Readers find truth in fiction, hope in times of desperation, and tools that defy isolation.  USBBY/IBBY provides these avenues of connection in small ways and large, from member to member and member nation to member nation. 

In this issue of Bridges, USBBY celebrates HCA nominees, International Children's Book Day poster and message creators, national and international children's book conferences,  the 2020 IBBY Honour List, and of course the myriad ways our members can get involved in all of these things and more.

President’s Message, November 2020

Dear USBBY members,

We are currently in the 9th month of the pandemic in the United States.  I think about my parents who lived through the Spanish flu, the Depression, and World War II.  But I never imagined that our generation, with all our medical and technological advances, would be in the throes of a global health crisis.  We hope you and your family are staying well and safe.  We are very grateful for our USBBY members and all you do to promote international peace and understanding through children’s books, even during these challenging times.

As you know, we held our first virtual USBBY Annual Members’ Meeting on November 14 where we launched the 2021 International Children’s Book Day poster and message.  The magnificent poster was created by Brazilian illustrator and good friend of USBBY, Roger Mello, and the inspiration message was written by award-winning author Margarita Engle.  If you were unable to join us, the video of the meeting and the poster can be found on the USBBY website. We were also excited to announce USBBY’s nominees for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Awards.  USBBY has nominated Linda Sue Park for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing and Kadir Nelson for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration.

As you do your holiday shopping, we want to remind you that USBBY receives contributions for purchases made from both the Amazon Smile program and Indie Bound Affiliate program.  To find out details, visit our website page: https://www.usbby.org/shop-to-support-usbby.html  You might also consider a year-end gift to support our Twinning partners through the Children in Crisis Fund or the refugee children at the border through a contribution to REFORMA: https://www.usbby.org/donate.html

Our amazing USBBY committees have been hard at work on the many projects of USBBY.  We will be appointing new committee members in January. You can see the list of committees on the website:  https://www.usbby.org/volunteer-with-a-committee.html  We also appoint special ad hoc committees and task forces during the year.  If you are interested in serving on a USBBY committee or have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

We know that your winter holiday celebrations may be very different than usual this year. We wish you a joyful holiday season and good health and happiness in 2021.


Warmest wishes,
Evelyn “Evie” Freeman
USBBY President

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Fall of 2020 has provided numerous reasons for celebration throughout the international children's lit world.

First, a heartfelt congratualtions to USBBY's own Janet Wong for being given NCTE's 2021 Excellence in Poetry for Children Award!  ​

​Secondly, the 2020 IBBY Honour List is now available. Congratulations to all of the creators and sections that make such an extraordinary collection possible!

A number of engaging conferences occurred in the Fall, and more are on the way in the winter!

In September 2020, IBBY held a virtual General Assembly. USBBY President Evie Freeman was in attendance, as were Junko Yokota, who was re-elected President of the Hans Christian Andersen jury, and Sylvia Vardell, who was re-elected to another 2 year term on the IBBY Executive Committee. See pcitures of all attendees here!

In early November 2020, USBBY held its Annual Meeting, which coverved many important topics, the most thrilling of which were the unveiling of the USBBY-sponsored 2021 International Children's Book Day poster, AND the author and illustrator of it, Margarita Engle and Roger Mello, speaking to its creation!  See the entire meeting, including their mesmerizing talks, here.

The talented and tireless team orchestrating the biennial Regional Conference (Nashville, 2022) bring to you a world-class opportunity to enjoy in just a few short months from now!  

All are invited on SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021  to partake in forums related to the first “All Conference Listen” and  "All Conference Read." 

Per the President's Message, there are a handful of committee positions opening up for the coming year. Please refer to the Volunteer page of the USBBY site for a description of committee activitites. You can fill out the form on that page or email President Evie Freeman directly to express interest.

Likewise, per the President's Message, there are multiple ways to give in order to financially support USBBY efforts. Of particular note,  as money from the Children in Crisis Fund goes to USBBY's twinning partners, throughout the Fall there has been a focus on supporting the libraries and schools decimated by the explosions in Beirut in August.  See pictures of the damage, ongoing renovation, and rebuilding here.
 
Want to give a gift and support IBBY at the same time? Consider purchasing one of the extraordinary, limited-edition Scarves for IBBY!

Have something exciting you've been doing to raise awareness of international children's books? Please feel free to submit an article proposal for Bridges to [email protected] .