Carl M. Tomlinson - Childrens Books from Other Countries

Childrens Books
from
Other Countries

United States Board on Books for Young People

Carl M. Tomlinson
Editor

Northern Illinois University

SCARECROW PRESS, INC.

Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com

PO Box 317
Oxford
OX2 9RU, UK

Copyright 1998 by the United States Board on Books for Young People

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Childrens books from other countries / Carl M. Tomlinson, editor.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

United States Board on Books for Young People.

ISBN 978-0-8108-3447-7

1. ChildrenUnited StatesBooks and reading. 2. Childrens literatureBibliography. I. Tomlinson, Carl M. II. United States Board on Books for Young People.

Z1037.C5428 1998

028.55dc21 97-41768

ISBN 0-8108-3447-2 (paper : alk. paper)

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481984.
Manufactured in the United States of America.

The United States Board on Books for Young People is proud to sponsor Childrens Books from Other Countries. USBBY, as the United States national section of the International Board on Books for Young People, has as its mission the promotion of reading and international understanding through childrens books. Sharing books first published in other countries with our children contributes to the achievement of this mission.

Identifying international books can be difficult for busy teachers, librarians, and parents. This books primary purpose, therefore, is to help its readers identify quality international literature for children. Beyond this, the book offers suggestions in locating and sharing the books, once they have been identified. USBBY is grateful to the editor for writing the background and context sections of the book, for selecting the titles, and for editing the annotations. We also thank the many USBBY members who took an active interest in this project and contributed to it.

We hope that you will find the book useful and that it will be just the beginning of your experiences with international childrens literature. Think of it as a travel guide, a listing of books, like places, that are worth seeing. You will plan your own trip, which books you will visit and in what order. And once you begin your journey, you will find yourself visiting new books that are not in the guide, recommending books to your friends and colleagues, and revisiting the books that you have loved. Childrens Books from Other Countries is not only a guide, but also our postcard to youHaving a great time. Wish you were here.

Joan I. Glazer

President, 1997

USBBY

Childrens Books from Other Countries is a brief and manageable reference to international childrens literature. It was created in the belief that if librarians and teachers and others who work with children were more aware of the international books available to them, they would encourage children to read and enjoy them. Children in this way would be introduced to peers and cultures in other lands, thus helping to build bridges of understanding between the people of the world.

The concept of providing a bibliography of international books to interested professionals is not new. Translated Childrens Books, compiled by Storybooks International in 1968, was an early publication of this sort. In 1972 the American Association of School Librarians division of the American Library Association, in commemoration of the International Book Year, published Books from Other Countries, 1968-1971, compiled by Elana Rabban. This publication was revised in 1978 by Anne McConnell (Books from Other Countries, 1972-1976). These commendable efforts were not continued, however, and for the last two decades we in the United States have been without a current reference devoted solely to international childrens books.

Childrens Books from Other Countries is, thus, long overdue. This bibliography of over seven hundred titles contains both translated books and books from English-speaking countries other than the United States. Selections include both in-print and out-of-print books from 1950-1996. The reason for including books from other English-speaking countries is that, though librarians and teachers often are aware of these titles, they are unaware that they are international. Including out-of-print titles is defensible in that they still are available through libraries and comprise a significant portion of the body of international books.

This section serves as a brief introduction to the field of international childrens literature. First, definitions of terms and a rationale for the importance of this body of literature are offered. This is followed by milestones in the history of the field and current status of international childrens literature globally and nationally. An explanation of how international books come to the United States, how they are identified as international, and how they are located sets the stage for Parts Two and Three.

This section addresses the many questions that librarians and teachers might have about how to share international books with children: How do I make the most of these books in my library or classroom? How do I encourage young people to read these books? How might these books be integrated into an existing plan or curriculum?

The bibliography is organized by genre. It includes poetry, picture books (realism, fantasy, informational), transitional books, realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, informational books, biography, and short stories. Within each genre, entries are listed alphabetically by authors last name. Suggested age ranges and country of origin are included for each book. Annotations are also accessible through the author-title, subject, and country of origin indexes.

This project could not have been completed without help from many people and institutions. I am particularly indebted to Advisory Committee members Lee Galda, Anne Lundin, Carol Lynch-Brown, Miriam Marecek, Maureen White, and Junko Yokota for their advice in the planning stages of this book, and to those who assisted me in book annotation for their cooperation, patience, and enormous contributions of time and effort. I am grateful to the Board of Directors of the United States Board on Books for Young People for giving me the opportunity to undertake this project and to USBBY past presidents Mary Lou White and Barbara Barstow for spearheading the project. To the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Northern Illinois University, I owe thanks for general support during the years that this project was under way.