International Children's Book Day 2025

For International Children's Book Day 2025 IBBY Australia have made a video to showcase the work of seven Australian organisations whose work matches the mission statements of IBBY:

Mission

• to promote international understanding through children's books
• to give children everywhere the opportunity to have access to books with high literary and artistic standards
• to encourage the publication and distribution of quality children's books, especially in developing countries
• to provide support and training for those involved with children and children's literature
• to stimulate research and scholarly works in the field of children's literature
• to protect and uphold the Rights of the Child according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Here is a link to the video

When you watch our video you can elect to view it with and without subtitles.

Thank you to all the organisations who participated in our video - learn more about each of them from these links:

• National Centre for Australian Children's Literature NCACL
• The Literature Centre Western Australia
• Book Links Queensland
• The Indigenous Literacy Foundation ILF
• The Australian Children's Laureate Foundation ACLF
• The Children's Book Council of Australia CBCA

Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominees for 2026

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to creators of children’s books whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature. The Author's Award has been given since 1956 and the Illustrator's Award since 1966. The Award consists of a gold medal and a diploma, presented at a ceremony during the biennial IBBY World Congress which in 2026 will be held in Ottawa, Canada. 

At the end of the nomination period on 15 February 2025, 78 candidates from 44 countries were confirmed as nominees to the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Awards. Among these, 41 are nominated in the Writing category and 37 are nominated in the Illustration category. This is in an unprecedented volume of candidates and the highest-ever number of participating countries. 

I will pen a post with more details about many of these fabulous book creators over the coming weeks. 

Here are a few names for you to investigate if you are reading this in Australia:

Authors: 

Emily Rodda (Australia)

Michael Rosen 

Pam Munoz Ryan

Eoin Colfer

Timothée de Fombelle 

Illustrators:

Bruce Whatley (Australia)

Emily Gravett 

Sophie Blackall (see her dossier here) Ruby's wish is one of her five books sent to the HCAA Jury. 

Leo Timmers

Ivar Da Coll

Linda Bondestam 

Beatrice Alemagna

Oyvind Torseter (I have read his books The Hole and Brown)

Elena Odriozola (see her dossier here)

Art by Elena Odriozola (Spain) for the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2022

Farmhouse

IBBY Australia are thrilled to announce our HCAA nominees: Bruce Whatley (illustration) and Emily Rodda (writing).

Here is the dossier for Bruce Whatley

I have fond memories of Bruce Whatley visiting my school library in Lithgow, NSW not long after his first book The Ugliest Dog in the World was published. I am so pleased that we have submitted his book One Tree by Christopher Cheng as one of the five titles sent to the jury. It has the most stunning illustrations.

Here is the dossier for Emily Rodda

I read Bob the Builder to thousands of Grade Two kids in my school library. I also read the small Solo title Green Fingers to many groups. Emily Rodda is the author of over 100 books. His name was Walter is one of the five books sent to the HCAA jury.

International Children's Book Day 2025

In 2025, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is sponsored by IBBY-Netherlands and the poster is made by two Dutch creators of children’s books. The theme of the 2025 International Children's Book Day is The Freedom of Imagination.

It is just one week until International Children's Book Day. This year our IBBY Australia members will be sent a wonderful video celebrating eight organisations from around Australia associated with children and reading and children's literature. Organisations that reflect three of our goals:

·       to give children everywhere the opportunity to have access to books with high                 literary and artistic standards

·       to provide support and training for those involved with children and children's                 literature

·       to protect and uphold the Rights of the Child according to the UN Convention on             the Rights of the Child

If you have an art teacher in your school you might like to enter the internation competition for ICBD 2025.

Read more here

Here is the 2025 official poster and poem. And here are some lesson suggestions. This is the link to the three lessons or you can access this from the previous link.

The Language of Pictures
Rian Visser
Translation: Laura Watkinson 

Can you draw pictures
for the words,
for the things I say?

Then draw
part of the picture,
cold,
wind,
a lump in your throat
or tough luck,

draw a cough,
a sigh,
the scent of fresh bread,
time,
a moment,
the beginning or the end
of a plan,

draw the place wherever,
the place where never,
the place where soon
something is going to happen,

draw the pain of a push,
the taste of the sea.

There is so much
that I want to see,
like love,
one day,
and maybe for me.

Make pictures
for my poem,
and please feel free:
these words
belong to you
even though they came from me.

