Today’s post comes to you from Nadine Bailey The Colour of Tears Alessandro D'Avenia is an Italian high school teacher with a PhD in Classical Literature. Both his love of classical literature and his real-world classroom experiences shine through in this wonderful glimpse into a year in the life of our sixteen-year-old protagonist, Leo. Leo starts … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: White as Silence, Red as Song
Today’s post comes to you from Kim Tyo-Dickerson Alkrem: Magic wasn’t just his birthright, it was his destiny. Theo, the adopted son of the powerful Archemist Brennock Chimius, is turning thirteen. In his Parisian world, this birthday is a sacred rite of passage, the moment an Archemist finally receives their Apto, an animal advisor and lifelong … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: Alkrem
Today's post comes to you from Kim Tyo-Dickerson Alchemy and Identity: How Rebis: Born and Reborn Reimagines the European Witch Trials in Medieval Italy Rebis: Born and Reborn -- written by Irene Marchesini & illustrated by Carlotta Dicataldo (2023), translated from Italian by Carla Roncalli Di Montorio (2025) In a medieval Italian village, men and … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: Rebis: Born and Reborn
Giovanni (Gianni) Rodari’s importance to Italian children’s literature is hard to overstate, though English translations of his books have been scarce until the last few years. Born in 1920, he was a young adult in Mussolini’s Italy, and in response, became a lifelong Marxist and anti-fascist. His politics are often visible under the surface of … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth: Gianni Rodari and His Grammars of Fantasy
In the deep, dark, frigid days of winter, what could be more fun than curling up in a blanket with a shivery ghost story? Set during summer vacation, The Ghosts of Pandora Pickwick is a wonderful combination of two evergreen middle grade tropes: the aforementioned ghost tale and an adoption/origin story. Protagonist Mia Jones has … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Ghosts of Pandora Pickwick
What’s faster than a jet? Or bigger than a whale? And have you ever wondered how many vertebrae are in a giraffe’s neck? These and myriad other fascinating questions are the focus of Faster Than a Jet, Bigger Than a Whale: An Illustrated Guide to Measuring Our World, a wonderful nonfiction book for readers age … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Faster Than a Jet, Bigger Than a Whale: An Illustrated Guide to Measuring Our World
Welcome back to #WorldKidLit month! Today we will be looking at some more wonderful Italian picture books. Sergio Ruzzier is an Italian illustrator, author, and translator. He was a 2011 Sendak Fellow, won the Andersen Prize in Italy in 2023, and has had two of his books (Fox and Chick: The Party in 2019, and … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2025: Sergio Ruzzier
Today's post comes to us from Angela Roberts. Felicita Sala is an author and illustrator whose work I return to again and again. I have read and reread her stories and frequently recommend them to my patrons. My first encounter with Sala’s work was about six or seven years ago, on the recommendation of a … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2025: Author and Illustrator Felicita Sala
Baron Lamberto, 93 years old and in failing health, lives in a mansion on an island in the middle of Lake Orta, in northern Italy. Living from the proceeds of his 24 banks around the world, he is waited on by his butler, Anselmo, and an army of cooks, servants, and, strangely, six people in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto
Written by Kim Beeman The list below is loosely, but mostly, young adult books, all translated from Italian into English. As I have discovered in my time in Italy, relatively few middle grade and young adult books have been translated from Italian into English. Last October was #ItalianLit month on GLLI, and this wrap-up post … Continue reading #INTYALITMONTH: Italian YA in Translation
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 