Congratulations to Freya Blackwood whose book, The Boy and the Elephant (HarperCollins) was not only selected for the 2023 Silent Books Collection but was an Honour List title.

2023 SILENT BOOKS JUDGES COMMENTS

‘In an absorbed silence that gradually changes into animated conversation, there are books that agree and conquer everyone at the first reading. This is the case of the Australian The Boy and the Elephant (HarperCollins), by the award-winning illustrator Freya Blackwood enraptured us with her poetry without rhetoric, liquid illustrations and the ability of the little protagonist to listen beyond the daily noise and enter into a relationship with nature in such a profound way that we can observe it through his eyes.’

The Silent Book Collection began as an IBBY response to the refugees fleeing Africa and the Middle East and arriving on the island of Lampedusa, Italy. Putting IBBY’s goal into action of building bridges through books, a library was established in Lampedusa and Silent Books were donated from around the world. These Silent Books are ‘books without words yet books that are extraordinarily rich in stories, images and content’ (Della Passarelli). Any child can understand them no matter the child’s language or culture.

Bringing books and children together