Our next post is a conversation between educators about a specialized book club in Portland, Maine, USA. They discuss book club title selection, favorite international mysteries, and the problems with "translation" in a beloved series. Enjoy! - Rebecca Starr My name is Lynn Lawrence-Brown, and I am a Taiwanese-American teacher librarian working at Shrewsbury International … Continue reading #WITMONTH 2025: International Women of Mystery
#INTYALITMONTH: Feminism, Storytelling & the Power of the Graphic Novel
Written by Angela Erickson From Skeptic to Enthusiast (Again!) When I wrote recently about my evolving relationship with graphic novels, I focused on the nonfiction science titles in translation that had caught me by surprise. I wrote about those first because they were what I have been reading most recently, but it was not graphic … Continue reading #INTYALITMONTH: Feminism, Storytelling & the Power of the Graphic Novel
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Smash the Patriarchy
"Up for smashing the patriarchy?" "Yes!""Yeah!""But... What is the patriarchy, exactly?" So goes the opening dialogue in Smash the Patriarchy, a fabulous graphic novel for upper YA readers. The much-deserving winner of this year’s GLLI Translated YA Book Prize, it describes and defines terms such as “the male gaze,” “slut-shaming,” and, yes, “the patriarchy” with … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Smash the Patriarchy
#IntlYALitMonth Review: Our Own Little Paradise
Review by Nina Hotchkis Our Own Little Paradise by Marianne Kaurin has been translated into English from Norwegian by Olivia Laksy and is a refreshing text for middle grade and young YA readers, especially those transitioning between schools. Nora (in the English translation) has recently moved to a new school and is determined to fit … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth Review: Our Own Little Paradise
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Bedtime for Bo
There are parents and caregivers who look upon bedtime with dread. It can be a fraught time, what with perhaps recalcitrant young children who don't always realize how nice it is to go to sleep, and adults who want nothing more than to do the same. In dreamy Norwegian import Bedtime for Bo, however, a … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Bedtime for Bo
Day 18: 🇳🇴 A Modern Family by Helga Flatland
In a Nutshell: When adult siblings, Liv, Ellen and Häkon, along with their partners and children, gather in Rome to celebrate their father’s 70th birthday, their lives are thrown into disarray when their parents announce that they have decided to divorce. It is told predominantly from the perspectives of the two sisters, Ellen and Liv … Continue reading Day 18: 🇳🇴 A Modern Family by Helga Flatland
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Agnes’s Place
Filled with brightly colored, intricately detailed illustrations that reward repeated viewing, Agnes’s Place* is a quiet, sweet picture book for readers 3-7 about friendship, new friends, isolation, and belonging. When the story begins, Agnes is a contented five-year-old who lives in a land of grownups, a land with many buildings and just as many interesting … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Agnes’s Place
#WorldKidLitWednesday: Brown
In Brown, a spare, quirky, satisfying book for middle grade readers, we meet Rusty, aka superhero Brown, at a rocky time in his life. His grandfather dies soon after his family moves to be nearby. A group of three bullies—including the minister’s son—destroy the fort that Rusty and his friend Jack have been building. Rusty … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Brown
#TranslatedLit Orenda Books: Not Just Nordic Noir by Karen Sullivan (Publisher)
A cornucopia of literary delights awaits you at Orenda Books! Alongside our English authors from South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the USA, Wales, Scotland and England, we have breathtakingly original, beautifully written translated offerings from Iceland, Finland, Germany, Norway and France, with more countries lined up for coming years. From Finland, we have … Continue reading #TranslatedLit Orenda Books: Not Just Nordic Noir by Karen Sullivan (Publisher)
#TranslatedLit An Introduction to Orenda Books by Karen Sullivan
This November we turn six … and during the current climate, this feels like a considerable achievement, with more ups and downs that a short blog can possibly do justice. ‘Orenda’ is a Canadian First Nations word – one of those almost-impossible-to-translate terms – meaning ‘the mystical power that drives human accomplishment’. The energy it … Continue reading #TranslatedLit An Introduction to Orenda Books by Karen Sullivan
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 