BOOKS THAT OPEN WINDOWS TO OTHER WORLDS 
Africa and India share similar baggage of a colonial past, of being seen in the world through 'colonial eyes'. Also common is the dichotomy between a strong traditional culture and contemporary reality. How do books for children handle these issues? A view from South Africa....

 Do children read anymore? Some do and more will if you care                             When bookshops are flooded with imported and indigenous books, why are children not reading?

 WHEN "AN ORANGE IS THE SUN IN THE FRIDGE" 
"I have found that I hardly ever tell students what to write about. It doesn't work. I tell them to go
crazy" — and the results are often quite astonishing....

 REMINISCENCES OF CHILDHOOD READING                                                                         Growing up in war-torn Japan, Empress Michiko talks of what books meant to her....

 XX RUPEES! INDIAN BOOK! TOO MUCH!  
The responsibility to bring out a good book for children is far greater than one for an adult....

YOUNG MINDS FORCE-FED WITH INDIGESTIBLE TEXTS
Censorship in educational books take away all that's thought-provoking and colourful from these texts, argues Ms Diane Ravitch in her book, The Language Police. Excerpts from a review of the book by Michiko Kakutani  featured in the April 29 2003 web edition of  The New York Times.

WORDS OF WAR
Taking comfort in imagination in times of war.