CCBC-Net Archives
RE: Batchelder Honor: Enchanted Lion Books for Big Wolf & Little Wolf
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Natalie Ziarnik <nziarnik_at_eapl.org>
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:59:27 -0600
I couldn't have stated this better myself--thanks Annette! Even from my first reading of this book, I knew that we had to consider it seriously despite its length. And a close comparison of the original French to the English shows the artistry and skill needed to create this fine, lyrical translation. The connotation of every word--both in English and in French--has been taken into account to reflect and contribute to the book's overall themes of insecurity, loneliness, hesitation in friendship, and eventual recognition of love.
Natalie Ziarnik Member 2010 Batchelder Committee
Message-----
From: Annette Goldsmith
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 10:45 PM To: 'Ginny Moore Kruse'; 'CCBC -Net' Subject: RE:
Batchelder Honor: Enchanted Lion Books for Big Wolf & Little Wolf
Hi, Ginny (and other listserv friends). Of course I'm not surprised that you question the selection of a picture book, especially since we know that Mildred Batchelder herself was not keen on having them considered for the award. However, in my individual view (since I can't speak for the committee), _Big Wolf and Little Wolf_ certainly meets the eligibility criterion of "substantial" text. In this case, short does not mean insubstantial. The time and attention this particular text required was akin to that of translating poetry, which it resembles in its lyricism. Though, like any really good picture book, it is a marriage of text and illustration, the text also stands on its own -- another requirement of the award. I invite you to read it aloud to see what I mean. I have compared it with the French original and the U.S. edition is truly a fine translation; that gracefulness of narrative that you mentioned, Ginny, carries over seamlessly from one language to the other.
I wonder if Mildred Batchelder, seeing the quality of the more recent picture books we are now getting from other countries (think of the 2009 Honor book, Stian Hole's _Garmann's Summer_, from Norway), might have relented in her stance against picture books. As I understand it, she only wanted to consider outstanding books that required real effort on the part of the U.S. publisher, and the sort of picture book with a very simple text that can be easily translated and cranked out was not what she had in mind. But _Big Wolf and Little Wolf_ is not that sort of book.
Annette
Annette Goldsmith, PhD Guest Faculty University of Washington Information School Seattle, WA Residence: Tallahassee, FL Chair, 2010 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Committee Member, USBBY Outstanding International Books Committee
*** Please delete my Comcast account (ayg_at_comcast.net) from your address
book and use my new email: agoldsmith.fsu_at_gmail.com ***
Message-----
From: Ginny Moore Kruse
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 5:04 PM To: CCBC -Net Subject:
Batchelder Honor: Enchanted Lion Books for Big Wolf & Little Wolf
It's great to read what Renee, Annette and Megan wrote about the Batchelder winner FARAWAY ISLAND. I'm eager for my name to come up on the public library reserve list.
Yesterday I had a chance to see BIG WOLF & LITTLE WOLF written by Nadine
Brun-Cosme which gleaned an Honor Book citation for the U.S. publisher Enchanted Lion Books of Brooklyn. (This book was "distributed to the trade by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.")
I'm astonished to see that a picture book has been commended through the
Batchelder Award process. The Mildred Batchelder Award is designated for
books with substantial texts, books someone can't just thumb through in order to get the gist, books needing a first-ever translation into English.
However, I'm also enchanted by this book in which the text unfolds a story unlikely to be discerned visually. It's a fresh story about two creatures with human emotions whose trust in each other subtly evolves. Humans can learn a lot by reading this gracefully written narrative originally published in France. The artwork by Olivier Tallec is stunning, and the large size of the book reinforces the power of the story. Artist Tallec is given equal rank with author Brun-Cosme on the jacket and title page, raising another question about the independence of the text for Batchelder purposes. Claudia Bedrick's name as translator is all but hidden within publication data, and she deserves significant space on the title page, because the text flows so easily.
Perhaps others who've seen this attractive picture book will chime in, as well as anyone who's read the original French edition. Although I'm still dubious about having a picture book cited within the Batchelder "family," I'm absolutely delighted to be encouraged by the Batchelder announcement to see and enjoy this fine book. And isn't that the ultimate reason for having book awards, anyway, i.e., to bring visibility to excellence from a variety of perspectives? So I'll stop whining about eligibility issues, and instead I'll thank the 2010 Batchelder Committee for discovering and commending this terrific picture book to wider attention.
Peace, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse_at_wisc.edu
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:59:27 -0600
I couldn't have stated this better myself--thanks Annette! Even from my first reading of this book, I knew that we had to consider it seriously despite its length. And a close comparison of the original French to the English shows the artistry and skill needed to create this fine, lyrical translation. The connotation of every word--both in English and in French--has been taken into account to reflect and contribute to the book's overall themes of insecurity, loneliness, hesitation in friendship, and eventual recognition of love.
Natalie Ziarnik Member 2010 Batchelder Committee
Message-----
From: Annette Goldsmith
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 10:45 PM To: 'Ginny Moore Kruse'; 'CCBC -Net' Subject: RE:
Batchelder Honor: Enchanted Lion Books for Big Wolf & Little Wolf
Hi, Ginny (and other listserv friends). Of course I'm not surprised that you question the selection of a picture book, especially since we know that Mildred Batchelder herself was not keen on having them considered for the award. However, in my individual view (since I can't speak for the committee), _Big Wolf and Little Wolf_ certainly meets the eligibility criterion of "substantial" text. In this case, short does not mean insubstantial. The time and attention this particular text required was akin to that of translating poetry, which it resembles in its lyricism. Though, like any really good picture book, it is a marriage of text and illustration, the text also stands on its own -- another requirement of the award. I invite you to read it aloud to see what I mean. I have compared it with the French original and the U.S. edition is truly a fine translation; that gracefulness of narrative that you mentioned, Ginny, carries over seamlessly from one language to the other.
I wonder if Mildred Batchelder, seeing the quality of the more recent picture books we are now getting from other countries (think of the 2009 Honor book, Stian Hole's _Garmann's Summer_, from Norway), might have relented in her stance against picture books. As I understand it, she only wanted to consider outstanding books that required real effort on the part of the U.S. publisher, and the sort of picture book with a very simple text that can be easily translated and cranked out was not what she had in mind. But _Big Wolf and Little Wolf_ is not that sort of book.
Annette
Annette Goldsmith, PhD Guest Faculty University of Washington Information School Seattle, WA Residence: Tallahassee, FL Chair, 2010 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Committee Member, USBBY Outstanding International Books Committee
*** Please delete my Comcast account (ayg_at_comcast.net) from your address
book and use my new email: agoldsmith.fsu_at_gmail.com ***
Message-----
From: Ginny Moore Kruse
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 5:04 PM To: CCBC -Net Subject:
Batchelder Honor: Enchanted Lion Books for Big Wolf & Little Wolf
It's great to read what Renee, Annette and Megan wrote about the Batchelder winner FARAWAY ISLAND. I'm eager for my name to come up on the public library reserve list.
Yesterday I had a chance to see BIG WOLF & LITTLE WOLF written by Nadine
Brun-Cosme which gleaned an Honor Book citation for the U.S. publisher Enchanted Lion Books of Brooklyn. (This book was "distributed to the trade by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.")
I'm astonished to see that a picture book has been commended through the
Batchelder Award process. The Mildred Batchelder Award is designated for
books with substantial texts, books someone can't just thumb through in order to get the gist, books needing a first-ever translation into English.
However, I'm also enchanted by this book in which the text unfolds a story unlikely to be discerned visually. It's a fresh story about two creatures with human emotions whose trust in each other subtly evolves. Humans can learn a lot by reading this gracefully written narrative originally published in France. The artwork by Olivier Tallec is stunning, and the large size of the book reinforces the power of the story. Artist Tallec is given equal rank with author Brun-Cosme on the jacket and title page, raising another question about the independence of the text for Batchelder purposes. Claudia Bedrick's name as translator is all but hidden within publication data, and she deserves significant space on the title page, because the text flows so easily.
Perhaps others who've seen this attractive picture book will chime in, as well as anyone who's read the original French edition. Although I'm still dubious about having a picture book cited within the Batchelder "family," I'm absolutely delighted to be encouraged by the Batchelder announcement to see and enjoy this fine book. And isn't that the ultimate reason for having book awards, anyway, i.e., to bring visibility to excellence from a variety of perspectives? So I'll stop whining about eligibility issues, and instead I'll thank the 2010 Batchelder Committee for discovering and commending this terrific picture book to wider attention.
Peace, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse_at_wisc.edu
---Received on Fri 05 Feb 2010 07:59:27 AM CST
