BookBrunch’s Mary Hoffman found a way to visit The Bologna Children’s Book Fair, although it had been cancelled. At Otter-Barry Books, her first words of praise were for ‘Hello! A Counting Book of Kindnesses.‘

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Bologna 2020: a virtual report

Mary Hoffman (News, Children) – Friday, 03 April 2020

Not prepared to let a small thing like cancellation stand in the way, our book fair correspondent, Mary Hoffman, brings you the highlights of Bologna 2020

On the last Sunday in March, the doyennes of the British children’s book industry should have been gathering at Heathrow to board planes to Bologna for the Children’s Book Fair held in the Italian city for over 50 years. I have been joining them on and off since 1993, always feeling that the fair begins at the airport, with so many publishers, agents and rights directors queuing at the gate.

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Not so this year, when the fair was postponed to the first week in May and then cancelled, along with the London Book Fair, which should have preceded it.

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My last visit at the fair would have been to Otter-Barry Books, where my long-time editor and friend Janetta Otter-Barry publishes books for under sevens, including successful poetry.

Hello! A Counting Book of Kindnesses by Hollis Kurman and Barroux is to be published for Refugee Week on 15 June and is a lovely way of engaging quite young children with the refugee experience. The counting approach brings the age level down, but it still gets an important message of welcome across. Facts and websites at the back. OBB have sold this beautiful picture book, endorsed by Amnesty International, to publishers in the US, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, and is hoping to sell many more editions worldwide…