January - February 2003

IBBY's Jubilee: Children & Books -- A Worldwide Challenge

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) celebrated fifty years at a worldwide congress held in Basel, Switzerland, September 29-October 3, 2002. Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 1953, IBBY continues the goals of its founder, Jella Lepman, who believed books could contribute to world peace and understanding. IBBY is made up of more than sixty National Sections all over the world and represents countries with well-developed book publishing and literacy programs, as well as countries with only a few dedicated professionals who are doing pioneering work in children’s book publishing and promotion.

This year, under the patronage of Her Majesty Empress Michiko of Japan, Her Excellency Ms. Suzanne Mubarak of Egypt, and Ms. Ruth Dreifuss (head of the Department of Home Affairs of the Swiss Confederation), sixty-two nations came and contributed to the ideals of the organization: To promote international understanding through children’s books; to give children everywhere the opportunity to have access to books with high literary and artistic standards; to encourage the publication and distribution of quality children’s books, especially in developing countries; to provide support and training for those involved with children and children’s literature; and to stimulate research and scholarly works in the field of children’s literature.

Every other year, since 1956 for authors and since 1966 for illustrators, the Hans Christian Andersen Awards (sometimes called the “Little Nobel”) is given to a living (at the time of the nomination) author and an illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children’s literature. The nominations are made by the National Sections of IBBY and the recipients are selected by an international jury of children’s literature specialists. The 2002 awards went to author Aidan Chambers and illustrator Quentin Blake, both from Great Britain. Another award, the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award, is given to the project that has made an important contribution to the promotion of children’s reading. The winner for 2002 was from Cordoba, Argentina, for the project, Por el derecho a leer (“Right to Read”), of Centro de Defusion e Investigacion de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil (CEDICIJ in English: “Center for Investigations and Spreading of Children’s Books”).

Presentations offered up the likes of Jostein Gaarder of Norway (author of Sophie’s World) talked about books for a world without readers. He said that the book may not be necessary in all societies but the story is. He also compared how reading a book cannot be compared to watching a video, “for reading is more active, creative and self- realizational . . . Good stories are what we need, those that nourish and make us grow.” He said that across all political, cultural and historical divides, the story provides the whole humanity with a common “mother tongue.” He argued that the book was worth fighting for, and that parents, after nourishing and clothing their children, should read to them. Rogério Barbosa (SCBWI Regional Advisor and President of IBBY Brazil) noted that Gaarder said in his house while growing up, there were so many books he got spoiled, and that what was important to him was the free education he received from his parents and all their books.

In his talk, “Can There be International Standards of Excellence?” Jeffrey Garrett from the United States said that an understanding of what is quality today requires an appreciation that the world might be differently perceived through the eyes of an artist from other cultures, but also it requires that we trust our own instincts and support these instincts by learning something about the culture of the artist.

Ana Maria Machado of Brazil talked of children’s books as a bridge between the adults and the children. She said, “As the baby grows into infant, and then into toddler and child, new forms of verbal creation will be brought to her by elders – nursery rhymes and riddles, jokes and simple verses.” Machado stressed the fact that it is important not to dismiss this first contact with poetry and folk tales as superficial only because they are part of the oral tradition. “They are the first bridges between adults and children,” she said, adding that writing for children should be because the writer has no choice and must express what is inside, pushing to be born. “And if we want books to be bridges, we must insist that the art of words must not be ruled by pedagogical, psychological, or market concerns, but are subject to the same demands and strict criteria of judgment and critical analysis as any creation of [the] human mind that chooses words as its means of expression.”

Throughout the five days, conference attendees and participants were invited to join authors, illustrators, and librarians groups. Bao Bab is the name of the Children’s Book Fund and also the name of a book series of books translated from the country of origin into German for the minority children living in the Basel, Switzerland, area. All this we found at the Ju Ki Bu library in Basel, an oasis for minority children in the community, where they can find books of their own cultures and languages. (Bao Bab refers to largest tree in Africa, under which people sit and tell stories.) The Congress encouraged discussion and exchange between the authors, illustrators, educators, editors and librarians who were there. We came back richer and more determined to go on with producing good children’s books.