{"title":"Friendly Ghosts, Horrifying Reality: Female Infanticide in Ranjit Lal's Faces in the Water","authors":"Sietse Hagen","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0027","url":null,"abstract":"78 | BOOKBIRD Despite horror being often deemed inappropriate for children, it can be an important genre in portraying the terrors of the real world to young readers. Horror, Jessica McCort argues, “offers young readers...a dreamscape that parallels their reality, sometimes making it easier to cope with the monsters they must face in the real world” (22). Within children’s literature, horror allows young readers to face and experience the negative elements of reality through the grotesque in an entertaining fashion. An example of this is Ranjit Lal’s Faces in the Water, an Indian children’s novel addressing female infanticide through protagonist Gurmi’s encounter with the ghosts of his sisters who were killed at birth. The ghosts can be seen as a reference to the 1994 introduction of an Indian government program, the “Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, which made it illegal to determine the sex of a foetus unless it was necessary for urgent medical reasons” (Vaze). Despite this act, female infanticide and feticide remain a serious concern in Indian society. Comparing India’s male/female ratio to the worldwide natural ratio, around sixty million women are assumed missing in India (Hundal). Allie Dichiara informs us that, in India, “[t]he concept of daughters as ‘more expensive’ has been normalised throughout history.” Lal's novel addresses this issue directly when Surinder Aunty tells Gurmi that girls “are quite useless and then you have to get them married and all that nakhra and expense.... And who will look after us when we’re old? Our fine, sturdy sons of course!” (88). The Diwanchands, Gurmi’s family, commit female infanticide for economical reasons. Through the Diwanchands, Lal shows that when feticide becomes unavailable, this leads to female infanticide, signaling that the issue of child murder due to sex bias remains an issue in India despite the 1994 act. Titas Bose and Ahona Das describe that “[t]he framework of horror which is at times a mirror, and at other [sic] a foil to the mortal society, is susceptible to be used as a tool for social satire.” Thus, the horror genre creates a space for social critique due to its connection to reality and its ability to fictionalize the most frightening aspects of it. Although female infanticide is horrifying and deemed inappropriate for children, Lal manages to make the topic approachable for young readers by subverting horror tropes. Anurima Chanda describes that in Lal’s novel, “[i]nstead Friendly Ghosts, Horrifying Reality: Female Infanticide in Ranjit Lal’s Faces in the Water","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":"61 1","pages":"78 - 80"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43655893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Cause for Hope or an Unwitting Complicity? The Representation of Cultural Diversity in Award-Listed Children's Picturebooks in Australia","authors":"Helen Adam, Y. Urquhart","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:While books can play important roles in helping children develop a positive sense of identity and of their place as equal members of society, evidence shows how the lack of diverse literature contributes to feelings of inferiority and invisibility for children from underrepresented groups as well as to a sense of superiority and normality for children from majority groups. This study reports on the representation of racial diversity in award-listed Australian children's picturesbooks in 2019 and 2020. A critical theoretical framework was employed to analyze both texts and images of ninety award-listed books. While the outcomes suggest increasing attention to diverse representation in children's literature, authentic and equitable representation falls short. Particular concerns were found regarding portrayals of First Nations people through outdated stereotypes or misinformation.","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":"61 1","pages":"48 - 58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44952481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Northern Lights Are Our Friends: Soviet Deportations and Siberian Nature in Children's and Young Adult Literature","authors":"Mateusz Świetlicki, Sylwia Kamińska-Maciąg","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0024","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Although their history dates back to the sixteenth century and the policies of Tsarist Russia, Siberian exiles—in the cultural memory of central and eastern Europe—are usually associated with the Gulag and the policies of Lenin and Stalin during the revolution, collectivization, the Great Terror, and the Second World War. As a result of the mass repressions, millions of adults and children of various nationalities, including Poles, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and Russians, were deported to remote areas of the Soviet Union—Siberia, the Ural Mountains, and Kazakhstan. The article examines children's and young adult books about these deportations that not only showcase the totalitarian character of Stalinism but also contrast human brutality with the goodness and innocence of nature surrounding the child protagonists transported deep into the USSR. Thus, the novels' chronotope seems to convey the testimony of traumatic events in the history of post-Soviet nations and provide young readers with a sense of hope epitomized by the vastness of the snows of Siberia.","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":"202 5","pages":"59 - 68"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41258923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reviewing the Multifaceted Complexity and Potential of Wordless Picturebooks","authors":"Sylvia Pantaleo","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0020","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:The nature of wordless and almost wordless picturebooks requires heightened engagement in sophisticated visual semiotic