Opal Dunn is responsible for the enthusiasm of many teachers around the world for using picture books as a flexible resource and to provide children around the world – girls and boys – with exposure to rich, authentic language. Opal wrote many children’s picture books, which were translated into multiple languages and donated hundreds of picture books worldwide. In Japan, in 1977, she pioneered the creation of mother and child groups (the International Children’s Bunko) to support bilingual, bicultural families. Opal was honoured by the Japanese Presidency in 2010 for services to Japanese families. The judges commented she was ahead of her time, in a world where now, more and more children grow up with multiple languages. The judges were quoted as saying ‘nobody has done more, for longer for teaching English to young learners than Opal, and your impact continues’.
