by Barbara C. Thompson Book, Indiana University Southeast
Recently the American Library Association gave out its awards for books for Youth and Young Adults at its Mid-Winter Convention in Dallas, TX. In the age of Twitter and other social networks, those of us not able to be in Dallas were able to participate in the announcements in real time. These awards are considered the Oscars of Children’s Literature in the United States, with the Caldecott winner (this year Chris Rascha) and the Newbery winner (this year Jack Gantos) appearing on the Today show the next day. There are so many children’s literature geeks in this country that the event “trended” on Twitter.
One of the awards given out is near and dear to those of us interested in children’s literature in other parts of the world. The Mildred Batchelder award is given annually to the publisher of the best book that has been translated into English. This week and next we will explore “The Batch” as it’s called. In upcoming weeks we will explore awards given in other countries.
The Mildred Batcheler award is named for Mildred L. Batchelder who was the head of the children’s and young people’s affairs of the American Library Association for more than thirty years (Bader, 2011). According to Bader, Batchelder had a “long and serious interest in books as cultural bridges.” (p.15)
Considering the fact that Batchelder was born in 1901 and retired in 1966 one could say that she was a pioneer of a global view of children’s literature. For those who would like a more in-depth knowledge of this remarkable woman I direct you to Barbara Bader’s recent article in Horn Book Magazine, “Mildred Batchelder: The Power of Thinking Big,” September/October, 2011.
The Batchelder award is dominated by titles from Europe. This year’s winner, Soldier Bear, is from The Netherlands. The true story of Polish soldiers during World War II who adopt a bear as their unit’s mascot. We follow the men and bear from Iran through Iraq to Italy and finally to Scotland were Voytek the bear spent the rest of his life in the Edinburg Zoo. Last year Departure Time, written by Truus Matti was recognized as an honor book.
Books from Germany have been popular with the Batchelder committee. Perhaps the most well known of this collection is The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, the 2003 winner. This story of two orphan boys on the run in Venice Italy from relatives who want to separate them gives the reader an adventurous ride into Venice’s underworld care of the Thief Lord, head of a group of Venetian child bandits. Innocent Soldier, Tiger Moon (honor book), How I Became an American, and Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi (honor)round out recent contributions from Germany.
France has produced a number of wonderful novels and picture books which have been honored by the Batchelder committee. Most recently was last year’s winner A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux. Seven year old Blaise loves to hear the story of how he came to live with Gloria in the Republic of Georgia, but as the Soviet Union begins to collapse, Gloria decides they must travel to France. Along the way, Blaise and the reader begin to discover that all is not what it seems with Gloria’s story. Other Batchelder winners from France include Pull of the Ocean, Shadows of Ghadames, and Big Wolf, Little Wolf (honor).
One author from Sweden has recently emerged as a strong voice. Annika Thor was recognized as the Batchelder winner in 2010 with A Faraway Island. The story of two Jewish girls sent from Vienna to Sweden in 1939 to live until their parents can come for them. The story is a heartwarming testament to what strangers will do for each other. Sisters Stephie and Nellie end up on a small island in Sweden and are separated into two households. Nellie, the younger sister, adapts well as she is embraced by a young family. Stephie, age 12, is taken in by a relative of Nellie’s family and does not fair as well. It is a story of family, compassion and coming of age. (According to a note in the back of A Faraway Island this is the first of four books about the girls, however, I could not find English editions of those books). Thor’s Lily Pond was recognized as an honor book this year. Other Swedish books represented are The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins by Bea Uusma Schyffert (honor), and If You Didn’t Have Me by Ulf Nilsson. Finally what would honoring Swedish children’s literature be without a book by Astrid Lingren who was honored for Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter?
Next week: Books honored from Japan, Denmark, Spain and some written in Hebrew.
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