Tayo Shima, a children’s book editor, walked into her office as a volunteer. She became fascinated with Japan shortly after taking the helm of the Literature Center. The Library now holds more than 600,000 children’s books, periodicals, maps and other items. Over the ensuing years, she’s expanded the Library’s collections of rare and remarkable children’s literature, organized exhibitions and symposia and brought together an international book community. Jagusch was appointed chief of the Children’s Literature Center in 1983. That was not the case in the early days, in the 19th century, because children’s books were not as highly regarded as they are today.” Lady Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon in “Japanese Portraits,” by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, illustrated by Victoria Bruck, p. “It’s to give the reader an overall picture of Japanese culture as it was portrayed by Americans. “My intent was not to evaluate how correctly an American writer would portray American and Japanese cultures,” Jagusch said in a recent interview. It’s not always a pretty picture, with stereotypes, caricatures and exoticism dominating the early years, but it has also resulted in beautiful stories, pictures and narratives that will last for generations. The gorgeously illustrated, 385-page book is a window into both cultures as they have evolved over the past two centuries, but its focus is on the stories and illustrations that Americans have chosen to show their children about Japan. That’s the brilliant manner in which Sybille Jagusch, chief of the Library’s Children’s Literature Center, views the relationship between Japan and the United States in her new book, “Japan and American Children’s Books.” It’s published by Rutgers University Press in association with the Library. They’re written by adults, though, so in a looking-through-the-other-end-of-the-telescope way, they also tell us a lot about the older generation that writes, illustrates and publishes them. They’re often our first exposure to new and different people, places and cultures. Published by the Library and Rutgers University Press.Īs children, books are one of our first ways of experiencing the wider world. “Japan and American Children’s Books,” by Sybille Jagusch. National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.
Farm Security Administration Photographs.
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