Children Plus—Toddlers’ Books

CCBF is launching the “Children +” focus, a new stream of events aiming to cast light on a trend, a topical subject, a book category of great influence, or a topic that we shall not forget about or ignore.

What is Children Plus?

In 2019, CCBF launched “Children Plus”, a new stream of events aiming to cast light on a trend, a topical subject, a book category or a theme of special relevance for the global publishing industry, whether because it has marked its past or because it is shaping its present through vigorous trends and an innovative production.

Every year, Children Plus will identify a different category of books—relevant from both international and local perspectives—to become a highlight of the CCBF programme. Children Plus features:

(1) A book exhibition with a wide selection of titles curated in close cooperation with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Featuring titles from all around the world, it also includes an extended selection of original Chinese and Asian books on the topic.
(2) A conference conceived as a state-of-play discussion between experts and professionals from all over the world, with special attention to the questions at stake in the Asia-Pacific publishing industry.
(3) More events to echo with theme of the year, including lectures, workshops and book presentations.

CCBF 2020: Children Plus—Toddlers' Books

Toddlers’ books play a frontline role in establishing a special bound between children and books. Not only are they a child’s first media to grasp the concepts that surround them, but they are also objects to feel, touch and play with. Their apparent simplicity hides a rich universe which develops along with increasingly innovative educational approaches and bold graphic trends. As a result, in many countries board book sales are progressing faster than other children’s publications, showing the dynamism and diversity that can be found in them.

Produced by CCBF in collaboration with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the "Toddlers First Books" exhibition intended to capture the newest trends through a selection of 142 titles carefully curated by Cooperativa Gianni Stoppani. The full list of exhibited books is now available for download here.

A highlight of the CCBF Children Plus event stream, the exhibition was complemented by a seminar boasting a panel of top experts of the field, "First Books, First Looks—Entering the World through Toddlers' Books".

Read more about toddlers’ books

Nov 13 2020

09:00 17:00

Children Plus—Toddlers’ Books

Children Plus—Toddlers First Books

Booth, 1A01 (Hybrid Zone)

At the core of Children Plus, the exhibition Toddlers First Books[JD1] will showcase 140 board books and activity books targeting babies and toddlers aged 0–3. Toddlers First Books is an outstanding display of novelty and diversity, which features books mostly published in the very last few years in 21 different countries and territories.

Established by a team of curators lead by children’s book expert and former librarian Grazia Gotti (Italy), this rigorous selection includes the best titles presented in the Bologna Children’s Book Fair’s Ragazzi Awards, one of the most important prizes in children’s publishing characterised by its taste for innovation.

The Children Plus—Toddlers First Books exhibition pays a special tribute to one of the most iconic Italian board book authors, 97-year old illustrator Attilio Cassinelli. Featured as this year’s Children Plus’s visual identity, Attilio’s "Little Red Riding Hood" and “The Ugly Duck” will keep you company throughout your visit of the exhibition.

This exhibition is hosted by the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair and curated by Giannino Stoppani Cooperativa Sociale, with the support of the Bologna Children’s Books Fair. A live painting event for children directed by Gudong—a Shanghai-based illustrator and finalist in the 2017 Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition—will allow everyone to play creatively with Little Riding Hood.

15:00 17:00

Official Conferences and Seminars

Children’s Plus: First Books, First Looks—Entering the World through Toddlers' Books

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

Children learn to read long before they learn the alphabet, and toddler's books are likely to be the first printed media to make them penetrate the world of books. As such, toddlers' books play a frontline role in the children's intellectual development and in building their future as readers. Whether they are board books, novelty books, fabric books or activity books, the toddlers' books apparent simplicity hides a rich universe which develops along with increasingly innovative education approaches and bold graphic trends. As a result, in many countries board book sales are progressing faster than other children’s publications, showing the dynamism and diversity that can be found in them. What does it take to make a good toddlers' book?

Moderator:
Yu Ying (China), Former Executive Editor, Gusheng Research Institute for New Children's Books, Online Reading Promoter

Speakers:
Suzanne Carnell (UK), Publisher, Two Hoots (Macmillan)
Chen Hui (China), Chinese Language and Literature Professor; Director, Research Centre on Picture Books, Beijing Normal University
Xavier Deneux (France), Author and Illustrator
Gao Yuan (China), Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.
Grazia Gotti (Italy), President, GianninoStoppaniCooperativaSociale; Curator of the ToddlersFirst BooksExhibition
Alexandra Kennedy (USA), Executive Director, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Zuo Wei (China), Picture Book Author

*Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English.

*International speakers will be connected to the venue through online channels.

