This year’s cover features a large white raven, surrounded by a most colourful flock of smaller birds.
These bustling birds have gathered around beneath the raven’s outstretched wings and are fully absorbed in a book. They represent in a wonderful way the wide variety of children’s and youth literature, the great diversity of our selection of White Ravens, and also the pleasure of reading in good company.
Every year, the internationally recognised recommendation list "The White Ravens" presents outstanding new releases of the international children's and youth book production. 200 titles in around 40 languages and from more than 50 countries are selected annually by the children’s literature experts of the International Youth Library and featured in this annotated English-language catalogue. The "White Ravens" catalogue – a treasure trove for literary discoveries – serves as a compass through the vast children's book market for publishers, libraries, literary festivals, international bookstores and agencies, as well as anyone interested in international children's books.
Highlights of the 2023 list:
Australia - four books on the list
This is a joyous (Dreaming style) story about hope and perseverance The book design here is very appealing especially the debossed cover, black and white illustrations, white printing on black and the shiny paper and the story pace is enhanced by the page breaks between chapters.
I am waiting for this to be published in paperback so I can gift it to lots of young children.
United States - twelve books on the list including this one:
United Kingdom - nine books on the list including these two:
how exciting to see this fabulous poetry anthology on the White Raven list for 2023.
On the UK list there is also a second book from the Grimwood series.
Here are a few books I would love to see - perhaps one day they might be translated into English.
La Nota (The Memo) from Spain: Nearly four metres long, La nota is a leporello and a reversible book all at once. This attractive format is superbly suited to the circular structure of the story, making it an entertaining and playful read. In addition, the book can also be unfolded into a large poster, on the reverse side of which the various characters in the story are presented in more detail.
In Dutch from The Netherlands Vogel is Dead: This picture book shows in a both moving and humorous way how animals (like people) react when someone passes away. It is precisely the different reactions
that make this story powerful. It offers a lot to talk about when discussing death with young children.
It shows how grief can be shared and that the dead have not disappeared completely, since they are
held in a special place in the hearts and minds of the living.
This is from The United Kingdom and it is in English - I have added it to my to read list.
La Peau ou Lynx (The Lynx Coat) France: This picture book begins like a traditional fairy tale:
On a foggy stretch of land, a lynx rules over his territory. Then one day, the sinister huntsman sets
his sights on the lynx. The other animals engage a seamstress to create a camouflage coat for the lynx.
Il dubbio (The Doubt) Italy: Mouse and Crocodile have been very best friends for ever and ever. One day Crocodile asks Mouse to do him a small favour. Would it take a look in Crocodile’s stomach and see whether it has perhaps, by accident, eaten its own maracas? Of course, Mouse would like to help; and so it hops courageously into the jowls of its friend and begins the search. Soon it discovers it is not alone.
In Crocodile’s stomach it encounters all sorts of other animals: a rabbit, a squirrel, a chick, a beaver, a turtle, a stoat, a racoon, a mole, and a parrot. Each of them is also looking for the (supposedly) missing maracas. Slowly a terrible suspicion dawns on them: Have they all been eaten?
Pez (Fish) Spain: Fish has had enough: day in and day out the same blue, orange, green, grey fish, and, what is more, all that vexatious plastic trash. There must be more to life than this! No sooner said than done, the adventurous coelacanth jumps out of the water, eager to get to know the wide world. After quickly getting used to life on land, he explores a large city, is rescued by a vegetarian cat from its hungry mates and makes friends with an ichthyologist. But soon Fish also finds this life boring: day in and day out the same people, trees, cars … How about exploring the skies?
See my two previous posts about the White Ravens - from 2020 and from 2022.
1 comment:
Phyllis and Grace is in the library. Nigel Gray lives in WA
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