To borrow from a popular internet meme, I once again want to remind you that picture books are for everyone. Luckily, Enchanted Lion Books understands the assignment. Specifically targeted at teen and adult readers, the company's groundbreaking Unruly imprint has already brought us complex, award-winning written and visual narratives that both delight and discomfit. Originally … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: We Go to the Park
Up, down, over, under, open, close: learning opposites is an important piece of early childhood development. Learning opposites helps children learn not only vocabulary, but also develop observational skills, critical thinking, and a more concrete understanding of the world around them. Forthcoming this September from Eerdman's Books for Young Readers, Fast Cheetah, Slow Tortoise: Poems … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Fast, Cheetah, Slow Tortoise: Poems of Animal Opposites
Set against the backdrop of the ongoing Syrian civil war and the resulting refugee crisis, Wild Poppies is the story of two brothers, Omar and Sufyan. As the novel opens, they, along with their mother and younger sister, have been displaced to their aunt's home in a village named Al-Nuaman, or "the poppy flower." Their … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wild Poppies
Named to the 2024 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize shortlist, The Boy from Clearwater tells the story of Tsai Kun-Lin, "an ordinary boy" born in Qingshui District on the western coast of Taiwan. Tsai Kun-Lin's story, however, is nothing short of extraordinary. It is a story of surviving military occupation, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Boy from Clearwater, Book 1
Coming of age stories are a often visited theme in young adult and even middle grades literature. It is not a common theme in picture books, however. Forthcoming from Catalyst Press, Wankijũ, Child of Mine is a picture book bildungsroman of a Kenyan girlhood. Like other titles from Catalyst Press, it gives pride of place … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wankijũ, Child of Mine
For all the hand wringing about young people not liking to read or even reading proficiently, there sure is a lot of gatekeeping by adults around what is and what is not appropriate for young people to read. Bracketing and suspending for a moment current book banning efforts in the United States, there are adults … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Movements and Moments
At the risk of repeating myself yet again, picture books are for everyone. They are most certainly appropriate for young adults, especially when they are bold, daring, and splashed with a bit of danger. Published by Enchanted Lion Books' new picture book imprint Unruly, You Can't Kill Snow White is both a new interpretation and … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: You Can’t Kill Snow White
On one side of the world, a boy looks out his window to watch colorful fireworks burst in the sky. In another part of the world, a girl presses her face to her window as she sees rockets and bombs strike her neighborhood. Their lives are so very different, yet in the Turkish picture book … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Ferris Wheel
I'm a big fan of nonfiction picture books. And a translated book is bound to get my attention. Home, forthcoming from Eerdman's Books for Young Readers, combines both to make a standout text. Written and illustrated by French born artist Isabelle Simler, Home is a survey of over 25 different animals from around the world … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Home
Originally published in Iran in 2021, Empty and Me: A Tale of Friendship and Loss is a standout picture book about loss, grief, and finding new ways to be in the world. Released this past October in a dual language Persian/English edition by U.S. based Lee & Low Books, this moving picture book presents an … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Empty and Me
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 