According to Kanoon General Directorate for Public Relations and International Affairs, this prize titled “Month-Year Children and Adolescents Book” is supposed to help families to select and purchase appropriate books for their children with ease. Meanwhile, it is trying to support publishers in the field.

The award given to an author, poet or translator every month or given to a publisher at the end of every season is called “Kanoon Silver Bird”; it includes a badge with the same title, statuette, tablet, and cash. Of course, the badge of Golden Bird, statuette, tabula, and cash is given to the book of the year.

Kanoon is supposed to purchase the selected books reviewed by various juries in high numbers and send them to more than one thousand cultural and artistic Kanoon centers all over Iran.

The first review of the published works was done in the form of Month-Year Book Award in spring, 2020. The awarding ceremony was held on August 17, 2020 in Tehran.

The groups of experts for this event reviewed 1370 books sent to the secretariat in several stages; at the end Hossein Fattahi, Abbas Jahangirian, Atosa Salehi, Mahmoud Pourvahab, Esmaeel Azarinejad, the five final judges, introduced three books to receive the Kanoon Silver Bird out of 14 nominees for March, April and May 2020.

Learn more about the top works of this award:

 “The Secret of Nightingale Wood”: Winner of Silver Bird, March 2020

If you age 12 to 16, your age category is “Grade-schooler”, and “Teen” or you intend to buy your child a suitable book, we suggest “The Secret of Nightingale Wood”, the winner of Silver Bird, March 2020.

Lucy Strange is the author and Neda Monem has translated the book. Houpaa Publications has sent it to the market. 

The story happens in a long and dreamy summer in 1919 while the First World War is over. “Henrietta”, the protagonist of the story, lives with her father who has travelled abroad to work, her sick mother and her sister. In her loneliness, she discovers that their house is full of strange secrets. After the bad happening in London, Henrietta and her family moved to a new house at the heart of the jungle. A house with a board naming it “House of Hope” but everything looks messy in a way.

In part of the book we read: “When dad left, I lost the track of days. In a way, I felt it is Sunday every day. I used to lie on a quilt under the shadow of a Plane tree for hours. Nights were long and I felt lonely. My dreams had got darker and more dreadful. I used to hear the voice of a terrifying sobbing accompanied with sudden screams. And that smell… I always could feel the smell of that chocking smoke.”

Kanoon Silver Bird was given to this book for being loyal to the original text, healthy and fluent language employed for translation, adapting to national and cultural values and paying attention to the needs of the audience and to the translator, Neda Monem. Houpaa Publications was admired for publishing the book.  

Fatemeh Alipour illustrated the book. It is has been offered to the audience in 328 pages and at a price of 40,000 Tomans.

“Nokhodi, Don’t Go to the Pot” Poetry Book Won Kanoon Silver Bird

 The jury granted Silver Bird of April 2020 to Afsaneh Shaban Nejad for “Nokhodi, Don’t Go to the Pot” published by “Houpaa Publications” for age category above 7.

This book is one from the five-volume collection of “Game, Poetry, Play” written by this outstanding poet and author in children and adolescents domain illustrated by Zohreh Parirokh.

 “Nokhodi, Don’t Go to the Pot” is the story of a pea that jumps out of the pot and is going to go into a hole in the wall but the hole belongs to a mouse…

The poetry in this book is a combination of three factors of game, poetry and play in a way that children can act out the roles in the poetry through singing and games. The poetry in this collection is suitable for children. Most characters are animals, sometimes human beings.

Following the fundamental principles of poetry, innovation in the form and content (combining poetry, game and acting), special attention to interests, needs and today’s problems of the audience and book-making are the characteristics of the book that caused the book to get Silver Bird. Kanoon appreciated the publisher as well.

Loopetoo Publications published the book in 24 pages and with a price of 12,000 Tomans.

 “Draw a Human Being” Won Silver Bird in June 2020

 “Draw a Human Being” written by Fariba Kalhor and illustrated by Mitra Abdullahi won Silver Bird of Mont-Year Children and Adolescents Award in June 2020. Kanoon published the book.

Fariba Kalhor is one of the active authors in the field of children and adolescents literature who has written significant books so far. In this book, she narrates the story of Uncle Painting and a little girl called Saba. Their conversation forms the main body of the story. Uncle Painting is supposed to draw a human being but instead he draws a mouse. From this point, Saba’s challenge with the definition of human being, nature and identity of human being starts.

In one part of the book we read, “Uncle Painting drew another mouse, a mouse that had a big fridge in his nest with its door open. There was lots of sausages, water melon, and coke in the fridge.” Saba said, “But, he is still a mouse and different from a human being. Draw a human being!” 

Arguments and dialogs of the story directs the audience towards conceptual questions about themselves. However, the author acts in a clever way and has devised different ending for the story.

 “Draw a Human Being” could win Silver Bird for its prose and childish exposition, the use of attractive narrative technique, appropriate healthy language according to the content of the book and appropriate book making,

Kanoon published the book in 28 pages and with the price of 12500 Tomans.