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March 22, 2022 by Betsy Bird

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair: Day One – Exhibits

March 22, 2022 by Betsy Bird   2 comments

The General Rule for Bologna: There is gelato, but the magical stand that sells it will never appear when you truly want/need it. It’s like the anti-Room of Requirement.

There is a reason the Bologna Book Fair lasts for a number of days. To cram everything into a single one would be madness (or, at the very least, incredibly exhausting). Having spent my first day split between booths, exhibits, and panel discussions, I’m opting to begin today with a look at one or two of the ongoing exhibits.

First and foremost, if you do ever intend to attend Bologna’s Book Festival, come early. I had a marvelous time with this first exhibit thanks in large part to having the whole space to myself first thing.

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The first exhibit I’d like to introduce you to is the Illustrators Exhibit. This is a massive collection of art, carefully selected, from all around the world. This exhibit tends to leave Bologna after the fair to go to museums across Japan, South Korea, and finally into China where it’s presented in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities.

Please understand that this is just a small selection of what’s on display:

First off, 20 extra points for that title.

I was able to flip through a copy of ON THE UNFORTUNATE LIFE OF WORMS later that day and discovered that it was a small size with a large page count. Would not have assumed that from the size of the art.

There’s a lot going on here but I think we can figure out what’s being said.
Well.. so I get the Richard Scarry allusion, the Sailor Moon, the Charlie Brown, the Robin Hood, and even the Neverending Story. But can anyone tell me why the Andy Warhol/Basquiat worms are boxing?
It breaks my heart that the glass reflected as much as it did. This book has incredible depth and mood. You just can’t tell, however, thanks to the shiny shiny glass.
There’s a trend right now, they say, regarding “fluorescent” books. I pray this title counts as one of them. It’s got real Duck, Death and the Tulip vibes.
Part of what I loved so much about this image was the use of black and white checks on everything from the taxi to the clothing.
I haven’t been able to find a copy of this one yet, but it looks like this is about a black trash bag that, perhaps, wishes it were a rabbit?
This sequence made my day.
If at any point you asked yourself, “If Betsy were to steal a single piece of art from this show, what would she steal?” this is your answer. I’ll settle for someone bringing the book itself to the States.
Do you realize what this book is? It’s a nonfiction title about how our plastic never breaks down, just gets smaller and smaller until it’s devoured by fish!
There weren’t many, but once in a while I was able to find art by a Ukrainian artist.
I hope you can get a sense of how complex this art is. It’s entirely done in embroidery.
I just like the title.
Papercuts AND fairy tales?!? How loudly can I yell, “YES, PLEASE!!”

Now here’s a different exhibit, but also really neat. In 2021, artist Pei-Hsin Cho was the winner of Bologna’s 2021 International Award for Illustration out of 3,200 submissions. The accolade was established in 2009 for illustrators who are younger than 35 and comes with a $10,000 purse and a publishing contract. Since Cho won in 2021, she got to have a full display this year.

As you might imagine, there is a LOT going on, and I’m having a hard time keeping up. So from here on in, I’ll try doing smaller micro posts to keep things moving. More soon!

Filed under: Bologna Children's Book Fair

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Bologna Book Fair

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joanne Levy says

    March 23, 2022 at 9:50 am

    Thank you for your awesome coverage so far and keep it coming, please!

  2. Anne Hunter says

    March 23, 2022 at 12:01 pm

    I love seeing these! thank you!

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