world_pictures

– Encourage visiting schools to become
Sister Libraries with a library in one of the
picture book countries (see www.ifla.org/
libraries-for-children-and-ya/projects).
– Combine a tour of the exhibition with the
school curriculum – geography, literature,
visual arts, languages etc.
– Choose a country; find out more about the
authors and illustrators who are featured in the
list, which ones are still actively creating picture
books. Decide on the picture book you are
most interested in and read it. Discuss which
questions you would like to ask the author
/ illustrator and then write a letter to her / him.
– Use the pictures in the books from other
countries to get children saying or writing
what they think the story is about. Afterwards,
you can compare their stories to the actual
book reviews in the catalogue.
– Develop interactive readings from different
books. Librarians read the books in the original
languages and then create a PowerPoint
translation of it with pictures. Use this to
help children learn new words, find out about
the authors / illustrators, other books, the
tales, interests and passions of readers from
other countries.
– Make small posters of your favourite picture
books using the front for the book cover and
the back for information about the author /
illustration and an annotation. Hang the posters
like laundry on a line in your library or classroom.
– Use drama, puppetry and mime to interpret
a story.
– Choose one of the picture books you
are interested in, read it and then invent
your own cover for it.
– Use the picture books in languages unknown
to the children, to get children writing their
own stories using the pictures. Then, compare
with the story as it is told in the book review
in the catalogue.
– Choose some books and ask a group of
children to guess where each book comes
from, and to explain how they guessed.
– Use the books to explore empathy with
children – look at expressions, eyes and faces
in book in a language the children don’t
understand. Talk about the what the children
think the characters might be feeling etc.
– Create a 3D art display based on a book
(or an online version).
– Lots of the books have music or sound
elements in them – use them to create
a musical version of the story.
– Get the children to see if they can find five
books with a dog/cat/animal/ house on
the cover. Look at them and discuss the
similarities/differences. Look in the books
together and then sing songs / draw pictures
about whatever you have been looking at.
– Develop regular correspondence with one
or more authors from the list.
– Use the collection to deliver training on
visual literacy and develop visual literacy
activities for children. Prepare online notes
and resources to support this.
– Design a Treasure Hunt based on the collection
e.g. find a book about the sea, find a book with
a place name in the title, how many books
have boxes or tables in them, etc.
Book Purchase
The featured books are favourites and therefore they are likely to remain available for
purchasing. Most publishers’ contacts can be found on the Internet. When this is not the
case, the best thing would be to write to the country coordinators – their names and email
addresses are given on the first page of every country list.
NB For books in French published in Africa, the Caribbean and Reunion Island, publishers’
addresses can be found in the “Carnet d’adresses” on http://takamtikou.bnf.fr
What Next?
Enjoy reading this catalogue, have fun using the activity ideas with children and remember
to share any new ideas with us, borrow the exhibition if it is possible for you to do so. If your
country list is not yet included then please organise it so that it can be Included in digital
format in the online version of the catalogue. If you want more information contact Annie
Everall (in English), email annie@alannie.demon.co.uk or Viviana Quiñones (in French or
Spanish), email viviana.quinones@bnf.fr). Also remember that all of the information as well
as the catalogue and the poster are downloadable on http://www.ifla.org/node/6718
the world through picture books • introduction • 11