The Shape of Hope: Finding wonder, joy and strength in literature

In this post I am going to attempt to distill three wonderful conference days into one post.  I tend to think in 'dot points' so here are my reactions and thoughts now that I am home from this splendid conference. This is my third post about this event. You can read about all the presenters here and also details of my presentation at the Texas Book Festival.

• Austin/Texas authors - books to explore

Paige Britt  Why am I me? Kirkus Star review

Samantha M Clark The Boy, the Boat and the Beast

Meredith Davis  Her Own Two Feet
This is the true story of a little girl from Rwanda who comes to Austin for an operation to help her walk.

Carolyn dee Flores The amazing water color fish
Watch this video of the story. The unique aspect of this book is that it rhymes in both English and Spanish.

Bethany Hegedus  Grandfather Gandhi; Rise Maya Angelou

KA Holt  Redwood and Ponytail; I wonder

Lupe Ruiz-Flores  Author of six bilingual picture books and Lupe is a poet.

Vanessa Roeder  Lucy and the string; The Box Turtle

Christina Soontornvat  Diary of an Ice Princess series
New book coming about the rescue of the Thai soccer team - The Thirteen

• Conference program

Briley Dinner table decoration speaker Nicola Davies

There were so many special aspects to the organisation of this conference. One thing I really appreciated was the use of a schedule app. This conference was almost paper free (apart from all the glorious books in the bookshop, the IBBY book displays and the poster sessions). By using the app participants were sent a daily personalised schedule with times and room numbers. The other aspect of the program that I really appreciated was the pace of this conference and they way the organisers at no time had to cajole people into sessions. It seemed to me the delegates were expected to take responsibility for their own program - there were no bells and no one rushing around saying go to this or that session. Here is a list of all the breakout sessions.

• My Pre-conference Reading

My reading really paid off.  Prior to the conference I tried to read any many books from the range of speakers as I could. On my flight over I completed a few more Middle Grade novels such as The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, Whale Boy by Nicola Davies and The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye. On the days prior to the conference I visited the Austin Central library. What an amazing space, building, and children's collection. The library was built two years ago and is housed over six floors with an outdoor courtyard garden, central light filled atrium and bright comfortable furniture. While I was there I read several picture books including: Mine Yours illustrated by Qin Leng; The Red thread by Grace Lin; Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin; What can you do with a Rebozo by Carmen Tafolla;  The Pond by Nicola Davies, and The Promise also by Nicola Davies;

• What do I want to read now?

Aunt Pearl illustrated by Irene Luxbacher
Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
Black is a rainbow color by Ekula Holmes
Just in case you want to fly illustrated by Christian Robinson
A time to Dance Padma Venktraman
Deep Underwater illustrated by Irene Luxbacher
Nerdy Book Club blog post by Padma Venkatraman about colonisation and the depiction of people from India in books like The Secret Garden.
A place at the table by Laura Shovan and Saadi Faruqi
Lucy and the string by Vanessa Roeder

• References to Australian books

Florette by Anna Walker
The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
Every Child a Song by Nicola Davies illustrated by Marc Martin (Australia)
Sophie Scott goes South by Alison Lester (poster session)
The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke (poster session)
Bob the Railway dog by Corinne Fenton illustrated by Andrew Maclean (poster session)

• Some memorable quotes (paraphrased)

"Poetry is a party we're all invited to" Jacqueline Woodson
"We never know how our words go out into the universe"  Naomi Shihab Nye
"We are always looking for answers but really it is curiosity that unites us." Paige Britt

On Hope:
"Hope is generosity - to give something away that is unexpected." Ekua Holmes
"Hope - there is no other way. ... Find that book for that child. Words matter. We need to be hopeful for a better tomorrow."  Baptiste Paul

"You're not supposed to have an agenda! NO I have an agenda. I want to re connect the child with the natural world, I want to open up conversations, I want children to be empowered not powerless." Nicola Davies
"Picture books are extraordinary, powerful and unique."  Nicola Davies
"The story space allows us to imagine a new world - dreams become action." Nicola Davies

• Poster Session highlights

1. Spark wonder in Green Literacy - Jen Cullerton Johnson  
2. Representations of food insecurity and hunger in children's literature - Maria V Acevendo-Aquino and Estela Ipina
3. Student-created book trailers on motivation and comprehension - Jared Crossley
4. Map it - using maps and digital collection to teach information books - Bindy Fleischman

• Discoveries

Grace Lin was inspired by Ezra Jack Keats and his book Snowy day and this lead to her books about Little Snow.