Poster Illustrator: Janneke Ipenburg (b. 1979) is a Dutch illustrator of children’s books. She has made two poetry collections with Rian Visser, including Het is een zachte dag vandaag (2024). As an author/illustrator, she created the picture book Voor altijd bij jou (2023), a story about being connected in spite of an immeasurable distance. In addition to her work as a children’s illustrator, Janneke has worked on a number of animation films, and she is currently working as a character designer on a large Chinese stop-motion animation. In 2023, Janneke was on the longlist of the World Illustration Awards.

You can see her books here.

Message author from the poster: Rian Visser (b. 1966) is a Dutch children’s book writer and poet. She writes funny and exciting books that are a perfect match for children’s interests. Together with the illustrator Janneke Ipenburg, she has created the poetry collections Alle wensen van de wereld (2021) and Het is een zachte dag vandaag (2024). In 2022, Rian Visser won a Zilveren Griffel and the Gouden Poëziemedaille (Gold Poetry Medal). Rian Visser is very active in education. She designs digital lessons about creative writing and reading promotion, which teachers can use for free. From 2024 to 2026, she has officially been appointed Dutch Children’s Laureate.

You can see more books here. 

Meet the Canadian illustrator Julie Flett

Canadian Book Week 2025 Poster by Julie Flett

When I started working on kids’ books, I was learning about the languages that my grandparents had spoken, and I thought this was something I could share with kids and something I could 

contribute to my community through artwork and storytelling. 

Illustration from When we were Alone - read more here

Julie Flett is a Cree–Métis author, illustrator, and artist who has received numerous awards for her books, including two Governor General’s Awards, the American Indian Library Association Award, and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Her books have been selected for Best of the Year lists by media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Publisher's Weekly, The Horn Book, The Boston Globe, School Library Journal, The Globe and Mail, and Kirkus Reviews. 

I you live in Canada you can buy limited edition prints of art by Julie Flett. See more of her art here.

So much of the work that I do is connected to land based practices, and about our relationships to the land and each other, and I think this practice just came up really organically to the work. The more I work on projects, the more I fall in love with landscape and find that it grounds the work, it informs the colour palettes and tones and it grounds the characters.

Illustration from My Heart fills with Happiness

Read some Kirkus reviews:

Birdsong - Emotionally stunning. Kirkus Star review

We all Play - Flett’s characteristically minimalist compositions are deceptively simple. Readers who slow down to look will be charmed ... Kirkus Star review

Still this love goes on - This story will remain in readers’ hearts long after this book is shelved. Kirkus Star review

On the Trapline - The illustrations’ muted colors and the poetic rhythm of the words slow the world down for remembering. Kirkus Star review

In 2022 Julie Flett illustrated the International Children's Book Day poster.

As I was browsing in a city bookstore today I bumped into a former colleague and his wife who was previously a school Principal. We were chatting briefly about books and book shops and the availability of books here in Australia. Once again, I restated one of my hobby horse topics - we speak English in Australia so our children can enjoy the BEST books in the world from UK, USA, New Zealand and Canada. Yes we do have terrific books here in Australia but our kids are so lucky that we have heaps of other possibilities too. And then I said Canadian books are truly special. The former Principal utterly was amazed but I am sure if she could see books by some of the Canadian illustrators and authors I have featured here on this blog she would agree their work is some of the best in the world. I am so happy to share work here by Julie Flett. I think I might squeal if she attends the 2026 IBBY Congress in Ottawa.

One Little Bag by Henry Cole

One Little Bag is a wordless book - these are sometimes referred to as textless books and IBBY call them Silent Books - but of course they are far from silent. This one for example contains a really complex and very satisfying story about the creation of a paper bag beginning with a tree in the forest and then moving from the factory to the grocery store. This is not the end, however, because this bag is used and reused over and over again and even becomes a part of the generational story of one family. 

"On the very first Earth Day my entire school celebrated. ... That day ... my lunch was packed in a small paper bag. On that first Earth Day, however, I did not throw my bag away after lunch. Instead, I folded in and slipped it back into my back pocket. ... The next day I used that same little bag to carry my lunch to school again. And the next day. And the next day. For three years. ... It looked a little weather beaten with all the stapes and scotch tape I used to keep it together. I figure that bag was used about seven hundred times."  Henry Cole

This book needs to be added to your school library BUT here in Australia it is way too expensive. This book was published in 2020 and while it is still available it now costs AUS$53+. Back in 2021 the library where I borrowed this book paid AUS$32.

