IBBY-Yamada 2009: Cuba

The two workshops took place in connection with the Congreso Internacional Lectura 2009: Para leer el XXI, 26-31 October in Havana.  One workshop that was led by the well-known Argentinean author Jorge Luján dealt with writing for children and young adults.   The workshop addressed authors, illustrators, publishers, librarians and booksellers and focussed on our capacity for reading and writing original works for children and young adults: in theory as well as in practice.  Luján looked at how to develop better skills to elicit freedom, feeling, imagination and criticism by young people from their reading.  The second workshop concentrated on how to identify and select the best books for children. Librarian and coordinator of the Centre for Documentation at Fundalectura in Colombia, Janet Chaparro Puentes looked at criteria, needs and demands of today's readers.  She shared ideas about how to choose books for babies, i.e. non-readers, all the way up to choosing fiction and non-fiction for teenagers.