How to use this Page

We checked in with Mary Bergstrom, author of the new book “All Eyes East: Lessons from the Front Lines of Marketing to China’s Youth,” which is the first to focus on this powerful demographic. As she puts it, “born under the... Read the rest of this post

Add a Comment

 

 

We have a new interview on the PaperTigers website, with Dutch photographer Taco Anema, the author of a superb book called Tales of Water: A Child’s View/Cuentos del agua: Una visión de un niño.  Taco travelled the world photographing children interacting with water; and he spoke to them about what water means to them – how they use it, their joys and their concerns.   Sponsored by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), Taco visited at least one country in each of continents.  In the interview, Taco has given us some fascinating insight into the project and I urge you to read it.  In the meantime, for this Poetry Friday post, I want to share with you an unexpected aspect of the project:

In the book, as well as quotations from children about water, there are some poems typed over some of the photos. Can you tell us about them?

A little while ago, I read somewhere that an emotion hits the brain a thousand times faster than a word or a line of text. Photography is nothing but emotion, but regularly I find it hard to relate to the people in the picture. Sometimes it’s just not enough to know what they look like and to understand the situation they are in. I would still very much like to know something personal about them. And this is typically where the text comes in.

As mentioned earlier, we were very keen on recording the language children use to put their ideas, feelings and thoughts into words. That reinforces the message. So we talked extensively with them about their own experiences in their daily lives. Nobody had at that point thought of poems and the like.

Many people, teachers, parents, mayors and so on, attended our conversations and most likely – I can’t remember exactly – one of them suggested adding a poem by a well known poet or the lyrics of a local song. A really great idea. So we did. Together with the children we picked the ones they liked the best. The poems were important to the children. They suggested putting them in the book. So we did.

Isn’t that wonderful?  I love that poetry spontaneously became an integral part of the project.

And Taco has kindly given me permission to share some of his stunning photographs with you.  I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do, and then feel prompted to seek out the book, which has something in it for everyone, children and adults alike. And I should also point out that the text in the book is bilingual English-Spanish (and one of the reasons for that is mentioned in the interview…).

There is actually a pdf of the whole book on the IUCN website, here…

This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe

Add a Comment

 

Edited by Radhika Menon and Sandhya Rao, illustrated by Nirupama Sekhar,
Water Stories from Around the World
Tulika, 2010.

Ages 5-11

An international assortment of water stories converge in this beautifully presented anthology, with tales from India, Botswana, Spain, Nigeria, China and Greece, as well as the Australian Aboriginal and Native American traditions, and “The Green Man”, a “story from many myths”.  This was the first one I turned to, since I’ve always been curious about him – and I loved the way the story was narrated wholly as a reported experience within the context of the here and now, making the Green Man relevant to contemporary children as a metaphor for looking after our water, whether or not we believe the story to be true.

Each of the nine storytellers represented here has a very distinctive voice but the one thing they all have in common is that they grip the reader right from the first sentence. And among the stories themselves, there’s something for everyone: magic, retribution, monsters, dragons, giants, deities, misunderstandings, humor, pride… Within so much variety, the only the thing they all have in common is water.  Perhaps my favourite story is “House of Sun and Moon”, where water herself is personified.  Water gathering up “all her children” in her skirts – and that means “oceans, seas, glaciers, rivers, streams, brooks, lakes, ponds and puddles” – plus everything plant and animal that lives in them, is just the kind of image to capture readers’ imaginations. Another story, “A Well is Born”, set in India, brings the book right up to date.  Told in verse, it reveals how the observation of a farmer saves the day for an engineer drilling for water.  Even so, the origins of the ballad go back to a traditional myth from the Ivory Coast.

Helping to bring the stories together as a collection are Niruoama Sekhar’s colourful illustrations.  Her style shifts to allow each story some individuality but certain motifs are carried through the whole book. Water splashes energetically in a pleasing variety of pattern and tone; and in those places where she incorporates the white background of the page, there is a batik-like quality to her painting.

