Roger Mello was born in Brasilia in 1965. Winner of the 2014 IBBY Hans Christian Andersen Award, Roger Mello has illustrated over 100 titles, 25 of which he authored. He has received numerous awards in Brazil and abroad for his work as an illustrator and writer, including the Brazilian Academy of Letters and the Brazilian Union of Writers recognition, the International Best Book of the Year award from the Swiss Fondation Espace Enfants in 2002 for his book Meninos do Manque, the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award as the Best Foreign Author in China in 2014. In addition, his book, You Can't Be Too Careful! was one of the American Library Association’s 2018 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor recipients. Roger has held solo exhibitions of his work in China, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan. His work has also been the focus of countless shared exhibitions, international book fairs, and commemorative celebrations around the world. His books have been published in Argentina, Belgium, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Iran, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States, and have been translated into 15 languages. Margarita Margarita Engle is a Cuban-American author of verse books such as The Surrender Tree, Enchanted Air, Forest World, and Drum Dream Girl. Her many awards include the 2019 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature, 2011, 2012, and 2015 Pura Belpré Honor Awards, a 2018 Walter Award Honor, the 2015 Américas Award, a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and several International Latino Book Awards and Honors. She has also been awarded with the Charlotte Zolotow, PEN USA, Golden Kite, Green Earth, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Arnold Adoff Poetry Award, and Claudia Lewis Awards. Margarita served as the 2017-2019 Young People’s Poet Laureate. Her most recent books include With a Star in My Hand, Dreams From Many Rivers, and Dancing Hands. Forthcoming books include Your Heart, My Sky, and A Song of Frutas. Margarita was born in Los Angeles, but developed a deep attachment to her mother’s homeland during childhood summers with relatives on the island. She studied agronomy and botany along with creative writing, and now lives in central California with her husband. The International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) is a yearly event sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), an international, non-profit organization. Founded in 1967 by IBBY’s founder, Jella Lepman, the day is observed on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, April 2nd, to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to Children’s Books. Each year a different National Section of IBBY has the opportunity to be the international sponsor of ICBD. It decides upon a theme and invites a prominent author from the host country to write a message to the children of the world, and a well-known illustrator to design a poster. These materials are used in different ways to promote books and reading. Many IBBY sections promote ICBD through the media and organize activities in schools and public libraries. Often ICBD is linked to celebrations around children’s books and other special events that may include authors and illustrators of children’s literature, writing competitions, or announcements of book awards. The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) is proud to be a member of the IBBY family since 1960. USBBY is thrilled to sponsor the 2021 IBBY ICBD poster with its inspirational message to children around the theme The Music of Words, written by internationally renowned children’s author Margarita Engle from the United States, with illustrations inspired by the internationally acclaimed illustrator and winner of IBBY’s 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award, Roger Mello from Brazil.
Genesis of Poster Art:
Comments by Roger Mello
Animals and people from all continents are inspired by the music of words as I was inspired by the music, the rhythm, and the beat in Margarita Engle’s poetic words. A unique beat is the pulse of diversity, the beat of literature and of the arts that helps children all over the world to find in their thoughts the voice of the “other” – the voice of the world. IBBY – with its dedication to the rights of children, their rights as readers and the rights to good literature – has always been in my heart and soul as the possibility of a harmonious polyphony. IBBY’s International Children’s Book Day provides a unique and meaningful way each year to celebrate this chorus of children worldwide. Children are diverse, poetic and philosophical; just listen to their poetry, just listen to the beat. In Margarita's words: heartbeat, hoofbeats, and wingbeats. l was trying to draw that borderless sound in the art of this poster. Music, words, images – as borderless as the soul of IBBY! Por Margarita Engle
A MÜSICA DAS PALAVRAS
Quando lemos, nossas mentes criam asa. Quando escrevemos, nossos dedos cantam. Palavras são toques de tambor e flautas na página, Cantos de aves em voo e elefantes trombeteiros, rios que correm, cachoeiras saltando, borboletas num rodopio alto no céu! Palavras nos convidam a dancar --- ritmos, rimas, batidas do coracão, Batidas de cascos e batidas de asa, contos antigos e novos, fantásticos ou reals. Quer no aconchego de casa ou correndo através de fronteiras, a uma nova terra e uma lingua estranha, histórias e poemas pertencem a você. Quando dividimes palavras, nossas vozes se tornam a música do futuro, paz, alegria e amizade, uma melodia de esperanca.
