[Yugi Shobo] Starts crowdfunding to translate and publish
Palestine/Gaza picture books: At the same time, the “Children’s Library of Gaza” exhibition will be held nationwide
Yugi Shobo Press release: October 2, 2024 Start of crowdfunding to translate and publish Palestine/Gaza picture books: At the same time, “Children’s Library of Gaza” exhibition will be held nationwide Yugi Shobo is currently conducting crowdfunding to publish the picture book “If I were a bird: The story of Palestine and Gaza.” At the same time, the “Children’s Library of Gaza” exhibition panels will be provided to bookstores as well as student groups and book reading demonstrations.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/148933/2/148933-2-46ecd20c46107e1192af4eaee938e253-1200×801.jpg Crowdfunding on CAMPFIRE will be held until October 17th Project background and overview The picture book “If I Were a Bird” is a picture book that depicts the expulsion of the Palestinian people and the occupation and settlement by Israel from the eyes of a young boy in gentle and soft words. However, because he talks so frankly about the roots of the Palestinian/Israel problem, when I was introduced to him six years ago by translator Saori Katagiri, I felt that it would be difficult for him to be accepted in Japan. However, since October 2023, the situation in the occupation of Palestine has become extremely serious following the cross-border attack on Gaza by Hamas, and I have come to think that this is a picture book that Japanese children and adults should read now. Ta.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/148933/2/148933-2-f691c19d3b9b33bf8f2af5c4bae85c24-1192×1298.jpg In addition to individual returns, set “social returns”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/148933/2/148933-2-f04078b7cb8249fb666482adabf472af-800×400.jpg [Return example] 1 Japanese picture book Arabic original book set In addition to providing Japanese picture books to supporters after publication, we also had a limited number of copies available as a set with the original Arabic book, but due to popular demand this has ended, and we are currently considering adding more copies. Another major feature of this project is that it provides a “social return.” In cooperation with IBBY Palestine (Palestine Branch of the
International Children’s Book Council), we plan to create and provide exhibition panels on the theme of “Children’s Libraries in Gaza.” Thoughts on “social return” The reason why we set “Social Return” was that when we were planning the project, we and our staff asked ourselves, “Would it be acceptable to raise funds for publication in Japan rather than for local support, given the harsh local situation?” What I did was the trigger. Carimat (United Arab Emirates, Emirate of Sharjah), the original publisher of the picture book, donated all profits from the book’s sales to the library activities of IBBY Palestine (Palestinian branch of the International Children’s Book Council) in the Gaza Strip. This is also the background. The company is a publishing company founded and run by the Princess of the Emirate of Sharjah. Yugi Shobo, a small publishing company that has been in business for 5 years, cannot do the same thing, but I thought there was something I could do instead, and I came up with the idea of creating a site in the Gaza Strip that was run by IBBY Palestine. The purpose was to tell about the two children’s libraries. What is the “Children’s Library of Gaza” exhibition? As of 2024, IBBY (International Board for Children’s Books), which is also known for being selected for the International Hans Christian Andersen Award, has branches in 84 regions and countries around the world. The Palestinian branch operated two children’s libraries in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza and Rafah in the south, with international support. There are also many photos of many children happily participating in library activities. However, in an attack by Israel in 2014, both buildings were completely or partially destroyed, and although they were later rebuilt, they were both destroyed without a trace in an attack in October 2023. The exhibition will include this information and images, as well as messages from local librarians. There is a lot of information on the web about Palestine/Israel, and many general and specialized books have been published in Japanese, but many people do not know where to start when trying to understand the subject. In doing so, I decided to focus on the topic of “Children’s Libraries,” which is familiar and easy to imagine for people who read picture books, and to convey a glimpse of what is happening. Future
development of the project There are many people who support this project, saying, “I saw the local situation on TV and was saddened.If there was something I could do, I wanted to do it.” Regarding the “Children’s Library of Gaza” exhibition, it was exhibited at a charity event by university seminar students, and was a place for learning on the themes of multicultural coexistence,
refugees/immigrants, and picture books. We have received requests to hold this event along with talks and lectures such as “How did you come to publish a picture book?” I would like to use picture books as a medium to provide a clue to “learning/knowing together.” Publication information Title subtitle: “If I were a bird: The story of Palestine and Gaza” (Text) Fatima Sharafeddin, (Illustration) Amal (Translator) Saori Katagiri, (Commentary) Hiroyuki Suzuki (Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Middle East Research and Culture Center, University of Tokyo) Scheduled to be published on January 15, 2025 1,980 yen (tax included) B5 variant Hardcover ISBN
978-4-910343-08-2 https://www.hanmoto.com/bd/isbn/9784910343082 *At the same time as crowdfunding begins, pre-orders will also be accepted at bookstores and online bookstores nationwide. Company profile [Yugi Shobo] Established in 2020 in Hachioji City, Tokyo as a “translated picture book publisher that travels around the world.” The company name comes from the former Yuki Village in Hachioji City. It publishes picture books with a refugee theme, picture books from Georgia (formerly Soviet Union/Georgia), and translations of picture books from Iceland, and also co-sponsors events with Tama City, Tokyo, which is the host town of Iceland. Publisher HP: https://www.yugishobou.com/ X: https://x.com/yugishobou_book Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/yugishobou/ note:
https://note.com/yugishobou ■ Company profile Company name: Yugi Shobo Location: Matsuki, Hachioji City, Tokyo Representative: Kimie Maeda ■■Contact information regarding this matter Yugi Shobo contact information (person in charge: Maeda) info@yugishobou.com,
yugishobou@gmail.com 090-4180-4135 ■ Yugi Shobo/Representative/Kimie Maeda After researching Persian literature and translating picture books with Islamic themes, he founded Yugi Shobo in 2020. From 2016 to 2018, the Japan Society for the Education of International
Understanding held a workshop on 100 refugee picture books as part of its specific research project, “Questioning international
understanding education from the refugee issue.” This led to the encounter. Since 2007, he has been a part-time lecturer at the College of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo. Part-time lecturer at Tokiwa Junior College (certified picture book artist training course).