Here is the blurb by Henry Cole: From a tall tree growing in the forest-- to the checkout counter at the grocery store-- one little bag finds its way into the hands of a young boy on the eve of his first day of school. And so begins an incredible journey of one little bag that is used and reused and reused again. In a three-generation family, the bag is transporter of objects and keeper of memories. And when Grandfather comes to the end of his life, the family finds a meaningful new way for the battered, but much-loved little bag to continue its journey in the circle of life.

In this video Colby Sharp talks about reading this book to his class. Take a look at the Kirkus Star review. Here is the webpage for Henry Cole. 

Cole beautifully shows how small acts of reusing something can become tradition in a family. The book never seems like a lecture, always just showing and demonstrating how reuse is possible and its great potential as well. The paper bag in the story if remarkably resilient for so much use by generations, but I think we all have items in our families that survive despite being used by everyone, to be handed to the next generation. Told in images only, the book is filled with fine-line drawings that shine with light. The paper bag is the only color on the page, its brown color becoming all the more warm and glowing and the red hearts popping with color. A truly great wordless picture book. Waking Brain Cells

I previously talked about Nesting by Henry Cole.

USBBY Outstanding International Books 2025

 

The annual Outstanding International Books list highlights exceptional books 

for children and young adults 

published or distributed in the United States that originated or 

were first published in a country other than the U.S. 

This year’s list includes 40 titles originating from 23 different countries that represent the best of 

children’s literature from around the world. USBBY’s goal is that these titles will help young 

people in the U.S. to see the world from diverse perspectives, introduce readers in the U.S. to 

outstanding artists and writers from other countries, help counteract stereotypes, bridge cultural 

gaps, build connections, and engage and prove accessible to young readers in the U.S.

Selection criteria include:

Books that represent the best of children’s literature from other countries 

Books that introduce readers in the United States to outstanding authors and illustrators from other countries 

Books that help children in the United States see the world from other points of view 

Books that provide a perspective or address a topic otherwise missing from children’s literature in the United States 

Books that exhibit a distinct cultural flavor 

Books that are accessible to readers in the United States 

​

Criteria for content and presentation include:

Artistic and literary merit 

Originality or creativity of approach 

Distinctiveness of topic 

Uniqueness of origin 

Qualities that engage and appeal to children 

We have one Australian book on the list this year but in the US it has a different title. Here is my blog post about The Letterbox Tree:

The Kirkus review said: This genre-blending book will appeal to many, including readers who love grappling with real-world problems, those who appreciate speculative fiction, and anyone seeking a thoughtful, character-driven coming-of-age story. ... A vividly rendered, evocative story about the power of connection and maintaining hope through despair.

If you want to share this with a group USBBY have created a PowerPoint. You can see all the titles here. 

The Bridge to Understanding Award formally acknowledges the work of adults who create programs that use children's books to explore cultures around the world in order to 

promote international understanding among children.

Here is my post about the list from 2023 which links to my earlier post about the 2022 list. You can see the 2024 list here. Sadly there were no Australian titles listed for 2024 but I did spy this fabulous book:

The Bear and the Wildcat

Sustainable Development Goals and IBBY Australia

 

You might like to begin here with my previous post where I shared the amazing and comprehensive work by my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything. She did a blog post about each SDG goal and also set up a series of Pinterest Collections. Her collections were aimed at children aged 5-8 and included titles published from USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

IBBY Australia have also been working, for over two years, on this very important project. Our committee members searched for books for children in Grade 3 up to Grade 12 with a focus exclusively on Australia titles including indigenous works. Links and images at the end of this post. 

You can read about the original IBBY.org project here. When you click on each goal you will be taken to a set of suggested books which were intended to be used in a book club setting. You can also access this here. 

These three sets of book suggestions (IBBY Australia; IBBY/UN; and Kinderbookswitheverything) should really help you explore the 17 goals with students at any level of school and with so many possible titles you are sure to have several in your school or public library. 

Here is the IBBY/UN selection for Goal One - No Poverty:

Here is Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Here is the page from the United Nations with links to the details of each goal. 

You can access our suggested texts via our IBBY Australia web page and through Pinterest. (Images below).

Be More Pippi and Celebrate 80 years of Pippi Longstocking

 

Our anniversary campaign encourages everyone to be more like Pippi! 

Use your own Pippi power and make the world a little better.

 Follow Pippi on Instagram. Here are some resources for your Pippi party. 