LA MUSIQUE DES MOTS
Écrit par Margarita Engle
Quand nous lisons, nos esprits prennent leur envol, Quand nous écrivons, nos doigts chantent. Les mots sont battements de tambour et flûtes sur la page oiseaux chanteurs s'élancant et éléphants trompetant, rivières qui coulent, cascades qui chutent, papillons qui virevoltent haut dans le ciel ! Les mots nous invitent à danser --- rythmes, rimes, battements de cœur. battements de sabots, battements d'ailes, contes anciens et nouveaux. fantaisies et contes vrais. Que tu sois confortablement installé à la maison ou t'élançant à travers les frontières vers une nouvelle terre et une langue étrange, histoires et poèmes t'appartiennent. Lorsque nous partageons des mots, nos voix deviennent la musique du futur; paix, jois et amitié, une mélodie d'espoir.
THE MUSIC OF WORDS
Written by Margarita Engle When we read, our minds grow wings. When we write, our fingers sing. Words are drumbeats and flutes on the page, soaring songbirds and trumpeting elephants, rivers that flow, waterfalls tumbling, butterflies that twirl high in the sky! Words invite us to dance--- rhythms, rhymes, heartbeats, hoofbeats, and wingbeats, old tales and new ones, fantasies and trus ones. Whether you are cozy at home or racing across borders toward a new land and a strange language, stories and poems belong to you. When we share words, our voices become the music of the future, peace, joy and friendship, a melody of hope. LA MÜSICA DELAS PALABRAS Escrito por Margarita Engla Cuando leemos, a nuestra mente le crecen alas. Cuando escribimos, nuestros dedos cantan. Las palabras son tambores y flautas en la página, påjaros cantores que alzan el vuelo y elefantes que trompetean. rios que fluyen, cascadas que caen, mariposas que revolotean ren lo alto del cislo! Las palabras nos invitan a bailar: ritmos, rimas, latidos del corazón, ruido de cascos y aleteos, fábulas antiquas y nuevas. ficticies y reales. No importa si estás cómodamente en casa o cruzando la frontera hacia un nuevo pais y un idioma desconocido, los cuentos y poemas son tuyos. Cuando compartimos las palabras, nuestras voces se transforman en la música del futuro, en paz, alegria y amistad, una melodia de esperanza.
DIE MUSIK DER WORTE
von Marqarita Engle Translation von Claudia Soffner Wenn wir lesen, wachsen unserer Seele Flügel. Wenn wir schreiben, singen unsere Finger. Worte sind Trommelschläge und Flöten auf Papier, trillernde Vögel und trompetende Elefanten, strudeinde Ströme, wirbeinde Wasserfälle, kreiseinde Schmetterlinge hoch oben am Himmel! Worte laden uns zum Tanzen ein – Rhythmen, Reime, Herzklopfen, Huftrappein und Flügelflattern, alte Geschichten und neue, erfundene und eriebte. Ob Du gemütlich zu Hause sitzt oder über Grenzen hinweg eilst, neuen Ländern und fremden Sprachen entgegen. Geschichten und Gedichte sind immer bei Dir. Wenn wir Worte mit anderen teilen, verwandeln sich unsere Stimmen in die Musik der Zukunft, in Friede, Glück und Freundschaft, in eine Melodie der Hoffnung.
The Music of Words:
Comments by Margarita Engle
For me, peacemaking words are personal. I come from a complicated family of refugees, immigrants, and people who have decided to stay wherever they were born. I choose to love them all equally. Poetry and stories help me feel hopeful. Rhymes, rhythms, and even the open spaces between words on a page create echoes in my mind, like the beautiful sounds you hear for a long time after ringing a bell. Language is music. It flows in a way that is both natural and human. When we share our stories and poems, our minds grow wings, fly, and meet in midair. We begin to understand each other. We become neighbors instead of strangers.