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Join USBBY On LinkedIN

8/22/2024

 
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Want to network with your colleagues interested in sharing international children's literature? Join our new, private LinkedIn Group today.

​Many thanks to New Jersey State Ambassador Jackie Garcia for starting this conversation and community!

USBBY Board Endorses IBBY Statement on the ongoing violations of children's Rights in gaza

7/12/2024

 
At the June meeting, the USBBY Board of Directors voted to endorse the Statement on the Ongoing Violations of Children's Rights issued by the IBBY Executive Committee on July 17, 2024. Find the text of the Statement below:

Statement on the ongoing violations of children’s rights in Gaza

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) stands by the principles endorsed in the United Nations Human Rights Conventions, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child and urges all global leaders to work together on behalf of the children of Gaza. 

IBBY was born in the aftermath of World War II with the unflinching belief that international understanding is a necessary condition for tolerance and world peace. By promoting quality children’s books and reading, it has contributed to making the ideals of solidarity, respect, and cooperation known to children and young people all around the world. 

IBBY has helped build and grow libraries and reading programmes for children worldwide, including in Beit Hanoun and Rafah in Palestine. Established in 2008, these were safe places filled with more than five thousand books where children could read, share thoughts, write poems, meet authors, and even win awards – such as the UNESCO "World Tales" competition won by a young member of the al-Shawka library in Rafah in 2021. Those libraries have now been destroyed, but the loss of these cultural and childhood touchstones is only a small part of the tragedy in Palestine. As we watch the continuing violence and destruction in Gaza, we mourn for the children and families who are killed, injured, displaced, and orphaned. We deplore the chaos and confusion that dominates their daily lives, and the lack of basic human necessities of food, water, shelter, and medical aid.

Every child in the world deserves to be protected and nurtured. We condemn the ongoing violations of children’s basic rights in Gaza. IBBY adds its voice to the urgent calls for access to humanitarian aid and life-saving supplies for the people of Gaza. Further, we strongly urge the leaders of Israel and Hamas to comply with the international rulings and resolutions to enact an immediate ceasefire.

The International Board on Books for Young People
Executive Committee
17 June 2024

Theater of the Picturebook: Roger Mello Webinar from the carle and Simmons

7/11/2024

 
Roger Mello, friend of USBBY and illustrator for the 2021 U.S. International Children's Book Day (ICBD) poster, will deliver the 2024 Mary Nagel Sweetser Lecture for the Eric Carle Museum for Picture Book Art on  July 25, 2024 at 7 - 8 pm EDT. .

Hosted by Simmons University and Carle, the lecture marks the launch of the 50th anniversary year of Children’s Literature studies at Simmons. Mello will be joined by Cathryn Mercier, director for the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Simmons.

The 2024 Sweetser Lecture is associated with Mello's first exhibition in the United States; Fuzuê! Invention & Imagination in the Art of Roger Mello, on view at The Carle from June 16, 2024 - January 5, 2025. 

Learn more and register for the virtual program.

news FROM USBBY TWINNING PARTNER IBBY Palestine

5/29/2024

 
To: All IBBY Members
Cc. Executive Committee
Dear Friends,

​We are living difficult days, and hardly imaginable levels of horror have invaded our screens and the pages of our newspapers. 
Mostly women and children were among the victims of the air strikes and subsequent fire that destroyed a refugee camp in Rafah on the night of Sunday. With our to protect the rights of the child at hear, such blatant violations of Humanitarian law—repeatedly denounced by the United Nations, the International Penal Court and the global civil society—result even more intolerable.

In this heartbreaking context, I am sharing news sent by IBBY Palestine President Jehan Helou in the past couple of days regarding the living conditions of our two colleagues in Gaza, both of whom worked at the IBBY Libraries of Rafah and Beit Hanoun: 

More than 800,000 Palestinian have been displaced from Rafah with no safe place to go to, no house, no shelter not even a tent There is barely food, water and medical care if any! An ongoing genocide of endless killing is accompanied by severe measures of tormenting civilians and denying their basic needs for survival. The families of our two IBBY librarians face the same horrific situation, lack of safety and survival needs. As we were desperate, we [IBBY Palestine] made contacts with some of the relief organizations working in Gaza to provide urgent needs. No one could provide a tent and no humanitarian aid has been allowed for more than two weeks, and barely the aid entering Gaza before did not cover the basic needs for All. Sadly, all what was provided is a bag for newly born babies and sanitary cleaning kit. 

