NEW PUBLICATIONS
compiled by Sulaiman Adebowale
Outstanding Books for Young People With Disabilities
2001,
February 2001, International Board of Books
for Young People (IBBY), 20pp, catalogue distributed by the IBBY Secretariat,
Nonnenweg 12, Postfach, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland, +41 61 272 29 17
(tel), +41 61 272 27 57 (fax), ibby@eye.ch
This valuable annotated booklist not only showcases
the very best of literature for young people with or without disabilities
but also covers a range of instruments of communication that `opens
the way to understanding and acceptance, and to the inclusion of young
people with disabilities in society'.
The catalogue is the third in the series of an
IBBY project that started in 1997. The widely distributed 1997 catalogue
was followed by the 1999 selection, which was exhibited at various international
book fairs and fora around the world. The 2001 collection, selected
by a team led by Nina Askvig Reidarson, encompasses a wide variety of
literature from a diverse group of publishers in various parts of the
world (from Sweden to Iran). It aptly captures the breadth of the differing
and complex nature of young people with disabilities. From non-verbal
communication tools for people with learning difficulties, to raised
picture books for the blind and visually impaired, and to easy-to-read
books for those with mental disabilities, the books and picture stories
represent a vital resource for the understanding of disability in society.
Two authors from Africa, Ifeoma Onyefelu (Nigeria)
and Meshack Asare (Ghana) are included in the collection. Onyefelu's
A Triangle for Adaora: an African book of shapes received special mention
as being `a pleasant and useful resource for local children' and as
a tool that `could open the way for communication between children from
different cultures'. In Sosu's Call, Asare uses the story of a disabled
boy to tackle issues of `participation, social inclusion and potential,
as well as myths and compensation connected with disability'. The book,
published by Sub-Saharan Publishers, Ghana, won the 1999 Prize for Children's
Literature in the Service of Tolerance.
How to Produce Environmental
Education Materials, 2001, Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU),
152 pp
& Production for Non-Fiction for Young People (Aged 15 and above)
in Asia and the Pacific, 2001, Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO
(ACCU), 108pp.
Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO
(ACCU), 6 Fukuromachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8484, Japan, 3 3269 4435
(tel), 3 3269- 4510 (fax), book@accu.or.jp, www.accu.or.jp
The two volumes are reports of two training
courses organised by the Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU),
between October 1999 and December 2000. The organisation has been
involved in training courses on book development in the region since
1967 with a view to developing human resources in the publishing industry.
The background to Production for Non-Fiction
for Young People is the shortcoming of local publishers to produce
quality original local works to meet growing demands for non-fiction
titles. According to the ACCU, local publishers in the region tend
to focus on fiction or publish translated versions of popular books
from abroad, rather than risk non-fiction titles, a policy which tends
to have adverse effects on the development of the region.
The handbook focuses on practical knowledge
and skills needed to produce high quality material for local readers.
The book is divided into three main parts and an appendix. Topics
in Part 1 include attempts at inculcating an understanding of the
boundaries of `What is Non-Fiction?', war and news coverage, picture
books, planning, executing and managing projects to ensure titles
are well produced and marketed to the appropriate audience. Part 2:
Production, presents the learning outcomes from workshop sessions
attended by participants in relation to real life fact-finding missions,
for example, a traditional indigo-dyeing trade. Part 3 covers case
study reports on the current situation of non-fiction for young people
from 19 countries in the region.
How to Produce Environmental Education Materials
is a manual for those engaged in the publication of materials on the
environment. It seeks to impart hands-on skills and ways to plan and
execute a viable publishing project to effectively disseminate information
about the environment and sustainable development praxis.
This four-chapter volume engages authors, publishers
and other information media actors on various issues impacting on
the environment and publishing. Chapter 1 presents an overview of
the issues to look out for; Chapter 2 compiles a series of lectures
on environmental education and the role of the media, planning and
producing environmental education materials, how books can be made
to introduce and vitalize local activity on environment, paper and
the environment, and needs of local community-based activities for
preservation of environment and publication. Chapter 4 contains practical
workshop sessions; and Chapter 5 gathers case study reports on publishing,
information dissemination and the environment from ten countries in
the region.
Both volumes represent a commendable attempt
of the ACCU to improve the workings and roles of the publishing industry
in the region.
The Ordeal of the African
Writer, Charles Larson, 2001,
ISBN 1856499308 (HB) & 1856499316 (PB),
viii+ 168 pp, Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London N1 9JF, UK. +44
(0)207 7837 8466 (tel), +44 (0)2078333960 (fax), hosie@zedbooks.demon.co.uk.
Price: �45/$55.00 (HB), �14.95/$19.95 (PB)
This invaluable book explores the realities
behind the African writer and writing. It thoroughly examines the
pertinent questions shaping the work of African writers - questions
such as who are they writing for, in what language should they write,
and in what genre should they adopt. It also prods other critical
challenges influencing literary writing from Africa - the state of
the publishing industry on the continent and the involvement of publishers
outside Africa, and the impact of socio-economic and political crises.
African Publishing Review,
ISSN 10297618 1998 APNET, Harare. Annual
subscription inside Africa $30/£20 (airmail $35/£25), outside
Africa $50/£35 (airmail $60/£40) from APNET, PO Box 3773,
Harare, Zimbabwe. +263 4 706196/7 (tel), +263 4 705106 (fax), e-mail:
apnet@harare.iafrica.com
Vol. 9 no. 5, 2000 Revista das Edições
Africanas, the first Portuguese edition of the APR has also been
released. The issue explores the book industry in Angola and Mozambique,
women writers and APNET's participation at the Gothenburg book fair.
Vol. 10 no. 2, 2001 focuses on using the media
and marketing strategies to promote reading and book distribution in
Africa, with case studies from Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria. It also
covers articles on the Frankfurt and Bologna book fairs. [end] [BPN,
no 28, 2001, pp 18-19]
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