Monday, October 22, 2012

My Public Library in Rio | Minha Biblioteca Pública no Rio

I'm in Rio de Janeiro, visiting my family, and decided to check my old neighborhood public library, Biblioteca Popular Municipal de Botafogo.  I was 12 when we moved to this part of Rio and this library was not far from home.

There are fewer public libraries in Brazil than in the US -- they are not as widespread or well-funded.  Collections tend to be small, but as all public libraries in the world, they play an important part in fostering a love of reading and learning.  That was certainly true for me!


Children's book publishing is growing in Brazil and it's wonderful to see so many amazing picture books by Brazilian authors and illustrators -- these are two of my favorites: Elisabeth Teixeira and Mariana Massarani.


Estou no Rio, visitando minha família e decidi ver a biblioteca pública do meu antigo bairro, Biblioteca Pública Popular Municipal de Botafogo. Tinha 12 anos quando nos mudamos para esta vizinhança do Rio, e a biblioteca não ficava longe de casa.

No Brasil não existem tantas bibliotecas públicas como nos Estados Unidos -- não são tão difundidas ou tão bem financiadas.  O número de livros é menor, mas como todas bibliotecas públicas do mundo, desempenham um papel importante na promoção do amor a leitura e ao aprendizado.  Certamente foi assim comigo!

A indústria de publicação de livros infantis continua crescendo no Brasil, e é maravilhoso ver tantos livros infantis incríveis feitos por autores e ilustradores brasileiros -- estas são duas das minhas favoritas:  Elisabeth Teixeira and Mariana Massarani.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Exhibit News: The Original Art 2012 at the Society of Illustrators

Mark your calendars, everyone!

The Original Art 2012 show at the Society of Illustrators opens on October 24th and runs until December 22nd, 2012. If you live in or near New York City or is going to be in the area, this is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see the best in children's book illustration for 2012.

The setting is great: you can see original pieces on the wall and in print as you browse through the books for each of the selections.  This year 139 titles were chosen to be included in this very prestigious exhibit.

Local author/illustrator (and great guy!) Brian Biggs is featured again this year with two books: The Boy Who Cried Alien! (Hyperion, 2012) written by Marilyn Singer and his very own Everything Goes: In the Air (Balzer + Bray, 2012.) Very cool!

Also cool -- last year Prospect Agency's author/illustrator Joyce Wan was selected for We Belong Together (Scholastic, 2011) and this year it's Kirstie Edmund's turn: she was selected for her work in The Monster Who Lost His Mean (Henry Holt, 2012) written by Tiffany Strelitz Haber. Yay!

New York City, here I come!