Editorial

CIAO

Annyong haseyo

Griezi

Salaam

SHALOM

Barev

Goeie dag

Nín hâo

Dear Bookbird Readers,

We are honored to take on the stewardship of Bookbird as its new editors. We offer our heartfelt thanks and admiration to Valerie and Siobhán for their extraordinary talent and skill in making Bookbird the outstanding journal that it is today. We will work to maintain and build on the multiple perspectives and voices from around the world already in evidence in Bookbird, as well as strive to maintain its literary and artistic qualities.

We use the term “stewardship” because we understand that the editorship of Bookbird has been entrusted to us for only a moment in time. Call it kismet, destiny or just coincidence; we believe that what we have done individually and collectively prepares us for this new and exciting challenge; that we are in the right place at the right time. We are deeply committed to and passionate about our work as editors of Bookbird. We also recognize that we are one part of IBBY’s international mission and Jella Lepman’s legacy of providing children with access to books around the world, especially in developing countries.

Feature articles

This first issue of our editorship presents literature from five continents and while each piece is unique to its specific cultural context, we find a convergence and intersection of themes that surface in this collection. One theme that ribbons through this set of articles relates to the key role that stories from multiple perspectives play in developing culturally sensitive global citizens. Sometimes we are looking from the inside-out from our personal frame of reference and cultural identity as discussed in Kathy Short’s Critically Reading the Word and the World: Building Intercultural Understanding through Literature. At other times we are looking from the outside-in through a window into another cultural perspective as presented in Mare Müürsepp’s Edgar Valter: Estonia’s Master of Art and Imagination in Picture Books. In any case, the articles in this issue speak to the value of story in promoting the appreciation and understanding of the self and others.

The role of stories as a shaper of identity and as a means to map our inner and outer landscapes is another theme that surfaces frequently in this issue as well. Clearly this theme is powerfully addressed in Josefine Ottesen’s The Story of History: Being One of “Them.” Ottesen uses fantasy as a metaphor to help her readers become aware of and master both their inner and outer demons. The reader is left in awe by the power of stories that can serve to enslave as well as to liberate. Bent Rasmussen outlines Ottesen’s contributions to literature in The Life and Work of Josefine Ottesen.

While the emphasis of Ottesen’s work is on our interior landscapes, Robin Morrow focuses on the exterior. In Mapping Australia’s Past in Picture Books, she examines four picture books that provide narratives from diverse settings and perspectives and when taken together contribute to an inclusive and richly layered landscape of Australian history.

Like Morrow, Ondjaki maps outer landscapes. In Let’s Share the Dream: Stories for Children in Angola, he outlines complex historical, social and political factors in shaping cultural identity in the development and rebirth of Angolan children’s literature. In the process, the reader can get a taste of Angolan children’s literature and of Ondjaki’s work as a professional writer of children’s books.

Finally, in From Victory to Victimization: The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) as Depicted in Chinese Youth Literature, Minjie Chen speaks to the political nature of literature as a shaper of identity. This article calls for multiple voices and perspectives to create a balanced historical view.

The departments

We are pleased to report that Bookbird maintains continuity in retaining departments and department editors of Postcards from Around the World, Books on Books and Focus IBBY. Glenna Sloan continues to bring us children’s literature from around the globe through brief postcard reviews submitted by a variety of contributors. The featured books include themes that range from...