work by readers. Subjects addressed in this review of the literature include delimiting the format of wordless picturebooks, considering the multifaceted demands of wordless picturebooks on readers, and examining research findings on student transactions with and adult mediation of wordless picturebooks.","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":"61 1","pages":"15 - 25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44093111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Analysis of the Semiotic Resources of Contemporary Movable Picturebooks","authors":"Frank Serafini, Lindsey Moses","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0021","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Although research has been published on the history of movable books (also referred to as pop-up books) ranging from early volvelles, to accordion books, to other threedimensional texts, the materiality of picturebooks , research on the semiotic resources, including interactive and design features, visual images, written text, and the materiality of contemporary movable books, has not been forthcoming. Research on children's literature, specifically research on contemporary picturebooks, needs to consider the range of interactive, tactile, visual, and textual modalities available to authors, illustrators, and designers of movable picturebooks and their potential role as pedagogical resources for engaging developing readers' attention and interest. This article presents an analysis of semiotic resources focusing on the material, interactional, and design resources used to represent visual and textual narratives in contemporary, award-winning movable picturebooks.","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":"61 1","pages":"26 - 36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47435116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
María José Dulcic, Valentina Rivera, Constanza Mekis
{"title":"BILIJ: A Children's Literature Interactive Space from the Global South","authors":"María José Dulcic, Valentina Rivera, Constanza Mekis","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0025","url":null,"abstract":"61.2 – 2023 | 69 The Interactive Latin American Library for Children and Youth (hereafter BILIJ, the acronym for its Spanish name, Biblioteca Interactiva Latinoamericana Infantil y Juvenil) opened its doors for the first time on January 8, 2022, in Santiago, Chile. This space was born out of a collective dream that began four years ago in Chile, where Latin American children’s literature was at the heart of the discussion. A vast and diverse territory comprising twenty countries with their own heritage and cultural richness, Latin America is often talked about as one homogenous region. Naturally, this misrepresentation makes its way into literary discussions, where distinguishing Latin American identities can become troublesome and their depictions can appear as deficient or incomplete. Luckily, writers, illustrators, and publishers of children’s literature have skillfully made efforts to put at the center of their works topics that affect Latin American childhood and have offered creative means to do so, achieving aesthetically and thematically engaging books. Although it is impossible to portray—or even discuss—Latin America as one uniform, unvaried region, it is still possible to find the common threads weaving this extensive identity while giving visibility to each territory. Furthermore, the mostly white and anglophonic exposure within children’s literature in the area for many decades has resulted in a lack of mirrors (using Rudine Sims Bishop’s useful analogy) and a lack of openings to understand their experiences and to be seen. Needless to say, this affects not only Latin American children, but also all the minority groups outside dominant social groups. All of those experiences, feelings, cultural differences, and knowledges that were, for the most part, suppressed or ignored in children’s traditional literature have made their way into a recent trend in publishing and research, where efforts are being made to stray away from ethnocentric ways to read the world through children’s books. This challenge instills the urgency for a regional library that could bring together the work of creators of the region and strengthen the sense of belonging to a common culture and identity. It started with the creation of Fundación Palabra, a nonprofit reading-promotion organization aiming to reinforce the bond between young people and reading, culture, science, and art through dialogue and enjoyment with books and cultural objects from Latin America and the world. Within four years, the foundation started BILIJ—a lively space driven by interactivity and the Latin American spirit. The interactivity is fostered through engagement BILIJ: A Children’s Literature Interactive Space from the Global South","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":"61 1","pages":"69 - 74"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46062990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reda Gaudiamo, Childhood Memory, and Na Willa","authors":"Anna Elfira Prabandari Assa","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0026","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":"61 1","pages":"75 - 77"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42008680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Flight and a Spotlight on Southeast Asian Children’s Literature","authors":"C. Malilang","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0000","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":" ","pages":"1 - 2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47785028","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Núria Albertí’s Children’s Poetry, a Metaphor for Humor and Irony","authors":"Moisés Selfa i Sastre, Enric Falguera Garcia","doi":"10.1353/bkb.2023.0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42208,"journal":{"name":"Bookbird-A Journal of International Childrens Literature","volume":"61 1","pages":"67 - 69"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41897962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}