When we started this assignment, I was surprised by how difficult it was to find a young adult book that was published outside of the United States, Canada, and Europe. At first, all the stories I found about other continents were written and published by people in North America or Europe. I used the Honour List published every other year by the International Board on Books for Young People to find multiple options and eventually chose Code Name: Butterfly for the book review post. The organization’s goal is focused on “encouraging international understanding through children’s literature” (IBBY Honor List). The way of the organization chooses books for consideration allows them to look at the best from each country. Each country that is a member or part of a National Section is allowed three nominations (What is IBBY). This keeps one country from having an overwhelming number of nominations and allows everyone to demonstrate their literary achievement. At one hundred and ninety-one honored titles, the Honour List is sure to have something on the topic you are exploring. The difficulty I faced in finding stories about other countries by people from those countries shows the importance of this award. While authors from the United States probably do a lot of research while writing a novel based in another place, you can only find out so much that way. A more accurate perspective can only come from someone who has lived there. It is important that classroom and libraries integrate more international titles so students have the opportunity to learn. If there is a larger demand, more books will be translated to English and more opportunities will open up for authors.
Besides Code Name: Butterfly there were a few titles that caught my attention. Charmaine Kendal from South Africa wrote Miscast which is the story of a young transgender boy and his coming out (Miscast). The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky is a mystery novel set around the disappearance of a teacher and the events surrounding it (The Golden Day).
Works Cited
“IBBY Honour List.” International Board on Books for Young People. IBBY, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2018.
“Miscast” Goodreads. Goodreads, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2018.
“The Golden Day.” Goodreads. Goodreads, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2018.
“What is IBBY.” International Board on Books for Young People. IBBY, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2018.