IBBY Silent Books Collection

In response to the waves of refugees from Africa and South West Asia arriving in the Italian island, Lampedusa, the project “Silent Books, from the world to Lampedusa and back” was launched in 2012 at the IBBY Congress in London. It is a literary and humanitarian project carried out by volunteers, as a collaborative initiative between IBBY Italia and IBBY. It was conceived to bring books to children on the move and to the community of Lampedusa, and has grown into a shared space of knowledge on the use of books at borders.

Inspired by Jella Lepman’s vision, IBBY called upon its Sections to donate wordless picture books—stories that could be understood regardless of language. The response was immediate: over 100 titles from more than 20 countries were collected to form the core of a new library. These books were curated into three sets: one for the research archive at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, a second for the library on Lampedusa, and a third to travel globally as an exhibition.

Building on this foundation, the project established a permanent library on Lampedusa, an island in the central Mediterranean often marked by the deadliest migration routes. The library was conceived as both an outreach to children facing crisis and as an opportunity for children on the island to access children’s literature. The library serves the community of Lampedusa and the people who pass through the island, including humanitarian workers and volunteers. It is a testimony to what happens at Europe's borders and an example for community libraries in other places. Due to stricter regulations on immigration, the library is not currently accessible to children on the move. The project continues to build knowledge on how books can accompany children and communities in situations of crisis and institutional hardship. 

From 2013 to date, seven bibliographic Silent Book selections—representing over 600 titles across five continents—have been compiled on a bi-yearly basis thanks to the contribution of the IBBY Sections. Alongside its humanitarian scope, the IBBY Silent Books selections have also served as a critical benchmark for the development of wordless picture books as tools to foster visual literacy across linguistic and cultural boundaries, thus influencing their growth in the global publishing market and advancing IBBY’s broader mission of providing quality literature to young people everywhere.