June 18, 2008 - ST. PAUL, Minn.
Minnesota Humanities Center is pleased to announce that one of its titles, "Wiil Waal", has been named a 2008 Honor Book for Young Children by the African Studies Association (ASA).
A traditional Somali folktale, "Wiil Waal" tells the story of a Somali leader who poses a riddle to the men in his community and a young girl who ultimately determines the solution. Retold by Kathleen Moriarty, translated by Jamal Adam, and illustrated by Amin Amir, "Wiil Waal" is part of the Minnesota Humanities Center Somali Bilingual Book Project and features text in both English and Somali.
The title is one of five books honored this year by the ASA. The national awards annually salute the authors and illustrators of outstanding books about Africa published in the United States for young children and older readers. The ASA announced the awards on the International Day of the Child, June 16, and will honor winners at its annual meeting in November.
"This award brings recognition to the wonderful storytelling tradition of Somalia," said Moriarty. "It was an honor to help capture this traditional Somali tale in print to support families' home language as well as English literacy skills."
About the Somali Bilingual Book Project
The Somali Bilingual Book Project reflects the Minnesota Humanities Center's commitment to promote and preserve heritage languages and increase English literacy skills of refugee and immigrant families. This collaborative project initially includes the publication of four bilingual children's books for shared reading and a dual-language audio recording. A portion of proceeds from sales of the books will support ongoing projects of the Minnesota Humanities Center's Bilingual and Heritage Language Programs.
About the Minnesota Humanities Center
Through its emphasis on the humanities, the Minnesota Humanities Center works to build a thoughtful and literate society. A Minnesota-based national center and clearing house for the best in the humanities, the Humanities Center: conducts professional development opportunities; creates and disseminates on-of-a-kind educational resources; partners with other organizations to offer humanities programs statewide; and operates a full-service meeting and event center. For more information, visit www.minnesotahumanities.org.