Silent Books
In response to the waves of refugees from Africa and the Middle East arriving in the Italian island, Lampedusa, IBBY launched the project “Silent Books, from the world to Lampedusa and back” in 2012. The project involved creating the first library on Lampedusa to be used by local and immigrant children.
The second part required creating a collection of silent books (wordless picture books) that could be understood and enjoyed by children regardless of language. These books were collected from IBBY National Sections, over one hundred books from over twenty countries. This set of books was deposited at the documentation and research archive in Rome (Palazzo della Esposizioni), a set delivered to the library in Lampedusa and a further set was part of a travelling exhibition.
There are, to date, six collections of Silent Books — you can find them below. Within each collection there is a selection of Honour Books. Each of the earlier collections has toured as an exhibition at various venues in Italy and all over the world, as well as being displayed at the Bologna Book Fair and at the IBBY Congresses in New Zealand, Greece and Russia.
As part of this project, IBBY Italia has compiled "10 tips for reading silent books in a community that does not speak a common language". IBBY Sweden has also produced the booklet "Silent books, a handbook on wordless picture books packed with narrative power", which gives ideas about how to use the Silent Books with children.
Silent Books – Final Destination Lampedusa
Silent Books Collections and Exhibitions
The sixth Silent Books collection comprises 70 books from 22 countries chosen from submissions made by IBBY National Sections.
• Presentation (in Italian)
• Honour List
The fifth Silent Books collection was introduced during the virtual 2021 Bologna Children's Book Fair and comprises 76 books from 22 countries. The collection has toured Italy, was displayed at the IBBY Congress in Putrajaya, as well as exhibited in Korea by KBBY.
• Presentation (in Italian)
• Honour List: Presentation, List
• Full list
The fourth Silent Books collection was shown at the 2019 Bologna Children's Book Fair and comprises 67 books from 16 countries chosen from submissions made by IBBY National Sections. It was exhibited in Seoul, Korea, in 2020; in New Zealand at St Mary’s College and the University of Waikato in October and November 2020; in Australia at the State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, from 15 January to 7 March 2021 and at the bookshop Lost in Books, Fairfield NSW, Sidney, from 17 March to 24 April 2021.
• Full list
• Honour List
The third selection of the Silent Books travelling exhibition was launched in September 2017 on Lampedusa, and comprises 79 books from 20 countries chosen from submissions made by IBBY National Section. The selection was displayed at the Bologna Book Fair and other venues in Italy and was exhibited at the IBBY Congress in Athens and then in UAE, Serbia, USA, Switzerland and the UK. As part of an exhibition of this Silent Books collection in March 2020, the Scottish Book Trust created a Booklist of their favourite titles.
• Full list
• Honour List
The second selection of the Silent Books travelling exhibition was launched on 10 June 2015 in Rome at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, and comprises 51 books from 18 countries chosen from submissions made by IBBY National Sections. The 2015 Silent Books selection has been exhibited in various venues in Italy, at the IBBY Congress in New Zealand, in the UAE, Finland and the Ukraine.
• Honour List
• Full list
The first collection of Silent Books comprised 110 books submitted by IBBY members from four continents. It was exhibited in Italy, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK.
• Honour List
• Full List
IBBY Camps in Lampedusa
Silent Books – Books on Board