Two double-page spreads at the end add to the educative possibilities of this excellently presented book.  Firstly, a “Water Timeline” from 10,000 BC to the present day, with an information box that asks us to ponder the question “Where have we gone wrong?”, faced as we are “with the threat of a world with less and less water”, and it suggests the relevance of creating a timeline of water for our own neighborhoods.  And secondly, a “Water Facts” spread that centers on India and will be of equal interest to readers both within and outside the country.  This is followed by an immensely readable introduction to all the contributors that connects each of them with their parts of the book. Tulika have also created a website to accompany the book, and it’s well worth a visit.

All in all, this is an excellent anthology that is likely to become a firm favourite in homes and schools alike.

Marjorie Coughlan
January 2012

Add a Comment

Add a Comment

The conclusion to the debut story of Small World Protection Agency is now available from Trestle Press!

Josh and Madison are two elementary school students that have been recruited by a secret organization known as the Small World Global Protection Agency.

In the first issue, they headed to Australia to investigate a record producer that seemed to have some unusual plans. In the conclusion, Down Under Thunder, the junior agents confront the producer with the fate of the world in the balance.

Having the stories in this two-part format helps to not overload our young readers, but it also heightens the suspense. In my grandparents' days, they used to see cliffhanger serials in the cinemas and bookstores. Small World Global Protection Agency brings back that thrill to a new audience.

Also, at the end of Down Under Thunder is a set of questions, or Points to Ponder. This is a great opportunity for parents and teachers to interact with the kids who loved the story.

Both issues are ONLY 99 Cents each on Kindle or Nook! Click the title to get them now!

Add a Comment

Last week was Anti-Bullying Week in Canada and in the UK, where there is currently a move to make the focus on this important issue last for the whole of November.   But of course, the issues highlighted don’t disappear when you’re not looking at them – in fact, bullies are usually very clever at keeping their actions hidden.  The message still needs to be got across at all times that bullying is not acceptable.  We adults have a responibility for teaching respect for others and ourselves, both through formal education and in the example we set in our own behavior.

I have recently been reading two books in which young people tell of their experiences of bullying in their own words, accompanied with photographs and names in most cases.

The first, We Want You to Know: Kids Talk About Bullying is by Deborah Ellis (Coteau Books, 2010), who is well-known for drawing attention to the plight of children around the world caught up in mess caused by adults, both in her fiction (The Breadwinner Trilogy, set in Afghanistan; and the Cocalero novels, set in Bolivia), and in her non-fiction (Off To War: Voices of Soldiers’ Children; Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees).  We Want You to Know brings together the stories of young people aged 9-19 who have been bullied, who have bullied others, and who “have found strength within themselves to rise above their situations and to endure.”  They are all from Ellis’ “little corner of Southern Ontario” in Canada, following her involvement in a local Name It 2 Change It Community Campaign Against Bullying (and, indeed, royalties from the sale of this book go to the organization).  At the same time, interspersed with the longer accounts from the Canadian children are shorter highlighted statements from children across the world – Angola, Japan, Madagascar, South Korea, Uganda, the US.  Yes, bullying happens everywhere.

The book is divided into five main sections, You’re Not Good Enough, You’re Too Different, You’re It—Just Because, We Want to Crush You, and Redemption.  Each account has a couple of follow-up questions, asking “What Do You Think?”, and then there are discussion questions at the end of the sections.

The other book is Bullying and Me: Schoolyard Stories by Ouisie Shapiro with photographs by Steven Vote (Albert Whitman, 2010).  Again, it features first-hand accounts of young people who the introduction reminds us, “had a hard time reliving their experiences”, while recognising the importance of not remaining silent, to remind others who are bullied that “you’re not alone.  And it’s not your fault.”  Each account is followed by useful summarising statements from Dr Dorothy Espelage, a psychologist specializing in adolescent bullying.

