Each month for 17 months – one for each of the 17 SDGs – the SDG Book Club will release a book list. In May, the SDG Book Club will address the issue of Goal 2: Zero Hunger and June Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being. The SDG Book Club will continue until August 2020, ending with Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
On the occasion of International Children’s Book Day (an IBBY initiative), the United Nations, together with leading global organisations representing publishers, libraries, booksellers, authors and books for youth, launched the SDG Book Club with books in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish related to Sustainable Development Goal 1: No Poverty.
An event at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the SDG Book Club, as well as the first reading list were launched by Michiel Kolman, Presidential Envoy for Diversity & Inclusion, International Publishers Association, and Carole Bloch, Executive Director PRAESA, and IBBY Vice President. Other organisations engaged in the SDG Book Club include the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF).
Amina Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, addressed the audience via video message, encouraging them to participate as “true sustainability is only achievable with the support of the young.”
The SDG Book Club provides an opportunity to encourage children to learn about the SDGs and discover new voices and concepts from around the world in all six official UN languages. The recommended books for April and focusing on SDG 1: No Poverty are:
Arabic:
- Aina da’at, Author: Mohanned Al Akoos
- The Wonder Bag, Author: Omaima Ezadeen
- The Strange Wondrous House, Author: Omama Allawati
Chinese:
- Adventures of Sanmao, Author: Zhang Leping
- The Prince and the Pauper, Author: Mark Twain
- Ah, Xiangxue, Author: Tie Ning
English:
- Serafina’s Promise, Author: Ann E. Burg
- The Last Stop on Market Street, Author: Matt de la Peña
- A Chair for My Mother, Author: Vera B Williams
- The Happy Prince, Author: Oscar Wilde, Illustrator: Maisie Paradise Shearring
French:
- Jouer Aux Fantômes, Author: Didier Levy, Illustrator : Sonja Bougaeva
- L’usine, Author: Yael Hassan
- La Pauvreté et la Faim, Author: Louise Spilsbury, Illustrator : Hanane Kai
- Ma Robe Couleur de Fruits, Author: Myriam Gallot, Illustrator : Julia Wauters
Russian:
- The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish, Author: Alexander Pushkin
- Vanka, Author: Anton Chekhov
- The Cat’s House, Author: Samuil Marshak
Spanish:
- A la Sombra de los Anacardos, Author: Antón Fortes Torres, Illustrator: Simona Mulazzani
- De Noche en la Calle, Author: Ángela Lago
- No Comas Renacuajos, Author: Francisco Montaña Ibáñez
- Un Punado de Semillas, Author: Mónica Hughes, Illustrator Luis Garay
The SDG Book Club aims to engage young people everywhere, fostering a love of reading and sharing ideas with friends and parents alike. By encouraging the support of the young, the SDG Book Club promises to make a strong contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in general, and specifically targets Goals dealing with literacy and education.
Those interested in joining the SDG Book Club are invited to sign-up here: http://bit.ly/SDGBKCLUB
About the Sustainable Development Goals:
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by world leaders at the historic United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. Encompassing everything from health, to gender equality, and education, the Goals will mobilize efforts around the world to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.
About the organizers of the SDG Book Club (A-Z):
Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF)
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) is the most important international trade fair of the children’s publishing industry. With over 50 years of experience, BCBF has succeeded in bringing together a unique and diverse global audience: the result is the world’s premium copyright business hub when it comes to publishing with an extra core that extends to all multi-media content for children.
European & International Booksellers Federation (EIBF)
The European and International Booksellers Federation represents national booksellers associations in the European Union and beyond. EIBF Members in turn have in membership booksellers of all kinds: brick and mortar bookshops, online bookshops, independents, chains.
International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)
The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is a non-profit organization that represents an international network of people from all over the world who are committed to bringing books and children together. Today IBBY comprises 79 National Sections worldwide.
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession. Founded in 1927 in Edinburgh, Scotland at an international conference, we celebrated our 90th birthday in 2017. We now have more than 1,300 Members in nearly 150 countries around the world. IFLA was registered in the Netherlands in 1971.
International Publishers Association (IPA)
The International Publishers Association (IPA) is the world’s largest federation of publishers’ associations with 81 members in 69 countries. Established in 1896, the IPA is an industry body with a human rights mandate. The IPA’s mission is to promote and protect publishing and to raise awareness of publishing as a force for economic, cultural and social development. Working in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and numerous international NGOs, the IPA champions the interests of book and journal publishing at national and supranational level. Internationally, the IPA actively opposes censorship and promotes copyright, freedom to publish (including through the IPA Prix Voltaire), and literacy.