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Opening Celebration of the International Children’s and Young Adult Literature Collection
November 17, 2022 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Join us in the UWM Golda Meir Library’s Curriculum Collection (located on the second floor, east wing) as we officially celebrate the opening of our new collection of international children’s and young adult literature on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Browse the books, share your ideas for using the collection, and meet world-renowned Brazilian illustrator and author, Roger Mello, who will speak and sign books. Boswell Book Company will be on hand to sell the recently published English translation of Mello’s book, João by a Thread, as well as a few other books by the author.
A short program begins at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be available. RSVP appreciated (email jkline@uwm.edu).
About the Collection
Initiated in 2021, UWM’s new collection of international children’s and young adult books highlights experiences from outside of the United States through literature, both in original languages and in translation. The growing collection will showcase the richness of children’s literature around the world, as well as the wide and often disparate range of publishing and access, where reading may be for pleasure, for literacy, or where books in local languages are scarce or non-existent. The collection is also intended as a resource for the local immigrant and refugee communities in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.
The Curriculum Collection will house two copies of each title, one in a research collection, and another available for lending. At present, represented languages include: Spanish, English, Turkish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Japanese, French, Korean and Greek, with forthcoming purchases including Arabic, Swahili, Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaans, Burmese, Karen, Farsi, Chinese, Somali, Hmong, Swedish, German, Italian, Slovenian, Polish—25 languages and counting. Watch the ICYAL book collection grow over time on this Google Map.
Stay tuned for engaging programming about international children’s books for teachers, students, librarians, parents, and the community.
About Roger Mello
The immensely talented Brazilian illustrator and author Roger Mello brings both joy and social criticism into his diverse works for children. His books, unique in their use of color and design, engage the reader’s imagination. In 2014, Mello’s remarkable body of work was recognized with the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, presented by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). For a wonderful introduction to Roger Mello, see this Literary Vittles blog post. Roger Mello will be introduced by Professor Junko Yokota (Professor Emerita, National Louis University).
Sponsors
This event is a collaboration of UWM Libraries, the Center for International Education (CIE), and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. CIE and CLACS are designated Title VI National Resource Centers, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. Boswell Book Company is a co-sponsor.
Image: Detail of illustration from Roger Mello’s João by a Thread.