Many years ago Allen Say was asked a very serious question by a Grade 4 child - "To be an artist can I be one by working hard or do I need talent?"  This question lingered with Allen and led to his newest book - Almond

Christian Robinson dedicated one of his books to his high school art teacher who not only encouraged him she organised for him to enter competitions. I think he said she paid for them.

Elise Gravel has wonderful cartoons on her web site which explain concepts such as empathy, diversity and racism. Her book What is a Refugee was developed when a publisher saw one of her cartoons.

The second pre conference tour was to the Harry Ransom Center which is which is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin. There we viewed a range of items by Arthur Rackham. I was interested to discover there are many other archival collections like this in America such as the Children's Literature Research Collection at the University of Minnesota. At this conference I met librarian Lisa von Drasek. I would love to spend time in her library and possibly others like it some time in the future.

The common bird in Austin Texas is the Grackle. I think they drive the locals crazy but I found them fascinating.  This sculpture can be seen in the Austin Central library - it's a cuckoo clock with no hands.

 Image Source: https://ebird.org/news/grackles

• One more thing ...

Poem from the session:
"Looking at Refugees: Books as Help Patricia L. Bloem, Oralia Garza de Cortés, Laura Vander Broek"

Home, by Warsan Shire (British-Somali poet)

no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark.

you only run for the border
when you see the whole city
running as well.

your neighbours running faster
than you, the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind
the old tin factory is
holding a gun bigger than his body,
you only leave home
when home won't let you stay.

no one would leave home unless home
chased you, fire under feet,
hot blood in your belly.

it's not something you ever thought about
doing, and so when you did -
you carried the anthem under your breath,
waiting until the airport toilet
to tear up the passport and swallow,
each mouthful of paper making it clear that
you would not be going back.

you have to understand,
no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land.
who would choose to spend days
and nights in the stomach of a truck
unless the miles travelled
meant something more than journey.

no one would choose to crawl under fences,
be beaten until your shadow leaves you,
raped, then drowned, forced to the bottom of
the boat because you are darker, be sold,
starved, shot at the border like a sick animal,
be pitied, lose your name, lose your family,
make a refugee camp a home for a year or two or ten,
stripped and searched, find prison everywhere
and if you survive and you are greeted on the other side
with go home blacks, refugees
dirty immigrants, asylum seekers
sucking our country dry of milk,
dark, with their hands out
smell strange, savage -
look what they've done to their own countries,
what will they do to ours?

the dirty looks in the street
softer than a limb torn off,
the indignity of everyday life
more tender than fourteen men who
look like your father, between
your legs, insults easier to swallow
than rubble, than your child's body
in pieces - for now, forget about pride
your survival is more important.

i want to go home, but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home tells you to
leave what you could not behind,
even if it was human.

no one leaves home until home
is a damp voice in your ear saying
leave, run now, i don't know what
i've become.

• Silent Auction raising funds for IBBY projects

The silent auction was fabulous and I picked up a signed copy of the new Rosemary Wells book Twin Trouble. This linked beautifully with the display at the Austin Central library from the Rosemary Wells book about Yoko.

 Mural in the children's section of the Austin Central Library

One piece of art from Yoko's Show and Tell on display in the Central Library in Austin

Texas Book Festival Australian Children's Picture book showcase

In just over a week I will be speaking at the Texas Book Festival. My topic is:

"Children’s literature and literacy leaders from around the world will give us a glimpse of book trends that are happening in their countries" 

I will represent IBBY Australia.

The IBBY speakers will come from China, Russia, Mexico, Canada and USA along with the executive director of IBBY from Switzerland.

USBBY are holding their conference in Austin Texas. I have talked about the speakers at this conference in a earlier post.

I thought I would share the books I plan to showcase along with some links to the author and illustrator web sites, details of any prizes won by these books and other relevant information. I have organised my presentation under five headings.

