Bookbird Editors
- Bookbird Editors
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Dear Bookbird Readers,
This issue of Bookbird comes to you with greetings from the 33rd IBBY Congress, which will be held in London, 23–26 August 2012. The Congress theme—Crossing Boundaries: Translations and Migrations—follows the goals Jella Lepman held when she founded IBBY and the International Youth Library in Munich. Lepman returned to war-torn Germany convinced that children’s literature could play an important role in helping to rebuild human relationships. Lepman spent the war years in London, exiled with her son and daughter from their home in Germany. Now, 60 years after the meetings that were to lead to formation of IBBY in 1953, the Congress returns to Lepman’s war-time refuge.
The London that is hosting the IBBY Congress is not the London Lepman knew, although many landmarks remain the same. Along with the architectural skyline, the people of London have also become more diverse. This vibrant, culturally exciting city is home to communities from Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, China, Greece and Latin America. As these communities mingle, they share the stories they have brought with them. Some of these are traditional stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, but others are the new stories created as their tellers forge connections with their new environments and [End Page iii] new compatriots. At the Congress, the keynote speakers as well as the presenters in parallel sessions will explore how children’s literature can cross boundaries and migrate across different countries and cultures, and what the consequences of such boundary crossings might be. The Congress organizers have put together a vibrant program that will include the presentation of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards, sponsored by Nami Island Inc., and the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award, which is sponsored by Asahi Shinbun.
London is also home to the National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature at Roehampton University, which focuses on academic research on literature, creative writing and publishing. With their commitment to excellence in academic research and their promotion of children’s literature in all fields, it is unsurprising that the dedicated team of researchers and lecturers at the Centre works so closely with IBBY UK, including the annual conference these organizations co-host. Thus we were delighted when two senior lecturers from the Centre—Alison Waller and Liz Thiel—accepted our invitation to guest edit this issue of Bookbird and introduce our readers to children’s literature from the U.K.
See you in London!
Lydia Kokkola is Professor of English and Didactics at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Her main areas of research are English as a Foreign Language, Second Language Acquisition, Holocaust Fiction, Trauma Fiction, Adolescent Sexuality, Advanced Literacy Skills and Ekphraxis.
Roxanne Harde is an Associate Professor of English and a McCalla University Professor at the University of Alberta, Augustana Faculty. She studies and teaches American literature and culture. She has recently published Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen, and her essays have appeared in several journals, including International Research in Children’s Literature, The Lion and the Unicorn, Christianity and Literature, Legacy, Jeunesse, Critique, Feminist Theology, and Mosaic, and several edited collections, including Enterprising Youth and To See the Wizard.
