Nicola at the International Youth Library/Internationale Jugendbibliothek

This will be my last entry for my time at the International Jugenbibliothek. I feel very sad to be leaving. It has been such a wonderful experience in so many ways: the books, the people, and experiencing living in Munich. I have cleared my piles of books off my desk and found a few beautiful almost coffee table books entitled ‘The Best Children’s Books in the World’ and 100 Great Children’s Picturebooks’ to look at for my last day. I have also just had the pleasure of meeting Junko from USBBY who has just arrived from the US to work here for a month. I last met Junko at the IBBY conference in NZ, and we have a lot to discuss, so I am going to have lunch with her today, and dinner with her when I return next Friday. A final treasure! Working at IJB has provided focus and resources for my research concerning multilingual picturebooks, and given me time to really think and develop a book proposal. It is such a privilege, and a time I will always treasure. ...

Well I was on my own in the study area of the library today, aside from visits from a few groups of students. It was very quiet, a bit lonely, but I was very focussed. I took photos of all the book covers of the books I have analysed, and checked through the references for the three articles I have drafted. It feels very satisfying to have nearly got to the end of my six weeks with three articles drafted, and it reminds me of the huge value of study leave. I am lucky if I can get one article written in a semester when I am teaching, so to have this time and focus makes a huge difference to the progress you can make. Having consecutive days of focus, instead of one day a week (which is often encroached upon by other responsibilities- marking always trumps research!) means you can assemble your thoughts more coherently, and consequently make faster and deeper progress, I think. My three articles are currently entitled: Linguistic Landscapes of Bilingual Picturebooks in the Whit...

I have had a very nice weekend since I last wrote, including a trip to the local shopping centre and a last art gallery trip. The local shopping centre is big and it was busy. As there is no Sunday shopping here I guess everyone has to do their shopping on Saturdays. Things are expensive so not too much money was spent, but it is always interesting looking.   Several people had recommended Lenbachhaus for my last art gallery. It contains a collection from the Blue Rider, and expressionist painting group who included Kandinsky and Gabriele Munter who lives in Munich for some time. Their work is gloriously colourful which was a nice counterpoint to the grey day.  http://www.lenbachhaus.de/ausstellungen/sammlungspraesentation/der-blaue-reiter/ Yesterday (Monday) was a day of writing for me. I have three journal articles on the go, and I like to roam from one to the other, a bit like a bee with flowers, I like to think. And, yes, cross pollination does occur! It is wonderful...