Both these titles are aimed at young readers – but make no mistake, they are hard-hitting books that deliver a punc

Add a Comment

Giovanni Gelati. That's right, Trestle Press's main man is back and he says something to say. Oh, this is a big deal and I am thrilled to be a part of it!


Amish Knitting Circle now occupies the numbers 2,3,4,5 rankings in short story fiction in all of Amazon Kindle, not by category, but overall. 


Check it out HERE: http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/157087011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kinc_1_4_last

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

33. Australian book industry moves to ease import restrictions

Add/View Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: katieallen, on 11/9/2011
Blog: Schiel & Denver Book Publishers Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  booksellers, Australia, Bookseller Staff, International, Add a tag

Written By: 

Bookseller Staff

Publication Date: 

Wed, 09/11/2011 - 09:15

Australia’s publishers have moved to compromise in the battle to protect their industry from parallel importing.

According to a report from Inside Retail, the Book Industry Strategy Group (BISG) has made a recommendation to industry minister Kim Carr that the timetable for the retention of territorial copyright be reduced from 30/90 to 14/14 days, effectively giving local publishers just a two-week window of protection for new releases.

read more

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

34. French VAT rise threat to books

Add/View Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: [email protected], on 11/8/2011
Blog: Schiel & Denver Book Publishers Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  VAT, Barbara Casassus, Todays Picks, International, booksellers, France, Add a tag

Written By: 

Barbara Casassus

Publication Date: 

Tue, 08/11/2011 - 09:26

French prime minister François Fillon has announced that the reduced VAT rate applying to books would be raised from 5.5% to 7% from 1st January as part of a fresh economic austerity package to help rein in France’s massive public debt.

The new rate, which will not apply to food, energy and products and services for the disabled, is the same as Germany’s reduced VAT and is expected to add €1.8bn to government revenues. France’s full VAT rate remains unchanged at 19.6%.

read more

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

35. Barnes & Noble plans international Nook launch

Add/View Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: [email protected], on 11/7/2011
Blog: Schiel & Denver Book Publishers Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  International, US, Home, booksellers, Barnes & Noble, nook, William Lynch, Gayle Feldman, Add a tag

Written By: 

Gayle Feldman

Publication Date: 

Mon, 07/11/2011 - 17:18

Barnes & Noble is to expand its e-book service internationally next year, the company's chief executive has revealed. The development was revealed at the company's New York press conference at which it unveiled its  $249 Nook Tablet, a direct competitor to Amazon's Kindle Fire and the Apple iPad.

read more

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

36. London poetry conference

2 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: Sylvia Vardell, on 11/4/2011
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  international, Add a tag

If you're going to be in London next weekend, there’s a fantastic poetry conference being held there organized by the IBBY UK and the NCRCL (National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature). If you go, please let us know all about it.


Here are the details gleaned from postings by Laura Atkins, Senior Lecturer at the NCRCL.

Date: Saturday, 12 November 2011
Location: University of Roehampton, London

Theme: “It Doesn’t Have to Rhyme: Children and Poetry”



The conference will explore aspects of poetry that impinge on young people, with a focus on the question “Why does poetry matter?” This begs the more fundamental question: What is poetry?” which they hope also to explore. Plenary speakers include Morag Styles, Michael Rosen, Jacqueline Wilson, Susan Bassnett and a panel of people involved with the publication and anthologizing of poetry.



Here is their Provisional Programme:


9.30 Registration and coffee, Terrace Room

10.00 Welcome (Pat Pinsent)

10:10 Morag Styles (Cambridge University)

11:00 Publishing panel: Janetta Otter Barry (Frances Lincoln), Gaby Morgan (Macmillan) and Fiona Waters (anthologist; Troubadour)

11:45 Comfort break (don't you love that label?!)

