Click here to go to UNESCO-CARE (Centre for Art Reserch in Education) website SYNOPSIS: The book is as much an art/sculptural object as it is a work of fiction or nonfiction. This panel will explore contemporary interpretations of the book as an art object and traditional artistic practices of the art of the book. It will also address the "picture book" as a unified artistic whole in which text and pictures, covers and end pages, and details of design work together. And it will offer teachers, parents, and others who work with young people ways to use the picture book to provide an aesthetically satisfying experience for young readers. ABOUT THE PANELISTS: Pooja Makhijani is the editor of Under Her Skin: How Girls Experience Race in America, an anthology of essays, and the author of Mama's Saris, a picture book. She has taught writing and children's literature at Western Connecticut State University and Middlesex County College. In addition, Pooja has conducted writing workshops and presentations at a number of colleges and universities, schools, libraries, and other educational institutions all over the United States. Later this month, she will be participating in the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) and, in June, she will be part of Children's Season 2011, a series of school and family programming at the National Museum. She holds a B.S. from Johns Hopkins University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She also blogs about arts and culture at notabilia.wordpress.com and conducts book arts classes out of her home. Eriko Hirashima is a book artist and founder of LA LIBRERIA. Born in Fukuoka, Japan, she graduated with a BA in Textiles and PGC in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College and a MA in Book Arts in Camberwell College of the Arts. She has exhibited book works in the UK, Japan and Singapore. Eriko has taught at the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University. In 2010, she curated the artists' book exhibition, Centre to Periphery, at the Japan Creative Centre, Singapore. She will be exhibiting new work in an exhibition, Library Thoughts, at Raday Konyveshaz and Gallery, Budapest, Hungary in August. Suzy Lee is the author and illustrator of many books, including the critically acclaimed Shadow (named as one of the New York Times' Best Illustrated Children's Books in 2010), as well as Wave, The Black Bird, The Zoo, and Mirror. She was born in Seoul, Korea. She received her BFA in painting from Seoul National University and her MA in Book Arts from Camberwell College of Arts. Her books and paintings have won numerous international awards and have been featured in exhibitions worldwide. TO REGISTER: Contact Joy Millan by emailing her at millan.khristian@nie.edu.sg