Pippi Longstocking is turning 80 this year! If you know my name, you know I have a small connection with Astrid Lindgren. Of course, Lindgren was her married name. Her husband was Sture Lindgren. Her full name was Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (Ericsson). In 1958, Astrid Lindgren received the second Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Rasmus på luffen (Rasmus and the Vagabond).

Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump) was published in November 1945 with illustrations by Ingrid Vang Nyman.

Image Source: The Japan Times

Pippi books illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman

Bookseller blurb: Pippi Longstocking is nine years old. She has just moved into Villa Villekulla where she lives all by herself with a horse, a monkey, and a big suitcase full of gold coins. The grown-ups in the village try to make Pippi behave in ways that they think a little girl should, but Pippi has other ideas. She would much rather spend her days arranging wild, exciting adventures to enjoy with her neighbours, Tommy and Annika, or entertaining everyone she meets with her outrageous stories. Pippi thinks nothing of wrestling a circus strongman, dancing a polka with burglars, or tugging a bull's tail.

Did you know Pippi's full name is: Pippilotta Victoriaria Tea-cosy Appleminta Ephraim’s-daughter Longstocking.

“Her dress was curious indeed. Pippi had made it herself. It was supposed to have been blue, but as there hadn’t been quite enough blue cloth, Pippi had decided to add little red patches here and there. On her long thin legs she wore long stockings, one brown and the other black.”

“Her hair was the same colour as a carrot, and was braided in two stiff pigtails that stood straight out from her head. Her nose was the shape of a very small potato, and was dotted with freckles.”

There are three Pippi books. The series has been translated into more than 70 different languages. 

• Pippi Longstocking (1945)
• Pippi Goes On Board (1946)
• Pippi In The South Seas (1948)

Astrid Lindgren also created three picture books: Pippi’s After Christmas Party (1950), Pippi on the Run (1971) and Pippi Longstocking in the Park (2001).

In March, 2025 Penguin Random House will release a new audio version of Pippi Longstocking. 

You can read the story of how Astrid Lindgren came to write Pippi Longstocking for her daughter Karin. I have a connection with this famous story. My father's sister (maiden name Lindgren) named her daughter Karin!

In 100 Best Books for Children, Anita Silvey praised the character as "the perfect fantasy heroine — one who lives without supervision but with endless money to execute her schemes." It is not a surprise to learn that other lists of the top 100 children's book also often include Pippi Longstocking. 

Champion of fun, freedom and fantasy and long happy thoughts, Pippi is an inspired creation knit from daydreams. Kirkus Star Review

Quotes from Pippi Longstocking:

“Don't you worry about me. I'll always come out on top.”

“She always slept with her feet on the pillow and her head far down under the covers. ‘That’s the way they sleep in Guatemala,’ she explained. ‘And it’s the only right way to do it. This way, I can wiggle my toes while I’m sleeping, too.‘”

“In the orchard was a cottage, and in this cottage lived Pippi Longstocking. She was nine years old, and she lived all alone. She had neither mother nor father, which was really rather nice, for in this way there was no one to tell her to go to bed just when she was having the most fun, and no one to make her take cod-liver-oil when she felt like eating peppermints.”

“Pippi was a very remarkable child, and the most remarkable thing about her was her strength. She was so strong that in all the world there was no policeman as strong as she. She could have lifted a whole horse if she had wanted to.”

Astrid Lindgren died in 2002 aged 94 but you can find out so much from the comprehensive website and of course if you visit Sweden there are places that link with the book and with other books by this famous author and a museum too. 

Astrid Lindgren is also connected with IBBY:

In 1952 Jella Lepman, a courageous and visionary woman, organized a meeting in Munich, Germany, called International Understanding through Children’s Books. Many important authors, publishers, teachers and philosophers of the time attended the meeting and as a result a committee was appointed to create the International Board on Books for Young People – IBBY. A year later in 1953, IBBY was registered as a non-profit organization in Zurich, Switzerland. The founding members included: Erich Kästner, Lisa Tetzner, Astrid Lindgren, Jo Tenfjord, Fritz Brunner, Bettina Hürlimann and Richard Bamberger.

And a major award for Children's Literature is named after Astrid Lindgren. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the largest award of its kind. The global award is given annually to a person or organisation for their outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. Our Australian Indigenous Literacy Foundation (2024) were recent winners and in the past we celebrated Australian authors - Shaun Tan (2011) and Sonya Hartnett (2008).

If you enjoy meeting Pippi Longstocking, other books with similar themes or a similarly wonderful heroine are:

Gooney Bird Greene

The Girl who Brought Mischief

Waffle Hearts