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Newsletter Two
September 2008
Thank you for being part of the Small World Books newsletter. Read about the publisher of our book My Village winning the‘Publisher of the Year’ Award, the 25 most notable books for a global society, a new exhibition by illustrator Mique Moriuchi, Father’s Day traditions around the world - beer in a wagon anyone!, open-minded kids books from Sweden and an online children’s library, or just enter our competition!
My Village Book Launch
My Village, Rhymes from Around the World is now in stores across New Zealand and Australia, as well as on Amazon in the UK for a whopping 27 pounds! It was launched at a children’s book festival where children read from the poems in traditional costumes. They all seemed really proud to be representing their own culture, rather than always trying to fit in with their new culture. You can purchase My Village here from anywhere in the world. It’s great for a newborn baby gift or for older children to interest them in the sound and feel of other languages. Congratulations to the publisher, Gecko Press, who won Publisher of the Year (jointly with Random House) at the recent Booksellers NZ Industry Awards. See their “curiously good children’s books” at www.geckopress.com
Caption: Guaranteed to put children to sleep!! Henry with a copy of his mum's book . . .
Mique Moriuchi Exhibition Opens in London
Calling all Londoners! The talented illustrator of My Village - Mique Moriuchi - is having an exhibition of new work during the month of September at:
The Greenwich Picturehouse Cafe Bar
180 Greenwich High Road
London SE10 8NN
Opening night is Tuesday 2nd September (7-11pm) so pop down to support this lovely person and huge talent!
Caption: New Artwork by Mique Moriuchi
Read Books Online at the Innovative International Children’s Digital Library
The International Children’s Digital Library is an online library with the aim to inspire the world's children to become members of the global community – children who understand the value of tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas -- by making the best in children's literature available online.
Everything from The Story of the Three Little Pigs in English, Chinese (Traditional), French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish to traditional Persian/Farsi literature and modern Croatian literature is available, with English translations. Click here to read one of their books, The Blue Sky: a strangely beautiful Croatian story about a sad girl longing for her happy past and searching for her mother’s lost image in the clouds of the blue pictures she paints.
The library has just received a $1 million grant from the World Bank. The money will support ICDL’s work with the One Laptop Per Child Foundation as the program is implemented in Mongolia. ICDL has the world’s largest collection of children’s literature available freely on the Internet. Go to ICDL.
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25 Notable Books for a Global Society
The Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association came up with a list of 25 Notable Books for a Global Society. The committee considered "works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for students that encourage readers to understand, accept, and celebrate cultural differences as well as recognise shared aspects of the human experience across time and space." See the full list or skip straight to the number one picture book Hyun-Ju Bae’s sumptuous New Clothes for New Year’s Day from South Korea about the excitement and preparation before the Lunar celebrations.
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Kids' Books Become Ideological Battleground in Sweden
Two new publishing houses for children's books have sparked debate in gender-equal Sweden over their professed aim of instilling the country's open-minded social values in the next generation. Together the two small publishers have so far only released about a dozen titles, including a book about a boy who wears pink sandals, and a story about a girl who likes to break wind using her armpits – she also just happens to have two dads. One publisher makes sure girls are not always dressed in pink and boys in blue, that dad is not necessarily the one rushing off to work while mum stays home whipping up dinner and that same-sex parents are portrayed as a natural part of life. Read more here
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Father’s Day Around the World
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In New Zealand, Father’s Day is just around the corner on September 8. If you are trying to think up a new tradition for the day, how about borrowing from the Germans: Lucky dads in Germany head to the mountains for a males-only hiking trip, along with one or more smaller wagons, Bollerwagen, pulled by manpower. What’s in the wagons? Wine
or beer of course, plus traditional regional food Hausmannskost,
which could be Saumagen, Liverwurst, Blutwurst (Blood Sausage), vegetables, eggs – everything for a leisurely stroll up to the top of the mountain and a wobbly walk down! For more Father’s Day traditions around the world click here
Enter Our Competition
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Send us your favourite rhyme from around the world and you could win one of 3 Gaia Natural Baby starter kits (RRP NZ$38). We love these products and they make your baby’s skin smell great, as well as being a good solution for sensitive skin conditions like eczema. GAIA baby starter kits include Bath & Body Wash, Shampoo, Moisturiser, Massage Oil and Skin Soothing Lotion - see www.gaiaskinnaturals.com for more information. They are also very nice people!
Feel free to forward this newsletter to people you think might like it. Thanks!