The family of Mahmood who is from Rafah but had to be displaced, luckily had a tent.
While Abla, the librarian of the destroyed library in Beit Hanoun, and her family were homeless for three days, they were displaced for a fourth time since the beginning of the war, from Rafah to El Mawasi.
Abla last wrote to us [IBBY Palestine] on Saturday 25 April: "We were displaced from Rafah to the Al-Mawasi area, which directly overlooks the sea. After very, very difficult days we were able to set up a tent, but it is small in size, and the situation is very bad due to the sand and lack of cleanliness. 
The health situation is difficult, as everyone suffers from diseases and the lack of water, and if it is available, it is polluted and salty, and the weather is hot. 
We returned as if it were the first days of the war, and even there is no calm, as the gunboats are bombing are continuous. Fear increases every day, and in addition to that, there is no liquidity in the region, and what is available takes a great advantage, that is, our salaries are 300 dollars, and when we receive them from any exchange office, 50 dollars are deducted. Prices have become as expensive as the beginning of the war, and most of the food is not available.  My children are unable to recover, they have all become sick, and even my little baby is ill, and there is no treatment so far.
After much effort we received a health package from the Ma’an Center but no food was available. We hope to get more aid, the situation is extremely difficult!"


We [IBBY Palestine] can never know if they are safe as the heavy bombing continues all over Gaza in addition to terrible displacement conditions as you hear and read from Abla. For few days no contact…we have to nervously wait. So painful to feel helpless!

More information can be found on the IBBY Palestine Facebook page. 

The Executive Committee will be discussing possible next steps for action in the coming days and a regular meeting is scheduled next Wednesday. Your inputs and suggestions to the EC are welcome during this time.
Messages of support are also important in these horrifying times. They can be sent directly to IBBY Palestine ([email protected] and [email protected]), or directed to the Secretariat, from where they will be forwarded.

Hoping for better days, 

Carolina

Carolina Ballester 
IBBY Executive Director

FREE International Literacy Association Webinar June 18: Promoting Understanding With International Literature

5/28/2024

 
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In today’s interconnected world, exposing students to diverse cultures, perspectives, and experiences is paramount. This free ILA Webinar, held in partnership with the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY), will highlight international children’s and young adult literature that can accomplish this goal by offering rich cultural insights and powerful narratives from around the world. David Bowles (author of Ancient Night) and Boris Dralyuk (translator of Who Will Make the Snow)—whose books were named to USBBY’s 2024 Outstanding International Book List—will discuss their creative processes and the opportunities international literature presents to build cross-cultural understanding.
Participants will gain insight into
  • Innovative ways to integrate titles from the USBBY Outstanding International Books List in the classroom
  • Approaches for facilitating meaningful discussions that encourage students to critically engage with themes, characters, and settings from diverse cultural backgrounds
  • The art of translation and its role in making international literature accessible to students
  • How exposure to international literature can cultivate empathy, foster cross-cultural understanding, and empower students to become empathetic global citizens
  • Publishers’ perspectives on promoting international books for children and young adults
BONUS: At the conclusion of this webinar, the winners of the ILA 2024 Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards will be revealed by project chair Sonja Ezell.
Who should register: School-based educators, librarians/media specialists, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers
Registration: FREE FOR EVERYONE

USBBY at ALA Annual: Jella Lepman’s Library of Dreams: The Legacy and Promise of International Youth Literature

4/24/2024

 
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In 1945 Jella Lepman, a Jewish journalist and author who had fled her native Germany, returned to help rebuild the country. Four years later she founded the International Youth Library in Munich as part of her effort to open the minds of young people everywhere by sharing the children’s books of the world. Today, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the library, we are gathered to celebrate and continue her legacy. In these tense and divided times where nations clash, countries are splitting into hostile factions, and populist leaders seek to stoke xenophobia, her example is an antidote we all need. We come together to share some exciting ways librarians can bring international youth literature into their collections – and to be inspired by the dual Newbery-medalist Katherine Paterson, who is the author of the forthcoming middle grade biography, Jella Lepman and Her Library of Dreams (Handprint / Chronicle, 2024).
​

The presentation includes Kathy Short who is a Regents professor in the College of Education at the University of Arizona, where she is Director of Worlds of Words: Center of Global Literacies and Literatures (wowlit.org). Marc Aronson (Rutgers University), Annette Goldsmith (Kent State), and David Jacobson (independent scholar researching an adult biography of Lepman) will present the ALA Carnegie-Whitney Grant-funded website “Building a Global Youth Literature Collection 101” that will allow any youth services librarian to find, explore, and share selected translated books from other countries (globalyouthlit.org).
​

We hope to provide both concrete resources for librarians and, through Katherine, the living, inspiring, legacy of Jella Lepman.

This event is co-sponsored with the American Library Association's three youth services divisions, the Association for Library Services for Children, the American Association of School Librarians, and the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Saturday, June 29, 2024 1:00pm – 2:00pm Pacific
Manchester Grand Hyatt, Harbor Ballroom G

​IBBY announces the winners of its 2024 awards

4/19/2024

 
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At the IBBY Press Conference held at the Bologna Book Fair earlier this month, the winners of IBBY's international awards were announced and broadcast via IBBY's YouTube Channel.

The 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Awards went to author Heinz Janisch from Austria and illustrator Sydney Smith from Canada. The ten-member 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury included USBBY's Brenda Dales. 