Suzanne Carnell (UK)

Publisher,Two Hoots(Macmillan)

In a career spanning three decades, Suzanne Carnell have been lucky enough to work with many of today’s most talented authors and illustrators including Emily Gravett, Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler, Chris Riddell, David Roberts, Roger McGough, Lauren Child, BethanWoollvin, Emma Chichester Clark and Lane Smith.
In 2016she launched her own imprint at Pan Macmillan, Two Hoots, with the ambition to create a quality children’s illustrated list with no boundaries of format, age group, style or content, offering the most gifted authors, artists and designers the creative space to try new things.
In its first four years, Two Hoots has received considerable critical acclaim, and won prizes including Best Picture Book at the Chen Bochui Children’s Literature Awards in Shanghai, the Opera Prima BolognaRagazzi Award, and several in both the US, including an Ezra Jack Keats Honor Award, and the UK, most notably the Kate Greenaway Medal, the top prize for illustration in the UK.
Chen Hui (China)

Chinese Language and Literature Professor, Research Centre on Picture Books Director, Beijing Normal University

Chen Hui holds a PhD in Chinese literature. She is a professor and PhD tutor at the Beijing Normal University’s School of Chinese Language and Literature, and the director of the university’s Research Centre on Picture Books. Her academic research on literary theory and childhood education resulted in two books—The Art of Telling Stories with Picture Books and How to Teach Children about Love and Empathy. She is also the editor of several other books, including Literature for Young Children, Picture Books for Children and Levelled Reading and Evaluation for Children. Chen Hui penned novels for young readers, including Little Stories, Little Sky and Little Dreams, Blooming Little Flowers, My Name is Doudou and Doudou’s Pinwheel. She is also the author of four picture books: Puppy, My Puppy; Balcony with a View; The Legion of Huzi and Letter Home.
Gao Yuan (China)

Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.

Gao Yuan is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd. Her passion for picture books started growing when she joined Poplar in 2004, and was later enhanced by her son’s birth, which allowed her to discover the joys of reading picture books from a child’s perspective. Gao Yuan has edited and published more than one hundred picture books, including titles in translation such as Little Bear, Curious George, Life Story, and original Chinese books like Beijing’s Spring Festival, Lanterns, and Dumplings and Tangyuan.
Xavier Deneux (France)

Author and Illustrator

Xavier Deneux is an author-illustrator living in Paris. He graduated from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. With a diploma from ESAG, he worked as a graphic designer, creating posters and decors. He then decided to devote his talent to illustration. Specialised in books for the very young ones, he is published by Editions Nathan, Milan and Tourbillon.
Yu Ying (China)

Former Executive Editor, Gusheng Research Institute for New Children's Books, Online Reading Promoter

A graduate of the Chinese Department of Renmin University of China, majoring in literature, Yu Ying boasts more than ten years of media experience, covering a vast area of cultural fields. In 2016, she became one of the founders of the magazine "Feng Hui Story Spaceship", which was brought under the copyright of the Bayard Magazine in France, and she served as chief editor of its opening issue. In June 2018, Yu Ying left the “Story Spaceship” and set up her own official WeChat account for children’s books called "Ospreys Have Babies". Additionally, she serves as the executive editor of the Gusheng Research Institute for New Children’s Books. Over the past two years, Yu Ying has interviewed close to 100 of the world’s top creators, publishers, translators and promoters of children's books.
Zuo Wei (China)

Picture Book Author

Writer of children’s fiction and picture book writer and illustrator, Zuo Wei was the first Chinese author published by Beijing Poplar.
She is a music teacher in the national “Gardener Education Project”, and was designated model teacher and role discipline leader in Beijing. Her works The Rat Class of Huatian Primary School was listed among the 2010 “50 Most Popular Books” and won the Bing Xin Literature Award. In 2014, she published her first original picture book, The Magic Little Stone, which was included in several recommendation lists, including the “50 Most Popular Books”, the “China Annual list of Outstanding Children's Books”, the “Top 100 Children's Book List, the 2nd “China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair Recommended Title List”, and the National Library of Children's Library's “100 Originals—Chinese Picture Book Core List”. In 2015, she won the Best Children’s Book Award given by Baidao.com—one of the most reputable sources on children's books in China. Many of her works are published by Poplar until now.
Alexandra Kennedy (USA)

Executive Director, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Alexandra Kennedy is the executive director at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, a role she has held since 2008. She oversees the Museum’s mission to champion illustrated children’s literature. The Carle collects, preserves, and exhibits original illustrations, encourages guests of all ages to read and create art, and advances an ever-growing audience passionate about children’s books. Its traveling exhibition program reaches more than 500,000 museum visitors a year around the world. Before she began her museum work, Kennedy worked at The Walt Disney Company for 18 years, where she was, most recently, the vice-president, editorial director for their U.S. Consumer magazines.

Nov 14 2020

09:00 17:00

Children Plus—Toddlers’ Books

Children Plus—Toddlers First Books

Booth, 1A01 (Hybrid Zone)

This exhibition is hosted by the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair and curated by Giannino Stoppani Cooperativa Sociale, with the support of the Bologna Children’s Books Fair. A live painting event for children directed by Gudong—a Shanghai-based illustrator and finalist in the 2017 Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition—will allow everyone to play creatively with Little Riding Hood.

Nov 15 2020

09:00 16:00

Children Plus—Toddlers’ Books

Children Plus—Toddlers First Books

Booth, 1A01 (Hybrid Zone)

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