An Indigenous Perspective

Bronwyn Bancroft has illustrated over 40 books. I especially love Colours of Australia and Patterns of Australia.  Bronwyn was our IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen award Nominee in 2016. Possum and Wattle is an alphabet book with over 100 words. There is a glossary at the back which explains some of the uniquely Australian plants, animals and landscapes.

Wilam: a Birrabung Story is our IBBY Australia Honour Book for 2020. Listen to this radio interview on ABC Radio National with Andrew Kelly. The word Wilam means home. This book is the story of the Yarra River in Victoria. You could use this book in your discussions about the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

The language is poetic and beautiful, while each double-page spread is a breathtaking work of art as Lisa Kennedy's rich and vibrant strokes breathe the life and colour of the river onto the pages. Kids Book Review

Little Bird's Little Day illustrator, Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr was the winner of the Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award.   Here is a set of teachers notes for this book.

Baby Business is a very new title. Here is an audio interview with the author. Read this review for more details about the author and to see some illustrations from this book. Here is a set of teaching notes for using this book with a preschool group.

Our Unique Landscape

In 1990 Phil Cummings visited my rural school library. It is one of the very best author visits I ever hosted. Phil has written so many wonderful books including Newspaper Hats; Marty and Mei Ling; Feathers; Anzac Biscuits; Touch the Moon and Boy. Andrew McLean is one of our treasured Australian illustrators. I especially love Fabish the horse that braved a bushfire. Several of his books have won or been honoured by our Children's Book Council - Highway by Nadia Wheatley; My Dog by John Heffernan; A Year on our Farm by Penny Matthews; Reggie Queen of the Street by Margaret Barbalet; and Hector and Maggie written with his wife Janet. Take a look at my review of the Squeak Street series by Emily Rodda. Here is a Reading Time review of Through the Smoke.

Jackie French is the author of over 200 books.  She writes for adults, young adults and children. Take a look at my review of Just a Girl. In this review I mention one of her earlier books which is a personal favourite -  Tajore Arkle. Flood is one book in a set of four titles by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley. The other titles are Drought, Cyclone and Fire. Bruce Whatley has written and illustrated over 80 books. You can read his thoughts about illustrating Flood here.

Take a look at my review of Banjo and Ruby Red. Libby Gleeson is the IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen nominee for 2020.  You can read more about Libby Gleeson.

Take a look at my review of Mallee Sky. I predict this title will make our CBCA short list for 2020.

When it rains up north the desert lake (Lake Eyre) in central Australia fills with water and everything changes. Read this review of Desert Lake.

Flora and Fauna

Jeannie Baker is famous for her amazing collage illustrations. Her books are made with passion and they take years to produce. In The Story of Rosy Dock, Jeannie wanted to highlight the problems associated with introduced species. In the different environment of Australia this plant has become a noxious weed. You can see the whole book here. Jeannie Baker has written 14 picture books and one book about the art of collage - Playing with Collage. She was the IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen nominee in 2018. You can read more about the plant rosy dock here.

I wanted to include books about Australia animals in my presentation. We have so many interesting and unique animals here in Australia - kangaroo, emu, echidna, wombat, dingo, bilby, lyrebird, platypus, quoll, and the koala. In this story many new babies are born and Koala Lou feels displaced. How can she win back the affection of her mother? You can see all of the illustrations by Pamela lofts on this video. Mem Fox is one of the most famous Australian children's writers. Her book Possum Magic (1983) can be read by children in French, German, Spanish, and sixteen other languages.

Dingo is one title from the Nature Storybooks series published by Walker Books. Other titles include Gecko, Emu, Bilby Secrets, Big Red Kangaroo and Searching for Cicadas. Claire Saxby as written 18 books. Her newest title Kookaburra (illustrated by Tanya Harricks) will be published in 2020. Dingo was joint winner of the NSW Premier's Literary Award (Patricia Wrightson Award) in 2019. Each pages in Dingo combine narrative elements with a factual text presented in different font. Here is a review from Reading Time.

Sue whiting is the author of 18 books ranging from non fiction to picture books and YA novels to beginning chapter books. Platypus is also from the Nature Storybooks series published by Walker Books. Here is the Kirkus review. Read more about Mark Jackson here.

Here is a set of Teachers Notes for Kookoo Kookaburra. In addition to Kookoo Kookaburra, Gregg Dreise has written Silly Birds; Mad Magpie; and Cunning Crow. Here is a very detailed review of Kookoo Kookaburra by Dr Sam Lloyd for Children's Books Daily.

