Outstanding Japanese Children’s Books selected by the JBBY and the Japan Foundation

【2022-E002】

The JBBY Booklist “Japanese Children's Books 2022”

The JBBY (Japanese Board on Books for Young People) has published “Japanese Children's Books 2022,” an English catalog of outstanding recently published Japanese books selected by the JBBY. The catalog has reviews, target age and bibliographic information of titles in 3 categories: (1) picture books, (2) chapter books and novels, and (3) nonfiction. It also provides information about the Hans Christian Andersen Award Japanese winners/nominees, Japanese selection for the IBBY Honour List, and outstanding children’s books recently translated into Japanese.

Lifelong Favorites: Japanese Books Recommended for Translation

In partnership with the JBBY, the Japan Foundation has added 59 Japanese children’s books to its list of books recommended for translation into other languages. The list covers books written in Japanese for children aged 5-12 in the following 3 categories:

(1) Folktales

(2) Long-time sellers published between 1970 and 2000 that remain popular among children today

(3) Books published after the year 2000 that are expected to become long-time sellers

The Japan Foundation would prioritize the titles on their book list for financial support. The support program can normally be applied for from September to November, and only by foreign (not Japanese) publishers/organizations.

The English translation of the Japanese children’s book “Temple Alley Summer,” written by Sachiko Kashiwaba, the ALA (American Library Association) 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award winner, was published by its US publisher with financial support from the Japan Foundation.