12:00 Michael Rosen

12:45 IBBY, NCRCL and 2012 World Congress news

1:00 Lunch, Montefiore Diner

2:00 Parallel workshops, see notices

3.15 Susan Bassnett (The Times Stephen Spender 2010 prizes judge).

3:45 Tea, Terrace Room

4:15 Jacqueline Wilson

5:00 Joelle Taylor (Poetry Society) Poetry Slam

5:30 Finish



Programme of Workshops

Workshop A

Sandra A. Agard. It Doesn’t Have to Rhyme.

David A. Whitley. Children’s Poetry: Loose Cannons and Loose Iambics.



Workshop B

Lucy Andrew. Riddles in the Dark: The Role of Poetry in Children’s Fantasy Novels from Alice to Harry Potter.

Rebecca R. Butler. Imaginative Opportunities in Two Verse Novels.



Workshop C

Kimberly Black. Social Protest in Urban Youth Spoken-Word Poetry.

Imogen Church. Authenticity of Voice in Poetry Written by Juvenile Offenders.



Workshop D

Julie Blake. Reclaiming the Oral Tradition: The Poetry Archive.

Mathew Carthew. Slam Dunk: Performance as a Way of Bringing Children’s Poetry to Life.



Workshop E

Fiona Collins and Alison Kelly. Poetry Journeys: From Child to Student Teacher.

Jenny Vernon. Ten Years of Children’s Poetry: The Southwark Poetry Anthologies.



Workshop F

Pat Ebhohimen. Is Poetry Written by Children really Poetry?

Robert Hull. Can a Love of Poetry be Taught?



Workshop G

Emily Roach. Dealing with Death: Tough Topics in Poetry for Chi

2 Comments on London poetry conference, last added: 11/7/2011

Display Comments

laurasalas said, on 11/7/2011 3:57:00 AM

Doesn't that look good? Too bad I won't happen to be in London this weekend:>) I want to hear these speakers answers to the questions they pose in their session titles! Oh well--glad they're publishing the papers next year.

Anonymous said, on 11/7/2011 9:39:00 AM

Thank you for letting others know about this event. I am pleased to say that this is one conference that I can finally make it to.
--Carol-Ann Hoyte

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

37. Titles decline during France’s "rentrée littéraire"

Add/View Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: katieallen, on 10/26/2011
Blog: Schiel & Denver Book Publishers Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  International, Home, booksellers, France, Barbara Casassus, Olivier Raynal, Add a tag

Written By: 

Barbara Casassus

Publication Date: 

Wed, 26/10/2011 - 09:30

The number of titles published in France during the "rentrée littéraire" declined to 704 this year from 714 in 2010, but the number of publishers producing them rose to a record 231 from 208, according to market research firm GfK.

Behind the 11% increase are the small and medium-sized houses, which published one to three titles, noted Olivier Raynal, entertainment director at GfK Retail and Technology France.

read more

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

38. Week-end Book Review: I Am Different! Can You Find Me? by Manjula Padmanabhan

0 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: Aline Pereira, on 10/22/2011
Blog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Manjula Padmanabhan, I Am Different! Can You Find Me?, International, Picture Books, Global Fund for Children book, Week-end Book Reviews, Week-end book review, Add a tag

 

Manjula Padmanabhan
I Am Different! Can You Find Me?
The Global Fund for Children/Charlesbridge Publishing, 2011.

Ages 4-8

In this exuberant celebration of differences, Indian cartoonist, novelist and playwright Manjula Padmanabhan makes being unique a source of delight and excitement, rather than something to fear or avoid. Each colorful spread displays an array of a single object, all apparently exactly the same. But wait – one actually is different. Which one?  Readers will love the interactive fun of these sixteen puzzles in which they must identify the one ladder, iguana, car, flower, or other object that is not like the others.  (Where are the wheels on that car?  Is that girl asleep?)

As Padmanabhan writes, “In the United States, eight out of every ten people speak only English.” But in fact, both the country and the continent have always been a place of immigrants, and I Am Different encourages readers to remember those roots. Each spread repeats the question, “Can you find me?” in one of sixteen different languages now spoken in North America. Along with phonetic pronunciation, Padmanabhan offers a brief paragraph about each language, including fun facts like “Cheetah, pajamas, and shampoo are words you might know that come from Hindi,” or instructions on how to count to five in Cree, the most widely spoken indigenous language in Canada. By repeating the same phrase, “Can you find me?”, in a variety of languages, Padmanabhan brilliantly recognizes both the delights of being different as well as the commonalities we all share.

Padmanabhan has illustrated twenty-one children’s books, and is well known for her cartoon strip, Suki, which ran first in Bombay’s Sunday Observer and later the Pioneer in Delhi. In I am Different, bright, kindergarten-friendly colors and cartoon-like illustrations make an engaging game of hide-and-seek that will provoke young pre-readers (and indeed, the adults next to them) to think deeply about and rejoice in our differences. While some individual spreads may challenge the youngest readers, the book remains a valuable teaching tool for colors, shapes and counting, a wonderful bonding book for parents and children or brothers and sisters, and most of all a joyful embrace of discovering and celebrating things that make us unique.

Sara Hudson
October 2011

0 Comments on Week-end Book Review: I Am Different! Can You Find Me? by Manjula Padmanabhan as of 1/1/1900

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

39. Poetry, peace and USBBY

3 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: Sylvia Vardell, on 10/21/2011
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  international, peace, Add a tag

This weekend I’m in Fresno, California attending the biennial IBBY regional conference with the theme, Peace the World Together Through Children’s Books. It’s sponsored by the US section of IBBY (the United States Board on Books for Young People), one of my favorite organizations since it’s devoted to international children’s literature. I’ve mentioned it many times, particularly since I love this conference and rarely miss it. In addition, I am winding up my 3 year term as co-editor of the IBBY journal of international children’s literature, Bookbird.

I will also be making a presentation on Saturday, “PEACE THROUGH POETRY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE” along with poet and artist Ann Grossnickle Hines, author of the recent poetry collection, Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts About Peace. Our session will focus on how poetry, in particular, fosters the IBBY vision of working toward a more just and peaceful world by featuring:

• An introduction to and bibliography of poetry for young people from around the world, including print and online resources
• Poetry in bilingual editions (English and Spanish, Japanese, Irish, Slovakian, etc.)
• Poems and poets from around the world featured in Bookbird

Anna will talk about her new book which has already received starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist, Peaceful Poems, a collection of 28 short poems about peace, a broad concept interpreted in varied ways through poetry and quilt art. She notes, “All of us are together in one world, where everything we do, every action, every thought and every breath, creates the network in which we all live.”

It’s a beautiful book—in both the quilt art illustrations and the various manifestations of peace that the poems reflect. Here’s just one example:


Peace: A Recipe
By Anna Grossnickle Hines

Open minds—at least two.
Willing hearts—the same.
Rinse well with compassion.
Stir in a fair amount of trust.
Season with forgiveness.

3 Comments on Poetry, peace and USBBY, last added: 10/21/2011

Display Comments

Robyn Hood Black said, on 10/21/2011 7:31:00 AM

Thank you for this wonderful post (and bibliography!). I enjoyed a workshop with Anna Grossnickle Hines at SCBWI-LA a few years ago and can't wait to get this new book. Appreciation to both of you for "passing the peace."

maria horvath said, on 10/21/2011 8:32:00 AM

Good luck on your presentation, Sylvia!

One of my favorite poetry books is "I Like This Poem," a collection of poems chosen by children for children in aid of The International Year of the Child, 1979, edited by Kay Webb, a Puffin Original published by Penguin (1979).

Myra Garces-Bacsal from GatheringBooks said, on 10/21/2011 9:11:00 PM

I hope I'd have a chance to hear you speak soon. I love the theme about peace through picture books. Absolutely wonderful. And great bibliography as well. I shall definitely repost this. We'd be doing a Poetry-inspired theme over at GatheringBooks for November and December - your list here would definitely prove to be of great help to us as we scrounge around for books in the library.

Add a Comment