Multicultural Society

Take a look at my review of Mirror. I have talked about Jeannie Baker earlier in this post when I mentioned The Story of Rosy Dock.  In 1990 Jeannie's book Where the Forest Meets the Sea was the IBBY Australia Honour book:

A father takes his son by boat to a place where trees have grown for millions of years. It is a remote place near a coral reef with few visitors. While the father relaxes, the son explores the rainforest. His father’s remark that the forest has been here for over a hundred million years resonates with the boy. As he wanders the boy pretends that it is long ago when dinosaurs lived and aboriginal forest children played amongst the ancient trees. He takes time to sit still and listen to the sounds of the forest and marvel at the size of the majestic trees wondering how long each took to grow from a tiny seedling. Sadly the day ends too quickly as does the boys reverie. “But will the forest still be here when we come back?”

This is the second book I have included on my list by Mem Fox. Take a look at my section on Koala Lou. You can see a video of the whole book here.  Mem Fox explains the inspiration for her book. Here is a set of Teachers Notes.

Take a look at my review of Sarah's Two Nativities.

Bob Graham was our IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen nominee in 2012.  He has written and illustrated some of my most favourite books and his work is regularly short listed for our CBCA book awards. Read more about Bob Graham here. Some books I have mentioned on this blog are Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten; Home in the Rain; and Let's get a Pup.  Read more about A Bus called Heaven in this Horn Book review. I was also excited to discover A Bus Called Heaven received a Star review from Kirkus. My review of A bus called Heaven includes links to reviews and teachers notes.

You can see a video reading of the whole book here. Freya Blackwood illustrated our IBBY Australia Honour book Banjo and Ruby Red (see above.)  In their star review Kirkus described My Two Blankets:

"Loneliness, cultural displacement, tentative friendship, and an explosion of sharing and kindness are accessible even to very young readers. The final image of Cartwheel teaching her friend how do a cartwheel tugs at the heart with joy. An amazingly lovely import from Australia."

Universal Themes

This book celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is very special to see this collaboration between UK Author Nicola Davies and the Australian illustrator Marc Martin. Here is a review with more details. This book could be read in conjunction with other books about the rights of the child such as For Every Child; I have the right to be a child; We are all born free; and A Children's Chorus (1989).

Take a look at my review of Leaf Stone Beetle.  Ursula Dubosarsky was our IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen nominee in 2016. Dirt Lane Press is a new publisher in Australia. Here is a quote from their web site:

"We also know adults find deep emotional and intellectual satisfaction from the deceptively simple form of a picture book. A picture book can encapsulate an idea, a theme, or a grand concern within a few well-chosen words and a relatively brief sequence of illustrations. A well-crafted picture book is as succinct as a poem."

Take a look at my review of Somewhere Else. You can see other books by Gus Gordon on his web site. Take a look at my review of Herman and Rosie; and Wendy. His newest book The Perfect Seat by Minh Le will be available early in 2020 and July will see the arrival of Finding Francois: a story about the healing power of friendship.

"Through the charred forest, over hot ash, runs Dog with a bird clamped in his big gentle mouth. He takes her to his cave above the river and there he tries to tend her burnt wing."
IBBY president Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright has written a detailed essay about Fox and the creators Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks. Here are a set of teachers notes for Fox. Read my review of Fox.

Take a look at my review of Teacup. Matt Ottley is the illustrator of 28 books including Suri's Wall by Lucy Estela; and Tree by Danny Parker.   His newest book is Dumazi and the Big Yellow Lion by Valanga Khoza. Read more about Rebecca Young here.

Puffling (illustrated by Julie Vivas), also by Margaret Wild and Lucy Goosey are one of my most favourite books to read aloud to the youngest children. Margaret Wild is the author of over 45 books. Ann James is our IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen 2020 nominee. Lucy Goosey does want to leave her pond - an environment where she feels safe. The idea of flying away with the geese as they migrate, is terrifying. Her mother does fly away but then she comes back and she asks Lucy about her fears. Listening to each concern she is able to gently reassure Lucy that she will be safe. The themes of growing up, risk taking and love are perfect for young listeners.