"Children's Book Study Room" novel "Freewater" illuminates the daunting history of American slavery, winning the Newbery Medal and the Golden Grace Award, and other children's book art short stories

Writer｜ Wu Pinru (Translator/Program Planner/Creator)

【Award-winning news】

■Spring is an important period for the announcement of major awards in the children's book industry. Following the Bologna Children's Book Fair introduced last month, let's take a look at who won the Caldecott, Newbery, and Golden Grace Awards respectively. , and which books have won multiple awards?

First, let’s look at writer Amina Luqman-Dawson’s first novel in her career, “ Freewater ,” which won the Newbery Gold Medal and the Golden Grace Medal for Writing as soon as it was released. The background of the story is set in the United States in the early 19th century. A pair of black slave brother and sister escaped from the plantation to the Great Dismal Swamp (Great Dismal Swamp). This vast expanse of water in Virginia and North Carolina is actually home to many people of color. After modern archaeological surveys, scholars discovered that there was an island in the middle of the swamp. Judging from the cultural relics on the island, Native Americans were active on the island as early as 10,000 years ago. Later, Europeans "discovered" the New World and brought slaves, and the Marsh Island became a hiding place for slaves who escaped abuse.

The island is so secluded that there may even be people who have never had contact with the outside world throughout their entire lives on the island. This incredible history has become an important backbone of " Freewater ". The brother and sister protagonists in the book fled to a swamp island for freedom, and were shocked when they met compatriots who were born and raised on the island and had never known slavery. If freedom is a birthright and not a privilege, why does striving for it make others and ourselves uncomfortable?

In an interview with Publishers Weekly, the writer emphasized the importance of having a real dialogue about the history of slavery in the United States and the need to "find creative and innovative ways to break through the status quo and start discussions, because such a process can touch many people in today's society. "In today's environment, there are many obstacles that prevent people from actively contacting, underestimating, and forgetting the impact of this history." She said, "More than in the past, we need to find ways to celebrate, understand, and reconnect with this history. .”

Another work that was highly favored by the judges, " Victory. Stand! ", won the Golden Grace Award's honorary awards in the text category and illustration category. Details can be found in the "October 2022 Children's Book Study" .

The Caldecott Medal

gold medal

" Hot Dog ", author Doug Salati (for details, please refer to "July 2022 Children's Book Study Room" )

Honorable Mention

• " Ain't Burned All the Bright " picture: Jason Griffin, text: Jason Reynolds, mature collage illustrations and condensed text, achieving the highest tension combination.
• " Berry Song ", author Michaela Goade (for details, please refer to "Children's Book Study Room, August 2022" )
• " Choosing Brave " Picture: Janelle Washington, Text: Angela Joy (For details, please refer to "Children's Book Study Room, January 2023" )
• " Knight Owl ", author Christopher Denise (for details, please refer to "Children's Book Study Room, April 2022" )

Newbery Medal

gold medal

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

Honorable Mention

• " Iveliz Explains It All ," by Andrea Beatriz Arango, deals with teenage teenage anxiety in a recently popular verse novel.
• " The Last Mapmaker ", author Christina Soontornvat (for details, please see the "January 2023 Issue of Children's Book Study" )
• " Maizy Chen's Last Chance ", author Lisa Yee (for details, please see the "October 2022 Issue of Children's Book Study" )

Spingarn Medal Illustration Group

gold medal

" Standing in the Need of Prayer ", picture: Frank Morrison, suffering bodies, full souls, hundreds of years of African-American history are all in this book.

honor award

• " Me and the Boss ", picture: April Harrison, the true brotherhood of a younger brother who loves, fears and wants to stick to his older sister.
• " Swim Team ", picture: Johnnie Christmas, a transfer student overcame his fear of swimming and even led the town team to win the competition. After watching it, he wanted to jump into the pool and swim happily.
• " Victory. Stand! ", photo: Dawud Anyabwile

Golden Grace Award Text Group

gold medal

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

honor award

• " Star Child ", author Ibi Zoboi (for details, please see the "January 2023 issue of Children's Bookstore" )
• The Talk , by Alicia D. Williams. The little boy who is growing up needs to have a conversation with his father and learn how to avoid danger in a racially discriminatory world. Can this sad coming-of-age ceremony be skipped?
• " Victory. Stand! " by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes

【A new work comes out】

■The English version of "나의구석" (My Corner), one of the most anticipated picture books at the 2020 Seoul International Book Fair, was released. After the crow in the book found a small corner, he kept moving his things into the corner. At first, he moved a bed, bookcases, and potted plants to create his own comfortable small reading space. As the crow progresses in reading, more and more furniture is placed in the corner, and windows are opened on the wall to allow the crow to communicate with its neighbors.

Of course, readers can interpret these changes as eye-opening reading, but let go of the interpretation first and simply appreciate the process of crows busy transforming corners. I believe that readers who like to nest in a small place and be a "corner creature" will definitely be able to interact with crows very well. empathy. This book also has a binding feature that allows readers to better appreciate the interesting structure of the corner when turning the pages and seeing the intersection of the two pages. Let me give you a hint here. It is worth mentioning that the cover title of the English version is written horizontally across two walls that intersect at right angles, echoing the binding features of the Korean version. The book received a star rating from Publishers Weekly.

