In today’s #WorldKidLit Wednesday review, let's travel to the Caribbean island of Trinidad, where Wygenia uses bush medicine to help heal her Grannie. The Wonder of the World Leaf is aimed at readers ages 6-8, who are reading confidently and fluently most of the time. My edition is a slim 32-page paperback with short paragraphs … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Wonder of the World Leaf
Last month I reviewed the first of our co-winners for the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize. This month we turn to the second winner of the prize, Here the Whole Time. Written by Vitor Martins, this book gives us another look into the lives of LGBTQ young people in Brazil. Also translated by Larissa Helena, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Here the Whole Time
A surreal symphony of vibrant colors and images, Sato the Rabbit* is a whimsical trilogy of picture books for readers age 4-8: One day, Haneru Sato became a rabbit. He's been a rabbit ever since. He likes stars, the ocean, and tasty treats. He likes lots of other things, too. What young child hasn’t imagined … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Sato the Rabbit
As someone who grew up during the 80s and 90s, I have several memories of the earlier years of the AIDS epidemic. I still remember the news reports of gay men dying in large numbers, and learning about how HIV is spread—and how it is not. I also remember the death of Freddie Mercury (right … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Where We Go From Here
What beauty awaits when the imagination takes flight! In the Meadow of Fantasies opens with a young girl of around 6 years of age. She is wearing a white nightdress, lying in bed. As she gazes up at a mobile of seven white galloping ponies, she murmurs “There was one, one horse. There were two, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: In the Meadow of Fantasies
Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Dulcinea who lived happily “with her father in a house on the edge of a large forest.” The forest, of course, was off-limits to all, for deep within it, an evil witch lived inside a castle, replete with a treacherous, monster-filled moat. Such is the stuff of fairy tales, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Dulcinea in the Forbidden Forest
I don't mean to brag, but my colleagues recognize me as a children's book maven. I often seem to know of the newest and most notable picture books, and get my hands on them as soon as they are available. How do I do it? In addition to reading a few trade publications and blogs, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Magic Candies
A shiny button, a soft cloud, a bush full of blueberries. Why, they’re treasures of course! At least they are to Little Bear; not so to the other animals he meets, who dismiss his finds as “junk.” Until Little Bear meets Little Bird. “‘Ooo, a magic stick!’ said Little Bird.” Aha! Finally, a creature after … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Little Bear’s Treasures
It has been a great pleasure and opportunity for me to be the guest editor for Madagascar Literature Month in December 2021. First of all, it was a pleasure to connect with so many talented Malagasy writers, poets, translators and publishers, to interview them, to read their works and to learn from them about this … Continue reading #MadagascarLitMonth: Summing Up A Magical Literary Trip
In this interview, novelist Jean Luc Raharimanana tells Abhay K., the guest editor of Global Literature in Libraries Initiative for #MadagascarLitMonth about his latest novel, Revenir, being translated into English and German, why did he write it, how long did it take to write it, surprises he came across while writing it and his favourite Malagasy … Continue reading Jean Luc Raharimanana interviewed by Abhay K.
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 