In the Spotlight
News from Northwestern University Library
July 2004 Archives
July 16, 2004
Children's book illustrations on exhibit
O Gato e O Escuro (The Cat and the Dark) illustrated by Danuta Wojciechowska and written by Mia Couto (Lisbon: Editorial Caminho, 2001, 2003). Reprinted with permission from Editorial Caminho.
The lively work of children’s book illustrators from around the world will be on display at Northwestern University Library from July 27 through September 9. Titled "The Hans Christian Andersen Collection at Northwestern: Illustrated Children's Books from Around the World," the exhibit will feature the work of 27 illustrators nominated for the 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Award. The exhibit will be held in the first-floor exhibit space of the Main Library, located at 1970 Campus Drive.
The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are presented every two years by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), a nonprofit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The awards are given to authors and illustrators whose works have made an important and lasting contribution to children’s literature.
Jeffrey Garrett of Northwestern University Library served as president of the 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Jury and will speak about his experiences on August 10 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Library’s Forum Room. He will repeat the talk in the same location on August 19 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Garrett is the assistant University librarian for collection management at Northwestern and has served for many years on the editorial board of Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature. His talk is titled “Of Date Palms, the Kalahari, and Love and Death in Quebec: Great Children’s Books You’ve Never Seen.” Please call (847) 467-5918 for reservations as space is limited.
The exhibit will also showcase the Library’s extensive collection of children’s literature. “Our collection includes fine examples of international children’s books, dossiers of Hans Christian Andersen Award nominees, and children’s books from the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies,” says Leslie Bjorncrantz, exhibit curator and bibliographer for education, management, psychology, and linguistics. Included will be recent winners of major U.S. awards such as the Caldecott Medal for Illustration, the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, and the Pura Belpré Award for Illustration.
A short movie will cycle during the exhibit to give visitors a look at the creative work of the 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Award nominees.
A web site with an overview of the exhibit is available at http://www.library.northwestern.edu/exhibits/hca/index.html. Visitors to the site can view photographs of the book illustrations, find information on the 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Award nominees, and listen to videotaped interviews with illustrators Maurice Sendak and Quentin Blake. Sendak is best known for his book, Where the Wild Things Are, and Blake is the illustrator of many children’s books including The BFG, The Witches, and Matilda by Roald Dahl.
The exhibit will be open to the public Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For further information contact Patti Strait at (847) 467-5918.