Two IBBY awards recognizing for organizations and individuals for excellence in reading promotion were announced by IBBY Reading Promotion Jury Chair and USBBY Executive Director Junko Yokota. 

The 2024 IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award, supported by the Asahi-Shimbun Media Group from Japan, went to ATD (All Together in Dignity) Fourth World’s Street Libraries, nominated by IBBY France. 

The two winners of the 2024 IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award, sponsored by the Shenzhen iRead Foundation from China, are Basarat Kazim, from Pakistan, nominated by the IBBY Section of Pakistan, and Irene Vasco from Colombia, nominated by IBBY Canada. 

USBBY is proud to support its committee members in their nomination of qualified candidates for each of these prestigious honors. To volunteer for future USBBY nominating committees for these international IBBY awards, members should indicate their area of interest on the online form.  

IBBY Congress Registration

4/19/2024

 
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Have you marked your calendar for the 39th International IBBY Congress in Trieste, Italy, August 30 to September 1, 2024?

Early bird pricing ends April 20th, so secure your registration today. 


The Congress website includes more information about travel, accommodations, and the preliminary program.

USBBY Joins Unite Against Book Bans as Organizational Partner

4/19/2024

 
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Unite Against Book Bans is a national initiative on the part of the American Library Association, one of USBBY's valued patron organizations, to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. 

Unite Against Book Bans believes:
- Reading is a foundational skill, critical to future learning and to exercising our democratic freedoms.
- Books are tools for understanding complex issues. Limiting young people's access to books does not protect them from life's complex and challenging issues.
- Individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what to read.
- Parents should not be making decisions for other parents' children.
- Young people deserve to see themselves reflected in a library's books.

At our March 2024 meeting, the USBBY board voted to co-sign as a Partner of Unite Against Book Bans.

Learn more about their toolkit, talking points, book resumes, and other resources to help you fight censorship efforts in your community and beyond.

International Children's Book Day 2024 sponsored by Japan

1/29/2024

 
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IBBY Japan (JBBY) is  the official sponsor of ICBD 2024, promoting the theme "Cross the Seas on the Wing of your Imagination".

Eiko Kadono, a prominent Japanese author and winner of the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award, composed her poem as a letter to the children of the world.

Nana Furiya, an international-minded Japanese artist living in Slovakia, created the poster. 

Imagination is the key word for ICBD 2024. JBBY believes that fostering imagination will lead to mutual understanding and a spirit of tolerance. 
​
Download high resolution digital materials to decorate your event, share posts about it  #ICBD24

"Stories travel, riding on wings,
Longing to hear the joyful beat of your heart.
I’m a traveling story. I fly anywhere.
On wings of wind, or wings of waves, or sometimes on tiny wings of sand. Of course, I also ride the wings of migratory birds. And even those of jet planes.
I sit beside you. Opening the pages, I tell you a story, the one you want to hear.
Would you like a strange and wondrous story?
Or how about a sad one, a scary one, or a funny one?
If you don’t feel like listening right now, that’s fine too. But I know someday you will. When you do, just call out, “Traveling story, come. Sit beside me!”
And I’ll fly right there.


"I have so many stories to share.
How about a story of a little island tired of being alone who learned to swim and set off to find a friend?
Or the tale of a mysterious night when two moons appeared.
Or the one about Santa Claus getting lost.


"Oh, I can hear your heart. It’s beating faster.
Flitter-flutter, thumpity-thump, pitter-patter, bumpety-bump.
The traveling story has jumped inside and set your heart racing.
You’ll become one yourself next, spreading your wings to fly.
And so, another traveling story is born."

Read the original Japanese text, and the French, German and Spanish translations on the IBBY website.

​
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The United States Board on Books for Young People

The U.S. National Section of International Board on Books for Young People
​
Building Bridges Through Children's and Young Adult Books
Contact Us

USBBY Secretariat
​Center for Teaching through Children´s Books
National Louis University
1000 Capitol Drive
Wheeling, IL 60090
​USA


Junko Yokota, Executive Director

[email protected]

Connect With Us

​© COPYRIGHT 2024.
​ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • About
    • USBBY
    • Patrons, Sponsors, and Partnerships
    • Twinning Partners
    • IBBY
  • Get Involved
    • Join / Renew Your Membership
    • Donate
    • Join Our Email List
    • Volunteer with a Committee
    • Become a State Ambassador
  • News & Events
    • News
    • 2025 IBBY Regional Conference
    • Co-Sponsored Sessions
  • Projects & Publications
    • Twinning Updates
    • Bridges Newsletter
    • Bridges to Understanding Book Series
    • International Children's Book Day
    • Jella Lepman Autobiography
  • Awards & Lists
    • Bridge to Understanding Award
    • IBBY Hans Christian Andersen Award
    • Alida Cutts Lifetime Membership Award
    • Outstanding International Books
    • Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities List