The South Asia Book Award (SABA) established by the South Asia National
Outreach Consortium (member National Resource Centers funded by The US
Department of Education, Title VI) promotes awareness about South Asia (Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,and the region of Tibet) to
librarians, publishers and teachers. This annual award recognizes a recently published work of fiction,
non-fiction, poetry or folklore, from early childhood to secondary reading
levels, published in the US, Canada or United Kingdom, in English which accurately and skillfully
portrays South Asia or South Asians in the diasporas, that is the experience
of individuals living in South Asia, or of South Asians living in other parts
of the world. The culture, people, or heritage of South Asia should be the
primary focus of the story.
I had the privilege of serving on the
first award committee with a wonderful group of people and the first awards have just been announced! More information can be found at the
South Asia Book Awards page
2012 South Asia Book Award
for Children’s and Young Adult Literature
2012 Winners
Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
(Henry Holt and Company, 2011). Pen Pals Elliot and Kailash discover that even
though they live in different countries—America and India—they both love to
climb trees, own pets, and ride school buses (Grade 5 & under).
Island’s End by Padma Venkatraman (G.P. Putnam’s
Sons, division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2011). A young girl trains to be
the new spiritual leader of her remote Andaman Island tribe, while facing
increasing threats from the modern world (Grade 6 & above).
2012 Honor Books
Sita’s Ramayana by Samhita Arni, illustrations by
Moyna Chitrakar (Groundwood Books, 2011). The Ramayana, one of the greatest
legends of ancient India, is presented in the form of a visually stunning and
gripping graphic novel, told from the perspective of the queen, Sita (Grade 6
& above).
Following My Paint Brush by Dulari Devi and Gita
Wolf (Tara Books Pvt. Ltd, 2010). Following My Paint Brush is the story of
Dulari Devi, a domestic helper who went on to become an artist in the Mithila
style of folk painting from Bihar, eastern India (Grade 5 & under).
No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books,
2011). Valli has always been afraid of the people with leprosy living on the
other side of the train tracks in the coal town of Jharia, India, so when aa
encounter with a doctor reveals she too has the disease, Valli rejects help and
begins a life on the streets. (Grade 6 & above).
Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan
(Simon & Schuster, 2011). In 1919, independent-minded Rosalind lives in
India with her English parents, and when they fear she has fallen in with some
rebellious types who believe in Indian self-government, she is sent “home” to
London, where she has never been before and where her older brother died, to
stay with her two aunts (Grade 6 & above)
2012 Highly Commended Books
Beyond Bullets: A Photo Journal of
Afghanistan by Rafal Gerszak with Dawn Hunter
(Annick Press, 2011). Award-winning photographer Rafal Gerszak spent a year
embedded with the American troops in Afghanistan to bear witness to its people,
culture, and the impact of war (Grade 6 & above).
The Wise Fool: Fables from the Islamic World by
Shahrukh Husain, illustrations by Micha Archer (Barefoot Books, 2011). Meet
Mulla Nasruddin, a legendary character whose adventures and misadventures are
enjoyed across the Islamic world (Grade 5 & under).
The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Uma
Krishnaswami (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon &
Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 2011). Eleven-year-old Dini loves
movies, and so when she learns that her family is moving to India for two years,
her devastation over leaving her best friend in Maryland is tempered by the
possibility of meeting her favorite actress, Dolly Singh (Grade 6 & up).
Karma by Cathy Ostlere (Razorbill, Penguin Group,
2011). Written in free verse poems in a diary format, this novel straddles two
countries and the clash of Indian cultures in the tale of 15-year-old Maya
(Grade 6 & up).
Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy (Scholastic Inc.,
2011). Zulaikha, a thirteen-year-old girl in Afghanistan, faces a series of
frightening but exhilarating changes in her life as she defies her father and
secretly meets with an old woman who teaches her to read, her older sister gets
married, and American troops offer her surgery to fix her disfiguring cleft lip
(Grade 6 & up).
