India
Mukand and Riaz
By Nina Sabnani
Mukand and Riaz. Nina Sabnani. Tulika Books, 2007.Co-published with National Institute of Design, New Delhi. ISBN 9788181463432. 32 p. (Ages 5 and up). Picture book.
Set against the background of India and Pakistan’s partition, Mukund and Riaz is a gripping tale of friendship accompanied with appliqué art, a fabric art style commonly done by women of both Sindh in Pakistan and Gujarat in India. Would pair with Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar. The author is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, where she is pursuing her doctoral research in the area of storytelling, with focus on Kaavad tradition in Rajasthan. She was inspired by the memories of her father and initially made Mukund and Riaz as a film for Big Small People Projects, Israel that won the certificate of merit from Tokyo Broadcasting System, Japan. This is the short film on Mukund and Riaz. [mi]
Korea
The Tailor Shop at the Intersection
By Ahn Jaesun, Sora Kim-Russell (Translator)
The Tailor Shop at the Intersection. Ahn Jaesun. Translated by Sora Kim-Russell. Transit Books, 2023. Originally published in Korean. ISBN 9781945492761. 48 p. (Ages 4 and up). Picture book.
A multi-generational saga… in a 48-page picture book! It chronicles three generations of tailors (dogs, actually) operating a tailor shop in Seoul. The story moves from the introduction of western-style tailoring, through the destruction of the Korean War to the present day. Author-illustrator Ahn bestows as much care in presenting the details of tailoring and the city outside as the tailors do to their suits. A paean to craftsmanship and hard work, The Tailor Shop at the Intersection received a special mention for the Bologna Ragazzi Award in the debut category. [dj]
When Spring Comes to the DMZ
By Lee Uk-Bae, Chungyon Won and Aileen Won (Translators), Lee Uk-Bae (Illustrator)
When Spring Comes to the DMZ. Lee Uk-Bae. Translated by Chungyon Won and Aileen Won. lllustrated by Lee Uk-Bae. Plough Publishing House, 2019. Originally published in Korean. ISBN 978-0874869729. 40p. (Ages 5-8). Picture book.
A Batchelder honor book, When Spring Comes to the DMZ was a Korean contribution to the Peace Picture Book Project, a cross-national collaboration among picture book writers and illustrators from Japan, China and Korea. Lee’s book invites readers to view the amazing natural beauty that has developed in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the narrow strip of land between North and South Korea where people are still not allowed to go. Landscapes are punctured by rusting tanks and barbed wire, subtly reminding the reader of the war that separated and continues to separate the two Koreas. [dj]