The Swedish Academy for Children’s Books
The Swedish Academy for Children’s Books is an association dedicated to the promotion
of good literature for children and young people. It strives to influence politicians, institutions, and public opinion in the area of
children's literature.
The Academy has 18 members, who are all authors and illustrators of books for children and young people. They are elected for a period of five years,
and can be re-elected for periods of three years.
The annual Fiery Spirit Award is given to an individual or a group of individuals who has contributed substantially to the promotion of children’s books.
Members of the Academy have written a pamphlet titled 17 Reasons For Children's Books which has been translated into several languages.
Seventeen Reasons For Children´s Books
1
Books can entertain and excite us. They can make us laugh and cry. They can comfort us and show us new possibilities.
2
Books help us develop our language and our vocabulary.
3
Books stimulate our imagination and train us in finding inner images.
4
Books can awaken in us new and interesting issues which give us something to think about.
5
Books develop our thinking. They give us concepts to think with and new ideas. They widen our consciousness and our world.
6
Books give us knowledge about other countries and other ways of life, about nature, technology, history, and everything under the sun that we might want to know more about.
7
Books develop our capacity to empathise. They give us a chance to put ourselves in the position of others and understand their emotions.
8
Books make us reflect on what's right or wrong, good or bad.
9
Books can explain reality and help us understand how matters are connected.
10
Books can show us that there's not always only one answer to a question, but that most things can be seen from different points of view.
11
Books help us understand ourselves. It strengthens our self-confidence to realise that others think as we do and feel as we do.
12
Books help us understand that all of us are different, too. Reading books written by authors from other times and other cultures increases tolerance and helps combat prejudice.
13
Books provide company when we're lonely. They are easy to take with you and can be read anywhere. They can be borrowed for free from a library.
14
Books are part of our cultural inheritance. They give us common reading experiences and a common frame of reference.
15
A good children's book can be read out loud so that both young and old enjoy it. It can be a link between generations.
16
Children’s books provide work for many people: authors, illustrators, editors, printers, graphic designers, proof readers, photographers, librarians, publishers, book sellers, and others. Children's books contribute to a rich cultural life. They are important cultural exports, which make our country known abroad.
17
The children's book is our first contact with literature, a never-ending world, lasting all our lives.
Downloads
The pamphlet can be printed and distributed freely as long as the copyright of The Swedish Academy of Children's Books is recognized.
Albanian PDF with illustrations
English PDF with illustrations
Portuguese PDF with illustrations
Russian PDF with illustrations
Serbian PDF with illustrations
Spanish PDF with illustrations
Swedish PDF with illustrations