Originally an award-winning play for children, Do Fish Sleep? is a heartbreakingly matter-of-fact look at death for middle grade readers from the perspective of Jette, a 10-year-old whose little brother, Emil, dies during the course of the book. Unsurprisingly, she and Emil are both puzzled about what happens to people after they die—animals, too. When … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Do Fish Sleep?
During the past 6 months, I have edited a series of articles on “What We’re Missing: Gems of World Kid Lit.” Taking a page from the UK’s Times Literary Supplement, which styles itself as “the only major English-language publication to review books published in other languages,” I thought we could introduce the concept on this … Continue reading What We’re Missing: Gems of World Kid Lit
Third Reich or not, lesbians are always at war. With their families, with their friends, with societal institutions. With the law, with the streets. With themselves. Hiding is a part of life. Death or violence are always possible. This is a reality for lesbian and bisexual women throughout history, and in our current world. However, … Continue reading #GlobalPRIDELitMonth: Aimee and Jaguar: A Lesbian Love Story from Nazi Germany
Inger Hagerup is recognized as one of Norway's greatest 20th century poets. Originally published in 1961 with illustrations by Paul René Gaughin, Little Parsley is a classic collection of 17 of her poems for children, freshly translated from the Norwegian by Becky Lynn Crook. Ideally suited to children in lower primary, Little Parsley is an … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Little Parsley
I’ve always had a soft spot for mice. Not the computer kind, nor the kind that were supposed to make Victorian women shriek and fall into a dead faint. (Probably because their corsets were too tight….but I digress.) No, the cute, cotton, and cuddly kind. So I fell hard for Torben Kuhlmann’s imaginative historical fiction … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Three picture books by Torben Kuhlmann: “Lindbergh,” “Armstrong” and “Edison”
What if Death liked his coffee "black and strong?" And left his scythe outside the door, so as not to scare the young ones? That's who Death is in Cry, Heart, But Never Break, originally written in Danish by award-winning children's author Glenn Ringtved, with wistful, pencil-and-watercolor illustrations by Charlotte Pardi. In this gentle, moving … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Cry, Heart, But Never Break
Translator Tara Chace discusses Angryman, her work as a translator, and the “Nordic” sensibility in children’s books. NorthSouth Books: What languages do you translate, and how did you become a book translator? Do you work on adult as well as children’s literature? TC: I translate Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. I suppose I took a unique … Continue reading In Translation: A Powerful Norwegian Picture Book Comes to America
Make way for a wonderful fairy tale for readers ages 6-10! Written by beloved Hungarian children’s author Ervin Lázár, Arnica, the Duck Princess features sumptuously colored, folk art illustrations by Jacqueline Molnár that make it both a satisfying read-aloud and read-alone book, bridging the gap between picture book and middle grade chapter book. Anna Bentley’s … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Arnica, the Duck Princess
Devilspel by Grigory Kanovich translated by Yisrael Elliot Cohen Danuta Hadassa Danuta Hadassa no longer remembered how many years had gone by since she found herself living out in the sticks; she had been on the road for years and had intended to put an end to her life in a roadside inn. … Continue reading Excerpt from the new novel Devilspel by Grigory Kanovic
My cousin Egidijus Lisauskas put his hand on the book, hesitated for a moment, and then pulled it off the shelf and put it into my hands. It was 1997, we were standing in a bookstore in Vilnius, and I had asked for something to read to improve my Lithuanian, explaining that all I could … Continue reading The Translator’s Choice by Translator Elizabeth Novickas
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 