Pál Békés

Berg and Baranyai's work has been acknowledged before: earlier they were presented the Children's Book of the Year and Illustrator of the Year awards by the Hungarian chapter of IBBY.

 

IBBY acknowledges authors and illustrators with its Hans Christian Andersen Awards and inclusion on its biennial Honour List - which comes with no purse, said Pál Békés, who heads the Hungarian chapter of IBBY.

 

Though Berg and Baranyai will not be getting any prize money, their names will be among other elite authors and illustrators on a list that functions as a kind of catalogue for foreign publishers.

 

"Important considerations in selecting the Honour List titles are that the books are representative of the best in children's literature from the country and that the books are suitable for publication throughout the world. It provides insight into the diverse cultural, political and social settings in which children live and grow and it can be used by all those involved with developing educational and literacy programmes and publishing initiatives to develop exemplary 'international' collections," IBBY says of on its website.

 

"Being put on the Honour List is a great acknowledgement, not only for the artists, but for the Hungarian chapter of IBBY," Békés said.

 

The Honour List was compiled at IBBY's biennial congress in Denmark. The theme of the meeting was Stories in History - History in Stories. "The topic was very interesting, and it was often quite sad to see how -- or how not - the history of peoples is presented in their children's literature and literature for young people," Békés said

 

The Hungarian chapter of IBBY organises regular conferences and other events. The next will be in December.

 

The chapter is preparing for a series of events next year to mark the 150^th anniversary of the birth of Elek Benedek, the Hungarian journalist and writer known as "the great folk tale teller". It also aims to make Hungarians more familiar with works of children's literature by authors from the other members of the Visegrad Four: Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland.

 

Author: AK / Source: Egyszervolt.hu