By Edward Nawotka This past weekend, the first Asian Festival of Children’s Content was held in Singapore. It may be the first literary festival of it’s kind to replace the word “literature” with “content.” But, hey, Singapore has always viewed itself as a progressive nation-state. Claire Chiang, the festival’s advisory board chairperson, told Publishers Weekly’s Terry Tan: “We have had …
The Kids Are Alright! Why Digitization and E-books are Good for Literacy
By Kristen McLean, executive director of the Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) After several hundred years with a stable model, some of our most basic ideas about books and reading are now under the microscope. The most pessimistic opinions tell us that the book as we know it is dead, but I don’t believe it. It is important to …
Against the Odds: Bringing Arabic Kids Books to Life in Beirut
By Olivia Snaije BEIRUT: Dar Onboz is a small, Beirut-based publishing company with big dreams. Founded in the spring of 2006, just before the Israeli summer bombing of Lebanon, Dar Onboz has faced down financial worries, problems with distribution and the general difficulties of running a company in country where the political situation is volatile and corruption is commonplace. The …
Jerry Pinkney and his family’s book dynasty
By Erin L. Cox In USA Today, Bob Minzesheimer writes a lovely piece about Jerry Pinkney who recently won the Caldecott Medal for his book The Lion & The Mouse. As the first individual African-American to win the Caldecott Medal, Pinkney is an inspiration to other African-American writers and illustrators…even the ones in his family. His wife, children, and their spouses …
How to Explain the Unexplainable
Editorial by Amy Koppelman Four years ago, when my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, my children asked my husband and me so many questions, most of which we couldn’t answer: “What is cancer? “Why does it happen?” “How is it diagnosed?” “How is it treated?” “Is it contagious?” I began Googling cancer books for children. There were several on the market, …
Aussie’s Take Two of Germany’s Top Children’s Prizes
By Tim Coronel Australian authors Shaun Tan and Marcus Zusak have been announced as winners in two of the major categories at the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis, Germany’s most prestigious awards for children’s and YA books. [Pictured: the display of Shaun Tan’s books at the Frankfurt Book Fair by his German publisher Carlsen] The awards ceremony, held on Friday night as part …