Bookbird 4 / 2024

An intriguing title sees this issue of Bookbird placing children firmly at the centre of the discussion throughout its pages. As the editorial states children’s literature is one of the main platforms for empowering children and refuting the normative power structure of adult dominance. Attention is drawn to two articles which highlight texts which do this, including the wonderfully titled A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, a YA fantasy novel in which adult perceptions of power and children’s rights, especially in times of war, are challenged.

Animal rights, specifically dogs’ rights and depictions of dogs are problematic in in Iranian children’s books. Given that dogs and other furry creatures feature so strongly in books for young readers, it is interesting, and important, for us to consider that not everything is the same in terms of publishing in different countries and cultures. In translations of Western children’s books featuring a dog, it is usual to exclude them from the narrative and images in Iran.  Here, an article asks readers to consider how this can guide young readers to question cultural differences, especially when they spot these elisions or exclusions in translated texts. Themes of exclusion and exile during the period of dictatorship in Portugal are examined through the lens of two illustrated Portuguese children’s books which depict exile during this period but conclude with the thought that despite all difficulties hope is also apparent.  

Two different articles provided analysis of picturebooks dealing with the topical subjects of climate crisis and of open-access global digital picturebook platforms. How gender is depicted in Asian picturebooks continues the theme of empowerment in a short article which offers insights into how children understand gender and gender identity through research carried out with a group of sixth-grade students in Indonesia reading texts from ‘The Mighty Girl Series’. Another article discusses the integration of graphic novels into classroom reading, while the International Youth Library in Munich provides two articles highlighting the library’s activities via a poetry project and an exhibition featuring black, white and grey picturebooks.  

And finally Focus IBBY captures moments from the wonderful IBBY congress held in Trieste in 2024.