How to respond to the pandemic: a more or less faithful account of two years in the life of children’s literature

Abstract

The articles in this yearbook are usually like a camshaft in a piston engine – picking up what has been done in previous years, transforming it, and putting it back in so that the world can go on turning. But things have been different over the last two years: to quote the teacher and mediator Jaume Centelles, 2020 and 2021 have been years of “total upheaval”.

The article in front of you is, therefore, a testimonial document of the changes in the world of books caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The text examines each and every link in the life of a book, from the authors to the readers, ranging from the smallest detail to the great strokes of two years of our history with its high points and its low points: highs such as the adaptability of the general public and of parts of society, and lows deriving from the attitudes of some of our rulers, those in charge of library services, or the difficulties facing certain authors who have struggled to survive. So let this document bear witness to what we experienced and, to a greater or lesser extent, also help to guide us through a less turbulent future.

The article also includes a section that in previous editions had become a chapter in its own right: a collection of the research that has been presented at different levels and has provided one more building block in the process of knowing where we come from, who we are and where we are going. This has been necessary due to the retirement of Dr. Teresa Colomer, who was previously in charge of this chapter.

As you will see, some of the information gathered in this paper has been obtained thanks to the selfless participation of many of the leading figures in the world of children’s literature. The interviews, always full of good sense, have been an inexhaustible source of knowledge and pleasure and provide us with valuable insights into the experience of past two years.