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The first
book festival held by the de Grummond Collection in 1968 was
an international display of children's books from throughout
the world. Embassies were contacted and asked to provide a
sampling of the children's literature popular in their countries.
This request resulted in the contribution of hundreds of story
and picture books from France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Austria,
Switzerland, Norway, Japan, and China. Over the years, we
have added translations of books first written in English
by de Grummond contributors Ezra Jack Keats, H.A. and Margret
Rey, Betty Cavanna, Beverly Cleary, and Margaret Hyde.
This growing
collection has recently been augmented by contributions from
authors and illustrators in Cyprus, Israel, Ireland, and Australia.
The Internet provided us with an introduction to Greek Cypriot
author Filisa Hadjihanna. Hadjihanna , a well-known author
of children's books, is a graduate of the University of Ionnina
in Greece and currently works as an elementary school teacher.
Her books have received many prizes, and her plays have been
staged by the National Theatre of Cyprus. The plays have also
been broadcast by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and
Greek television networks. Among the 14 titles donated to
the de Grummond Collection are (English translations of titles)
Short Stories of Katerina, Joys and Sorrows, Flowers and
Dreams, The Laughing Moustache, The Blue Violin, and three
stories about the adventures of Little Walnut and the Sugary.
While
making a presentation on the international aspects of the
de Grummond Collection at the First International Society
of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Children's
Literature Conference in France, Dee Jones met a number of
authors and illustrators from throughout the world. Husband
and wife Marion and Steve Isham are an author-illustrator
team from Tasmania, Australia. The Ishams write and illustrate
as one artist. They pass their text and pictures back and
forth as the work progresses. Their brilliantly colored books
are full of surprises and most often reflect their Tasmanian
culture. Bo Bandicoot at the Market is a delightful
alphabet book featuring the endangered bandicoot, an Australian
marsupial. Their Tasmanian Tiger is a story of this
extinct animal. The illustrations reveal clues to the location
of a real buried treasure - an 18-karat gold tiger hidden
somewhere in Tasmania. The Ishams have illustrated four other
books, all of which are now in the holdings of the de Grummond
Collection.
While
in France, Jones also met Pnina Kass, an Israeli author of
children's literature. Kass writes in both Hebrew and English,
and, in addition to her full- length books, also writes short
stories, radio dramatizations, and a television series for
middle graders for the English/Israel Educational Television
network. The books that Kass sent to the de Grummond Collection
are in Hebrew and use a popular Israeli children's rhyme as
the theme. The three stories feature Berele, a snail who will
not come out of his shell until he is promised that Mom and
Dad will give him a piece of cake. His adventures include
a trip to the beach, his birthday party, baby-sitting by Grandma,
refusing to take his medicine while sick, and the arrival
of his baby sister.
While
making a presentation in Dublin, Ireland, on Irish women authors
and illustrators of children's literature, Jones met several
Irish authors. One was Geraldine V. Whelan, who writes under
the pseudonym "Orla Melling." An award-winning author of six
books, Melling was born in Ireland but, at five, moved to
Canada. She has traveled throughout the world, spending time
in Borneo, India, and Denmark before returning to her native
County Wicklow. Her first novel was The Druid's Tune,
a fantasy adventure set in Ireland's Iron Age. Her books reflect
her fascination with history, fantasy, and Irish legend. The
Hunter's Moon won the Ruth Schwartz Children's Literature
Award (Canada) in 1994. Melling's books have been translated
into Japanese and Czech.
It is
sometimes necessary to travel great distances to obtain information
that is available in your own backyard. It was not until Jones
traveled to France that she met two fellow SCBWI members from
the United States, author Lynnette Velasco and author/illustrator
Anne Catharine Blake. Both have since become contributors
to the de Grummond Collection. Velasco has donated typescripts,
correspondence, and promotional materials for Zinzi: A
Child's Journey to Self-Fulfillment, Giving and Caring (Worldwide
Publications, 1997). Sheep Care is a fun-loving board
book written and illustrated by Anne Catharine Blake, for
which she has contributed the book dummy, correspondence,
and promotional materials.
We are
appreciative of the generosity of these creators of books
for the world's children. We encourage other authors and illustrators
to donate their manuscripts, illustrations, correspondence,
and other production materials, as well as the published books,
which will be preserved in an archival environment. By placing
these books and original materials in the de Grummond Collection,
contributors ensure that these treasures will be accessible
to researchers, students, educators, and others interested
in children's literature, for generations to come.
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