■Writer Rebecca Mahoney's horror novel " The Memory Eater " has a theme that echoes current events and a unique setting. In the story, the Harlow family has raised a monster that lives in a seaside cave and feeds on memories for generations. Led by the Harlow family, the town residents troubled by negative memories entered the cave to let the monster erase their memories. The monster is full, the memories are gone, people are at peace, and life has stabilized.

However, the memory-erasing ritual has been passed down to this day, and only the last descendant of the Harlow family is left, 17-year-old Alana. In the process of assisting the residents to erase their memories, she discovered that part of her memory had been deliberately absorbed by the monster, causing her to forget the correct way to restrain the monster and let it escape from the cave. In order to regain her memory, Alana must comb through family secrets and dig into the past that no one wants to face. Are the Harlow family, who seem to be helping residents live a normal life, really have simple motives? What is the price to pay for erasing memory?

■It has been more than a year since the war between Ukraine and Russia began, and the tense international situation is reminiscent of the atmosphere of World War II. The picture book " Stars of the Night " takes readers back to Czech-Slovakia in 1939, when Jewish parents were eager to send their children out of areas occupied by the Nazis. With the help of a stranger, hundreds of young children board a train to the Netherlands and then to the UK to be protected by host families.

After the end of World War II, the children returned to Czechoslovakia and found that almost all their family members had died in the concentration camps. While sad, they also discovered that the stranger's true identity was Nicholas Winton, a British national. He worked during World War II and rescued a total of 669 children before Britain and the United States declared war on Nazi Germany. Winton is also known as the "British Schindler" for his great good deeds. The author of this book, Caren Stelson, is good at digesting the historical materials of war and turning them into moving words. She was shortlisted for the National Book Award for her memoir " Sachiko " of Nagasaki's atomic bombing. Illustrator Serena. Selina Alko once drew illustrations for "Finding Your Artist's Soul", and the contrast between light and dark in the picture is heart-wrenching.

【Famous shot】

■The author Riwanko Horikawa, who won the Bunkamura Literary Award last year with the picture book "海のアトリエ", turned from illustration to writing, and released a new childhood fairy tale "Annie and Paz" (temporary translation, アンニンチゃんとパオズ). The story is close to the childhood experience of ordinary people: the protagonist Annie lives on an island in the south, and lives a mischievous life of catching insects and singing every day. One day, the puppy Paz suddenly appears in Annie’s life. The addition of the dog makes Annie’s original It is very pleasant every day more joyful. What kind of adventure did one person and one dog embark on on the island? This book contains a total of seven short stories. Let’s see if the picture book writer’s words are as vivid as her brushes.

■Well-known children's picture book author Matthew. Cordell has launched a new book " Evergreen ", the title of which is the name of the protagonist of the book, the little squirrel. Evergreen is timid by nature, afraid of east and west, she is afraid of noise, strangers, and swimming to wet her squirrel fur, but living in a tree, she has a fear of heights, so her life may not be easy . But the mother squirrel did not severely reprimand her for this or force her children to face their fears. Instead, she went on with her life as usual, often cooking her signature delicious soup. Mother Squirrel's soup can make people who are full of grievances become cheerful immediately, and patients can recover immediately after drinking a sip of soup, so her soup is also called magic soup.

One day, Evergreen was given a task by her mother to deliver magic soup to the sick Grandma Oak. How many dangers will be encountered on the way to deliver soup! Evergreen thought so, but setting off with mom's soup should be able to overcome a lot of things. The little squirrel set off to comfort herself. Sure enough, many animals along the way were coveting the delicious soup in her hand, but there were also other animals who offered to help. Readers who want to get into the theme of "learning to be independent" can gain a lot from this book.

■ Daisy, the author of the Xiaoai series. Daisy Hirst brings an imaginative work " Get Real, Mallory! " to readers who cannot keep dogs. The little girl Nomi in the book drew a dog named Mallory casually, and fantasized about them playing together and the dog flying in the sky, but her brother poured cold water on her and told Nomi to "get real" (see the reality clearly), don't Imagine the impossible.

Nomi may not have realized that she was being reprimanded, but she just followed suit and said "get real" to the dog on the drawing paper before going to bed. As a result, Mallory jumped out of the paper and became a real dog! All of Nomi's fantasies came true and she spent a wonderful day with Mallory. It must be the dream of many lonely children to have the created characters appear in reality and play with them. The book's childlike writing, brushwork, and bright colors lead readers who have grown up to relive their childhood imaginative games.

【Cross-border cooperation】

■Yuzuru Hanyu, who has transformed from a figure skater to a professional performer, will launch a dream collaboration with the cartoonist group CLAMP to release the picture book " GIFT ". Born out of the Tokyo Dome performance of the same name, this picture book can be regarded as a continuation of the performance content. The text in the book will be written by Yuzuru Hanyu and illustrated by CLAMP. Yuzuru Hanyu, who looks weak at first glance but has shown the global audience his strong willpower in competitions again and again, seems to be like a comic character written by CLAMP. What kind of image of Yuzuru Hanyu will be presented in the picture book is very exciting. ●( The original article was first published on the Openbook official website on 2023-03-17)