Silent Books

In response to the waves of refugees from Africa and the Middle East arriving in the Italian island, Lampedusa, iBbY launched the project “Silent Books, from the world to Lampedusa and back” in 2012. The project involved creating the first library on Lampedusa to be used by local and immigrant children.
The second part required creating a collection of silent books (wordless picture books) that could be understood and enjoyed by children regardless of language. These books were collected from IBBY National Sections, over one hundred titles from over twenty countries. One set of books was deposited at the documentation and research archive in Rome (Palazzo della Esposizioni), another was delivered to the library in Lampedusa and a further set was part of a travelling exhibition.
​This exhibition has now reached the French village of Montolieu (not far from Carcassone) where it will be on view next week, Oct 7-9. A host of free events will accompany the exhibition, with talks from various artists as well as representatives of both iBbY France and UK; there will also be a presentation of the wordless books created by the children of Montolieu for the children living on the  Italian island: from Lampedusa... and back.

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