Bookbird 3 / 2024

Every two years a special issue of Bookbird celebrating the two winners of IBBY’s prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Medals is published. The 2024 winners, illustrator Sydney Smith from Canada and author Heinz Janisch from Austria, feature in Bookbird 62.3 through in-depth articles examining their illustrating and writing, giving readers insights into why they were chosen for the excellence of the body of their work. In addition, an interview with each winner provides further insights into their creativity, and gives them an opportunity to explain their art.

The five finalists in both categories also feature in articles, perhaps giving us clues about their future chances of becoming Andersen Medal winners! Certainly, all the featured creators display flair and originality and come from different continents and countries including China, Chile, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Korea, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. The “postcards” section in Bookbird carries short resumés of books by the winners and finalists, ideal starting points for teachers and librarians who want to introduce some of the finest creators of children’s books internationally to their students.

One-page articles about all of the 59 creators nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2024 may be found in Bookbird, Vol. 61.4, 2023, and the names of the winners and finalists are listed elsewhere on the IBBY website. The cover art for Bookbird 62.3 is by Sydney Smith, winner of the Andersen Medal for Illustration 2024.

EDITORIAL