Illustrators: pencils at the ready!
We talk a lot about 'silent books' here at iBbY Ireland, because we believe in the strength of wordless picturebooks to work wonders in many different settings. The Italian branch of iBbY has spent the last few years collecting such books for use in a children's library in the refugee camp of Lampedusa and in a travelling exhibition. You can find out more about this here and you can browse the catalogue of the exhibition over there.
iBbY Italia is now launching TWO competitions for illustrators from around the world around 'silent books'.
1) Create a poster dedicated to the Library of Lampedusa. The subject for the poster is “A library in the middle of the Mediterranean”. A panel of experts will select the winning poster, which
will be used as the official image for publicizing the 2017 travelling exhibition as well as
the activities of IBBY Italia. The original artwork (max. 40 x 60 cm) can be delivered in person to the IBBY Italia stand at the 2017 Bologna Children’s Fair or sent before 19 May 2017 to the following
address: Servizi Educativi, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Via Nazionale 194, 00184 Rome, Italia for the attention of Giulia Franchi. More on the iBbY Italia website.
2) The SILENT BOOK CONTEST will give prize money and publication to an original illustrated and unpublished book project that has been created and produced exclusively through narration by illustrated images. The author of the book project selected as winner by the International Jury will receive an award of Euro 4.500 as advance against copyright with publishing agreement and the winning book project will be published by CARTHUSIA Edizioni. The deadline is 31 January 2017 and all the info is here. Previous winners include Marta Pantaleo from Italy (2016), Mariana Ruiz Johnson from Argentina (2015) and Ireland's own Brian Fitzgerald (2014).
Children and the city
or the day that was in it and the week that it's been, some French kids talk sense about living together through the wonderful project Les Enfants pour la cité run by children's magazines publishers Milan.
As part of the project, a wealth of resources has been gathered for families and educators, with videos and lesson plans around issues such as democracy and solidarity, tips for talking to children about them, for listening to them and for organising debates in the classroom.
Website and resources in French.
http://www.milanpresse.com/les-enfants-pour-la-cite
Telling tales in Celbridge
Over the next six weeks, pupils will team up with their 'compatriots' to recreate and rehearse a traditional tale from their families' original country. Using mime and rhyme, food and music, props, costumes and any other creative tools, each country group will spin its yarn before an audience of schoolmates, teachers and parents at the competition in early December, to be judged by iBbY and local community members.
Dublin Book Festival is around the corner
The Dublin Book Festival is nearly upon us! With a host of great events, it might be hard to take your pick. So why not check out the authors' interviews on the festival website?
Find out more about tapping folklore for inspiration with Caroline Busher, discovering nature in the city with Shane Casey or turning your surroundings into an epic landscape with Eithne Massey.
Creative writing, monster doodles, book launches, book clinics and more are on the programme.
Remember all the events are free, but some of them require booking. Check out http://www.dublinbookfestival.com
Dublin Book Festival
For those who fancy keeping the scary Halloween atmosphere alive for another while, Caroline Busher's writing workshop promises to be full of ghosts and haunted houses. Find out more here.
Áine Ní Ghlinn and Carol Betera will be launching their new book Hata Oisín with a reading, guided illustration and lots of surprises. More here.
Shane Casey will take budding authors through a wildlife writing workshop for anyone with a love of the natural world. Observation and imagination will both be brought into play for the greatest pleasure of both story- and facts-fans. Info here and there.
There will also be a Book Clinic and a Monster Doodle, a treasure hunt and the Winter Garden where families can curl up with a book (or twenty).
All events are free, but early booking is advised to avoid disappointment.
iBbY Ireland's Perpetual Calendar
This calendar was an initiative of iBbY Ireland who invited five other national sections to showcase some of the best children’s illustrations from each country. Estonia, Guatemala, Japan, Turkey and Zimbabwe joined us, and the result is this gorgeous perpetual calendar – perfect to note all those important birthdays, anniversaries, and other special annual dates.
You can now buy a copy (or two or more!) on our website, right here.
Table Quiz Fun!
Knowledge of children's books will be rewarded, however, this quiz is for everyone with general knowledge questions to beat the band!
Come for the brain teasing and leave with some amazing spot prizes, from beautiful signed hard-back books to limited edition titles and lots in between.
Foley's full bar will be in operation on the night with CBI laying on finger food.
Foley's Bar; 1 Merrion Row; Dublin 2
€20 for a table of 4 quizzers
Booking though Eventbrite, here.
We look forward to raising a glass with you!
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Silent Books
The second part required creating a collection of silent books (wordless picture books) that could be understood and enjoyed by children regardless of language. These books were collected from IBBY National Sections, over one hundred titles from over twenty countries. One set of books was deposited at the documentation and research archive in Rome (Palazzo della Esposizioni), another was delivered to the library in Lampedusa and a further set was part of a travelling exhibition.
This exhibition has now reached the French village of Montolieu (not far from Carcassone) where it will be on view next week, Oct 7-9. A host of free events will accompany the exhibition, with talks from various artists as well as representatives of both iBbY France and UK; there will also be a presentation of the wordless books created by the children of Montolieu for the children living on the Italian island: from Lampedusa... and back.
A Call to Action
Today 21 September is the International Day of Peace. And with that in mind and a fabulous illustration from Tove Jansson, here's iBbY international's timely call to action.
IBBY’S CALL-TO-ACTION
For sixty years the International Board on Books for Young People has followed the ideal that books build bridges between people. Books give us wings and can demolish the walls that are built on fear and intolerance.
This work is as important and relevant today as it was sixty years ago, particularly now when so many children around the world are facing enormous upheavals in their young lives. We are currently experiencing a global crisis and IBBY is unwavering in its support for those working for peace and understanding. We believe that every child has the right to read and we fully support the principles of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.
IBBY is committed to helping children in crisis, whether they are refugees in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania, North America or Latin America. IBBY looks for solutions. There are many IBBY projects, including the wordless Silent Books, book packs and introducing the library networks, which all work to alleviate the trauma that these young people are faced with. We also need to show children from different communities around the world how to welcome their new neighbours and how to live together in harmony. We firmly believe that stories and libraries can inspire this necessary accord.
Today, we urge all professionals working in the field of children’s literature to join us take action and find solutions to help the children and young people who are caught up in this current turmoil.
35th IBBY World Congress,
Auckland, New Zealand
21 August 2016
To find out more and get involved, head over to: www.ibby.org or email ibby@ibby.org
The Children's Books Ireland annual conference
The Children's Books Ireland annual conference is taking place this weekend (17/18 September 2016) in the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin. This year’s theme, Better Together? Collaboration and Teamwork in Children’s Books looks at the pleasures and pains of working collaboratively. The terrific line-up includes: Oliver Jeffers& Sam Winston, JonArno Lawson & Sydney Smith, Katherine Woodfine, Katherine Rundell & Katherena Vermette in conversation with Cat Doyle, PJ Lynch & Ryan Tubridy, Pip Jones & Ella Okstad, Oisín, Erika & Kunak McGann, Máire Zepf, new Irish voices, Alan Cumyn andManuela Savi. For booking tickets and more info, head over here. For the full programme, it's here.
The iBbY Ireland committee will also be there in force on both days, so do come by and say hello!