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Everybody has a song,
be it short or be it long,
in the right or in the wrong key,
Like the hee-haw of a donkey,
Twitter, tweet, tu-whit, tu-whoo,
howl or growl or quack or moo.
[…]
Don’t be silent
nor afraid,
you must sing
as you’ve been made.

Translation by Stan Dragland of the South African poem “Elke outjie…” by Philip de Vos

Welcome, everybody, to this week’s Poetry Friday, which we are delighted to be hosting.  Please leave comments below with links to your “songs” and I’ll be updating this post throughout the day.

The above poem comes from the joyous anthology Under the Spell of the Moon: Art for Children from the World’s Great Illustrators.  This superb book, first published by Groundwood in Canada in 2004, then in the UK in 2006 by Frances Lincoln, is now available for the first time in paperback (Frances Lincoln, 2012). Produced by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the book is edited by erstwhile President of IBBY and founder of Groundwood Patsy Aldana, and has a thought-provoking Foreword by award-winning author Katherine Paterson.  It provides a fantastic showcase of 32 illustrators from across the globe, who have all donated their work to benefit IBBY – indeed 12.5% of the book’s proceeds go to IBBY.  Illustrators include Piet Grobler, who illustrated the poem cited above, as well as many others of my personal favorites such as Mitsumasa Anno (Japan), Peter Sís (Czech Republic/USA), Anthony Browne (UK), Isol (Argentina), Pulak Biswas (India), Luis Garay (Nicaragua) – and the book has also introduced me to many illustrators whose work I intend to explore further…

Each illustrator was asked to “illustrate a text of his or her own choosing, be it a poem, nursery rhyme, song, piece of prose, riddle or street game.”  The result is a wonderfully eclectic gathering of mostly verse that is given in its original language, sometimes incorporated into the artwork, and, where necessary, in English translation: and indeed a special shout-out must go to Stan Dragland’s virtuoso translations.  The quirkiness of the collection probably comes from this freedom of choice given to the global spread of illustrators: so each page turn brings a surprise, both in text and artistic style.  The one thing that links every page is the joie de vivre of the texts and the virtuosity each illustrator has brought to his or her contribution.

And n

PaperTigers’ current Book of the Month, Alfredito Flies Home by Jorge Argueta and illustrated by Luis Garay (Groundwood 2007) is the story of Alfredito and his family’s return to El Salvador for the first time in four years, since arriving as refugees in San Francisco. The writing bubbles over with happiness and excitement as readers/listeners are carried along by Alfredito’s narration of events – the preparation, the flight and the hectic, happy holiday itself.

This opens the way for young readers/listeners to empathise with Alfredito’s experiences, even if they have never been in his situation themselves. They will then also be able to engage with those other moments which give pause for thought: such as the allusion to the family’s original journey to America under the guidance of “Señor Coyote”; the visit to his grandparents’ graves; or the underlying reality of separation, with some family in America, some in El Salvador.

For children who have parallel experiences to Alfredito’s, on the other hand, Alfredito’s story is invaluable: as Debbie of American Indians in Children’s Literature pointed out in her review.

Luis Garay’s sensitively attuned illustrations make this book extra special and provide plenty of details both within and outside the narrative – so there’s a lot to discuss. I would recommend this book be shared at least the first time children are introduced to it – not only because its tone so lends itself to being read aloud but also because of the discussion and/or questions it will provoke.