READ A rebellious teenaged prodigy studying piano at an authoritarian school for the musically-gifted in communist Bulgaria – what could possibly go wrong? Plenty, as it turns out, and fifteen-year-old Konstantin learns some hard life lessons in Nikolai Grozni’s semiautobiographical novel Wunderkind. Konstantin’s passion for playing the works of Frédéric Chopin is matched only by his … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Bulgaria
#WorldKidLit Weekend: Ellie’s Voice or Trööömmmpffff
Ellie’s Voice or Trööömmmpffff,* an adorably whimsical Estonian picture book for ages 3-6, is about a seabird named Ellie, who has no voice. “Everything else has a voice,” Ellie thought sadly. "The trees rustle. The waves crash. Even the rain sings when it falls." I’m the only one who can’t make a sound." Ellie felt tears … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Weekend: Ellie’s Voice or Trööömmmpffff
#INTLYALITMONTH: A Castle In The Clouds
A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier Translated from the German by: Romy Fursland ISBN-10: 1250300193 ISBN-13: 9781250300195 Publisher: Holt Books for Young Readers (Henry Holt & Company) Buy it here Sophie Spark is completing an internship at Castle in the Clouds, a picturesque hotel in the Swiss mountains. On any given day, she … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: A Castle In The Clouds
#IntlYALitMonth: Abigail
Abigail by Magda Szabó, translated from the Hungarian by Len Dix Who doesn't love a boarding school novel? Especially one written by an author who actually experienced life within a similar one for herself? Hungarians love this book so much, they voted it their third most-beloved novel during the Hungarian Big Read of 2005. So … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth: Abigail
Speculative Fiction in Translation: Terra Nova
Terra Nova: An Anthology of Contemporary Spanish Science Fiction, edited by Mariano Villareal co-selected by Mariano Villareal and Luis Pestarini translated from the Spanish by Sue Burke and Lawrence Schimel Sportula June 15, 2013 258 pages Outstanding novella-length stories make up this important collection of contemporary Spanish-language science fiction. Thanks to translators Sue Burke and … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Terra Nova
Speculative Fiction in Translation: Twelve: A Romanian Science-Fiction Anthology
Twelve: A Romanian Science-Fiction Anthology, selected and introduced by Cornel Robu Sedona Publishing House (Timişoara, Romania) 1995 Stories included (in order of original Romanian publication): “Igor’s Mannequin” (1938) by Victor Papilian, tr by Virgil Stanciu“Tristan’s Last Avatar”/ “The Last Avatar of Tristan the Old” (1966) by Vladimir Colin, tr by Mihaela Avrămuţ“Les Trois Grâces” (1976) … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Twelve: A Romanian Science-Fiction Anthology
#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
Speculative Fiction in Translation: The Mission
The Mission by Péter Zsoldos translated from the Hungarian by András Szabados Profiford Bt. May 6, 2018 (originally published in Hungarian in 1971) 190 pages Péter Zsoldos (1930-1997) was a Hungarian speculative fiction author in the US-UK tradition, focusing in his work on space exploration, mind-transference, and robots. Of his most well-known work, Feladat (The Mission, … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: The Mission
Speculative Fiction in Translation: Memoirs of a Polar Bear
Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada translated by Susan Bernofsky New Directions November 8, 2016 288 pages Inaugural Winner of the Warwick Prize for Women In Translation, 2017 In Memoirs of a Polar Bear, Tawada doesn’t just inhabit the mind of a polar bear to explore such issues as Cold War politics, ancestry, … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Memoirs of a Polar Bear
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wonderful Feels Like This
Writing fiction about music can be tricky. Music is sound in time; it speaks to our brains at a pre-verbal level. As a result, using words to describe music can be hard and the literature is littered with near-misses. So it’s a great pleasure as a musician to read a well-written novel centered around music … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wonderful Feels Like This
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 