I am thrilled to learn that The Garden of Empress Cassia US edition is on the USBBY 2012 Outstanding International Books Honour List.

Other Australian books named are Deb Abela’s The Ghosts of Gribblesea Pier, Sonya Hartnett’s The Midnight Zoo and Shaun Tan’s Lost and Found.

‘USBBY is the United States national section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), a nonprofit organization that facilitates the international exchange of information about books and reading. Since 2006, when we launched the Outstanding International Books list, our mission has been to select titles of high literary and artistic merit that introduce American children to artists and writers from other countries, help our students see the world from other points of view, and provide a fresh perspective or address a topic otherwise missing from U.S. children’s literature, while often presenting a distinct cultural flavor. This year, our committee evaluated more than 225 children’s and young adult books that were published in 2011. We considered all aspects of content and presentation, including the originality or creativity of the approach, the distinctiveness of the topic, and the qualities that engage and appeal to kids.’ School Library Journal

USBBY