Author Talk of Sydney Smith and Baek Heena during the IBBY Conference. Taken on August 31, 2025 by Raissa.
On August 30th and 31st, 2025, we attended the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Conference in Suwon, South Korea. We brought a poster presentation entitled Community Peace Libraries: Supporting Justice and Peace with Nature. We met with illustrators, children’s book authors, and people interested in children’s books, such as librarians, lecturers, researchers, and children’s book activists. It was truly interesting because this year’s theme was Living in Harmony with our Planet.
This theme aligns perfectly with the goal of Peace Libraries: to introduce and support children’s skills in building a peaceful life not only with themselves but also with nature and society. There was an interesting quote from Sydney Smith, a children’s book author who recently received the Hans Christian Anderson Award. He said, “We can’t care for the Earth if we don’t care for each other.” It’s a short, deeply meaningful statement. We can’t separate building peace with humans from building peace with nature; we are all interconnected.
So, how is this context translated into children’s books or literature for children, whether in songs, films, pictures, or anything else? Children are like seeds. Yes, they will grow into plants that are highly dependent on the environmental conditions around them. They need enough water. Are they fertilized with natural fertilizers in a climate that supports their growth and can they obtain the nutrients they need? Children’s books are like fertilizers for children – they carry a load of nutrients to support children’s growth and development. With the appropriate books, children are able to maximize their potential and grow beautifully in their own environment.
In this context, Lara Saguisag delivered a presentation entitled Soaked in Oil: Childhoods and Children’s Literature in an Era of Fossil Fuel. It showed that children’s books can also be used as propaganda by interested parties pushing their respective agendas to children and to society in general. She mentioned children’s literature that has been published to show the necessity and benefits of oil, encouraging young people to become dedicated consumers of oil, and even let the young people imagine a future in working in the oil industry.
However, there is also children’s literature that shows the reality of the oil and fossil fuel industry. These books support the development of critical thinking about economies and culture, calling out the damage to the environment and to the society of harmful products and industries. The most important aspect is to support children and scaffold the skills needed to be critical readers.
Children’s literature is indeed a powerful tool to practice our thinking and reflection skills, as well as empathy. We realized that books are powerful tools to share the message of justice and peace – which includes the realities of the world we live in now, and also the hope that we hold on to.
Ratih and Raissa’s poster presentation on Community Peace Libraries: Supporting Justice and Peace with Nature presented during the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Conference in Suwon, South Korea with friends (writers, illustrators, and researchers) from the Conference. Taken on August 30, 2025.