Four Feet, Two Sandals (Eerdmans, 2007) by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed; Illustrated by Doug Chayka
***The cities of Bologna and Itabashi have a sister city relationship and are culturally twinned in the promotion of children’s books. Each year a translation contest is held in Itabashi, Tokyo in which participants buy selected English or Italian children’s books and prepare a translation, which they submit to the competition. This is the 15th year that the Itabashi Translation Contest is being held.
The books that are in the competition are chosen by the committee of the Bologna Book Fair in Itabashi – Picture Book Translation Contest from the picture books that Bologna contributes each year to the city of Itabashi. The committee includes professional translators, picture book authors, and/or teachers. The contest receives support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Canadian Embassy, the Italian Embassy, the Chinese Embassy, the Mongolian Embassy, the Japan School Libraries Conference, the Japanese
Libraries Association, and the Japan Book Publishing Association among other domestic, non-profit, book-related organizations.
***Four Feet, Two Sandals, was selected as Book of the Month by the Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children. To see this selection, visit the Project’s home page at http://econkids.rutgers.edu,
***Four Feet, Two Sandals was selected for the 2008 list of Notable Books for a Global Society, awarded by the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association.
Each year, this program selects a list of 25 outstanding trade books that enhance student understanding of people and cultures throughout the world.
****Four Feet, Two Sandals was chosen to be a part of the Reading List: Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People — a project presented yearly by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council (CBC).
<http://www.cbcbooks.org/readinglists/notable.html> .
****Four Feet Two Sandals was chosen by Jessica Doyle, the First Lday of Wisconsin for Read On Wisconsin! for the book of the month for March 2008 and was distributed to school and community groups across the state. See http://readon.wi.gov
****A Spring 2008 Horn book Guide recommended book.
****School Library journal: Double-page acrylic paintings in muted colors enhance the well-written narrative, depicting the desert setting as well as camp conditions and cultural details, such as the character’s clothing. The girls’ changing emotions are clearly conveyed through the text’s understated tone and the realistic pictures. This poignant story of loss, friendship, and sharing introduces readers to the realities of children growing up in refugee camps.
