International Literacy Day – 8th September 2018

As we get ready to begin another academic year, we would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of our students and we look forward to meeting you over the next few weeks.

This Saturday (8th of September) is International Literacy Day, an annual event organized by UNESCO, to highlight the importance of literacy in relation to dignity and human rights. This year’s theme is “Literacy and skills development” and more information can be found on their website.

To celebrate International Literacy Day, we have created a display in the Curriculum Centre to showcase a selection of our translated books, wordless books and children’s books from our World Publishing Collection. Do come in and take a look at it.

We have also created a new booklist to highlight some of our children’s books which have been translated from another language. To access it either type “Translated Books” into the catalogue or click the “Books translated from other languages” link on our Booklist page.

For those of you who are looking to discover new books from around the world, here are some of the resources we’d recommend.

 

Outside In World

Outside In World was set up in 2007 to promote world literature and children’s books in translation. There is an interactive map which allows you to search for books from a particular country. There is also a “Young People’s Zone” which includes an option for taking a virtual stroll along the corridors of an online gallery and looking at children’s book illustrations from around the world.

 

International Children’s Digital Library

This is a great resource if you are looking for children’s books in a specific language. The organisation’s aim is to have every book that they have translated rights for, translated into at least 100 languages! It’s possible to search for children’s books by country or by language. Have a look at it here.

 

White Raven Catalogue

The International Youth Library in Munich publish their White Raven Catalogue annually. The collection consists of newly published children’s books from around the world, which are significant because of their universal theme and/or their exceptional style and design. The catalogue can be accessed online here.

 

Chinese Books for Young Readers

This resource was set up in 2016 by Helen Wang, Anna Gustafsson Chen and Minjie Chen and aims to highlight children’s books written in Chinese and published anywhere in the world. Take a look at it here.

 

There are a number of awards for translators and children’s books that have been translated, which also raise awareness of literature from around the world.

 

 

In Other Words Honour List

BookTrust have set up a project to promote the translation and UK publication of outstanding children’s literature from around the world. A shortlist of 8 fiction titles are selected by the judges, of which 3 make it onto the Honour List. More details including this year’s Honour Titles are available on their website.

 

Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation

This award runs every 2 years and recognizes the important role played by translators in opening up the world of literature to young readers. Sarah Ardizzone and Anthea Bell are some of the translators who have won this award in recent years. Helen Wang won the most recent Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation (2017) – read more about it here.

 

IBBY Honour List

Every two years, IBBY publishes a list of outstanding children’s books from its member countries, to provide insight into the diverse cultural, political and social settings in which children live and grow. Take a look at the 2018 nominations here. Honour lists from previous years are also available in print format in our World Publishing Collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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