The Children’s Literary Salon Presents: Books for Children Around the World – A Global Conversation

Just a quick apology first.  My laptop got a tune-up last month because it was running slowly, but that preventative care apparently meant bupkiss to it since it died three days ago.  It’s in the shop right now, dying just in time to muck me up in terms of an SLJ article and the Top 100 Poll results.  However, I am blindly confident that everything will work out in the end.  In the meantime, here’s what’s going on with my Children’s Literary Salon:

Please join the Children’s Literary Salon on Saturday, May 5th at 2:00 for our Spring program Books for Children Around the World: A Global Conversation.

Hear a panel of international authors discuss the worldwide state of children’s literature and publishing.  Constance Vidor, Director of Library Services at Friends Seminary, will begin with an overview of the International Board on Books for the Young.  A panel discussion will follow between Sharon Elswit, the anthologist of The Jewish Story Finder and The East Asian Story Finder, and Israeli Pnina Moed Kass, the author of Real Time, translated into German & French, winner of the National Jewish Book Award and the Sydney Taylor. Rebecca Linde the Director of Sponsorship and Marketing of the New York International Children’s Film Festival, will end the afternoon with a peek into this year’s Film Festival.

Sharon Barcan Elswit is the anthologist of The Jewish Story Finder: A Guide to 363 Tales Listing Subjects and Sources as well as the East Asian Story Finder.

Pnina Moed Kass has been living in Israel since 1968. She has authored children’s books, scripted a TV series, and done a lot of freelance writing both in Hebrew and in English. She had also garnered awards and recognition for her short stories and her contemporary novel set in the Middle East. Among them: the International Reading Award for Best YA Short Story, inclusion in the Cricket Magazine 25 year Anthology (“Celebrate”,) and other citations by librarians and teachers. Her novel, Real Time, won the prestigious National Jewish Book Award, the Sydney Taylor Award and other accolades.

Rebecca Linde comes to NYICFF with a BA in Screen Arts and Cultures with a focus on film theory and criticism from the University of Michigan. At NYICFF, she manages sponsorship, marketing, programming and event management.

Constance Vidor is Director of Library Services at Friends Seminary. She is a member of the International Board on Books for the Young and a lifelong proponent of reading across borders. One of her earliest book memories is of trying to read an edition of Babar in French, probably around age 5, a fascination that led to her taking French lessons starting in elementary school. Constance is a past winner of the United States Board on Books for the Young’s Bridges to Understanding Award, for a program that inspires young people to read books from and about other countries. She is the author of Louise Farrenc: Classical Composer, a biography for young readers.

The Children’s Literary Salon is a monthly gathering of children’s literature enthusiasts that is free to the public.  This Salon will take place in the main branch of New York Public Library, located at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, in the Berger Forum on the second floor.

Filed under: Uncategorized