Then the children divided into two groups to create their own artwork -

one group painting:

and the other working to draw detailed outlines first in pencil and then over the top in black ink.

Everything was then brought together into the final collage – and I’m sure you’ll all agree they’ve created a beautiful work of art.

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…Here are some details (note the footprints in the first one and the baskets, goats and skyscrapers in the second):

You can see all these photos and a couple more details over on our Flickr site…

Thank you, Mrs Andrew and Class 2 at St Benedict’s, for such a lovely afternoon; and thank you, Uma and Uma, for inviting PaperTigers to share in Out of the Way! Out of the Way!‘s blog tour.

Now it’s time to get out of the way as the book continues its journey – you can see where it’s headed here…

Newly published Out of the Way! Out of the Way! by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy (Tulika Books, 2010) begins its blog tour today at Educating Alice, where you can read her students’ reviews of the book; and Saffron Tree, where there’s an intriguing Q&A with (writer) Uma, as well as the book title in all of its available languages/scripts…

Also, do read Uma’s explanation of the book’s format – I found it fascinating…

And we can’t wait to be hosting Out of the Way! Out of the Way! on Wednesday. Don’t miss it!

Here’s the whole schedule (I’ll update links to the actual posts as the week progresses): (more…)

Head on over to Uma Krishnaswami’s Writing with a Broken Tusk to see a presentation from Tulika Books called “Multilingual Publishing – Walking the Tightrope” – it’s quite a long read but definitely worth it. Presenting different languages in children’s books is something I’ve been musing for a while – especially after reading Patsy Aldana’s interview with PaperTigers recently, in which she said:

I have always been opposed to the use of bilingual books, however given that Spanish-only books hardly sell at all, I have had to accept that books in Spanish can only reach Latinos if they are bilingual. This goes against everything I believe and know to be true about language instruction, the joy of reading in your mother tongue…

..and also having just read Nancy Bo Flood’s Warriors in the Crossfire, which raises dilemmas of language/writing in a colonial language (look out for our review in our June issue).

This is definitely a topic that needs to be pursued further…

Corinne the other day pointed us to Tarie Sabido’s blog, Asia in the Heart, as a great source of news and images from the first Asian Festival of Children’s Content, which happened earlier this month in Singapore. Authors Uma Krishnaswami, Chris Cheng and Rukhsana Khan also share their experiences of the event on their respective blogs, so I encourage you to check them out as well.

One of the many highlights of the festival was Uma and Rukhsana’s joint panel about their cross-cultural collaboration in Many Windows. Oh how I wish I could have been able to attend it!

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…)

The inaugural Asian Festival of Children’s Content is set to take place May 6-9 in Singapore, and word is quickly spreading that this is a not-to-be-missed event!   The National Book Development Council of Singapore, which has been organizing the highly successful Asian Children’s Writers &  Illustrators Conference (ACWIC) for the past 10 years, has decided to take a slightly new approach this year by combining it with three new symposiums to form the Asian Festival of Children’s Content.  Jade Yong, Marketing Director for the festival tells us:

Writers, illustrators, school teachers, publishers, librarians, literary agents, distributors and retailers, translators, technology solution providers and other media professionals related to the world of children’s content will find this to be a  learning event that they cannot afford to miss. We are expecting about 300 to 400 delegates from all over Asia, Australia, New Zealand, North  America and Europe to attend the event.

Over 70 speakers will be at the festival, and some familiar names to PaperTigers’ readers include: Holly Thompson (Japan), Daphne Lee (Malaysia), Rukhsana Khan (Canada), Naomi Kojima (Japan), Uma Krishnaswami (USA), and  Christopher Cheng (Australia). Since, unfortunately, no one from PaperTigers will be able to attend the festival this year, we look forward to hearing from those of you attending! If you send us feedback, we will be happy to share your impressions, discoveries and/or photos with our readers.

The schedule for the festival has been released and  is as  follows:

Asian Children’s Writers & Illustrators Conference~ May 6-8, 2010

The Asian Children’s Writers and Illustrators Conference (ACWIC) will celebrate children’s books, provide access to children’s literature with Asian content, and promote the writing and publication of Asian children’s books. By providing great workshops and networking opportunities, this conference aims to actively promote and foster the exchange of ideas on the global market.

The conference is broken down into seven tracks:  New Media Technologies & Children’s Content, Alchemy of Writing, Illustrators’ Palette, Librarian’s Menu, Publishers’ Daily Bread, Marketing and Distribution—Creating Bestsellers, and ACWIC Highlights. The detailed scheduled is  here.

Asian Children’s Publishers Symposium~ May 8, 2010

The Asian Children’s Publishers Symposium (ACPS) will consist of workshops from leading players within the industry and interactive panel discussions led by professionals, all designed to foster knowledge, learning and strategies for building a successful children’s publishing industry.

Asian Primary & Preschool Teachers Congress~ May 8, 2010

The speakers and workshop leaders at the Asian Primary & Preschool Teachers Congress (APTC) will collectively provide an overview of comprehensive literacy instruction and showcase its best practices to educators, teachers and parents, to help bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Asian Parents Forum~ 9 May, 2010

Asian Parents Forum (APF) workshops will offer opportunities for parents and interested individuals to get professional advice, support and information on quality content, creative experience and potential, so that participants can become more confident and competent in promoting the reading habits and answering the learning needs of their children.

As you can see, the first Asian Festival of Children’s Content will cover all aspects and formats of children’s content inspired by and based on Asian sources. We encourage you to attend it, if you’re able and in the field. It should prove a wonderful opportunity for professional development and networking!

(Click on event name for more information)

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

As soon as I spotted the Social Justice Challenge button dotted all over the blogosphere, I knew that I would have to come up with some very good arguments not to take it on… so you will now find said button in our side-bar and here is my first post as an Activist for this month. If you haven’t already, I really do recommend you read this post, which explains the workings of the Challenge much better than I ever could… I will just say that this is a Challenge to do, as well as to absorb…

Launching January’s theme of Religious Freedom, which happens to run parallel to our own current theme of Respect for Religious Diversity, we are asked to answer a few questions:

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of religious freedom?
Peace and harmony – when we all learn to respect the right of each individual to follow (or not) the religion of their choice without fear of persecution, the human race will come close to achieving them. And education also comes to mind – because children (and adults) need to find out about the different world faiths, and learn to value both the diversity and shared values that they have at their heart.

What knowledge do you have of present threats to religious freedom in our world today?
I have some awareness of religious intolerance across the world – but I’m not going to go into it here…

Have you chosen a book or resource to read for this month?
With my sons, I’m going to read Many Windows: Six Kids, Five Faiths, One Community by Rukhsana Khan with Elisa Carbone and Uma Krishnaswami (Napoleon, 2008) and The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland DeSaix (Holiday House, 2009), both of which I have already read… I haven’t chosen something new for myself yet… if I hadn’t recently read Wanting Mor (also by Rukhsana) , I would choose that…

Why does religious freedom matter to you?
It is a human right.