by Barbara C. Thompson Book, Indiana University Southeast

Last week we explored some of the countries represented in recently awarded Batchelder Awards by the American Library Association. Mildred Batchelder, for whom the award is named was a remarkable and adventurous woman. Born in 1901, she was raised on the Massachusetts coast in the family of a well off businessman. Sent to Mount Holyoke for college, she decided to become a librarian “because she liked seeing college catalogs addressed to “Mildred Batchelder, Librarian’ when she was helping in the high school library.” (Bader p. 16). Then she went to school at New York State Library School. Being adventurous, after two one week courses in school library and public children’s library, she goes off to Cleveland to study on of the country’s best children’s services. She then packs her bags for Omaha. After three years she moves to St. Cloud State Teacher’s College in Minnesota as the children’s librarian, the first position of its kind in the country. Moving to Evanston, IL gives her the opportunity to make the library the center of a school. From Evanston it’s not a far jump to the American Library Association where in 1935 she becomes the first school library specialist. She remained at the ALA until her retirement in 1966. Bader states, “She knew no boundaries for children’s books, no limits for librarians as champions of books. What were Latin American children reading?” (p. 19) Therein lays the beginnings of her interest in international books.

While most of the books honored with the Batchelder Award are European, one Asian country stands out as having an influence on the American Publishing Industry—Japan. Recently Japanese books, Moribito, Moribito II (honor), The Brave Story and The Friends have been recognized. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is a fantasy adventure which blends Japanese myth with Western fantasy. With a female protagonist having to rescue and defend a male prince, this book and its sequels (Moribito II being one of them) have been wildly popular in Japan. They have been made into a television series in Anime (available on Amazon as a boxed set).

There are several books translated from Hebrew which have been honored with the Batchelder Award. Hans Christian Andersen Award Winner for writing in 1996, Uri Orlev has written three books honored by the Batchelder: Run Boy Run, The Lady with the Hat and The Man From the Other Side. Orlev writes about the Holocaust in Run Boy Run. In Lady with the Hat he writes of the founding of the Israeli state and the aftermath of World War II. Samir and Yonatan is an insightful book about the relationship between a young Palestinian boy who has surgery in an Israeli hospital and the friendship which develops with a young Israeli boy also in the hospital.

Next week we will explore awards given in other countries. Ever wonder why Harry Potter never won an award?? It did, just not from the American Library Association.

[Editor Note: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is reviewed in the WOW Review.]

Journey through Worlds of Words during our open reading hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

array(9) {
  ["aktt_notify_twitter"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(2) "no"
  }
  ["_edit_last"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(3) "264"
  }
  ["_edit_lock"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(14) "1580498458:264"
  }
  ["_yoast_wpseo_focuskw"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(29) "Moribito II by Nahoko Uehashi"
  }
  ["_yoast_wpseo_metadesc"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(127) "Moribito II by Nahoko Uehashi is a fantasy adventure which blends Japanese myth with Western fantasy with a female protagonist."
  }
  ["_yoast_wpseo_linkdex"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(2) "78"
  }
  ["_yoast_wpseo_content_score"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(2) "30"
  }
  ["_yoast_wpseo_primary_category"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(0) ""
  }
  ["_thumbnail_id"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(5) "37464"
  }
}

• Themes: Barbara Thompson-Book, Moribito II, Nahoko Uehashi
• Descriptors: Awards, Books & Resources, WOW Currents