"The Colony" by Annika Norlin (2023), the debut novel of a Swedish pop star, translated into English by Alice E. Olsson (2025) In the spring of 2023, a lone, burned-out journalist escapes the city and heads up to a remote village to live in a tent, trying for a bit of a nature cure, a … Continue reading #WITMonth: “The Colony” by Annika Norlin
Today’s post comes to you from Nadine Bailey Ann-Helén Laestadius’s Punished is a profound, deeply unsettling exploration of systemic oppression, extinguishing of language, intergenerational trauma, and the enduring struggle to reclaim cultural identity. It is a narrative based on the author’s family story* that forces readers to confront a dark and often overlooked chapter of Scandinavian … Continue reading #WITMonth: “Punished”
Twelve-year-old Tuva has always felt different from her classmates. In the past, they’ve bullied her. Now, “at best, they ignore” her. But until people from Tuva's Stockholm archipelago go missing--even a classmate--she has no idea why she doesn't fit in nor how different she really is. Accompanied by new kid Rasmus, who befriends her, Tuva … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Secrets Below
Thirteen-year-old Vilda lives with her parents and younger sister Irma in northern Sweden. Her father is Swedish and her mother is Sámi. Her Sámi grandfather lives in the same town, and recently she has become interested in learning more about this Indigenous people’s language and culture. But just as her Áddjá begins teaching her to … Continue reading #WorldKidLIt Wednesday: Butterfly Heart
Welcome back to #WorldKidLit Month. Today's post comes to us from Lisa Miller. Sharing the precariousness of Earth’s plight in a gentle, hopeful but realistic way is the miracle of Finding a Way to Faraway Valley (2023) written and illustrated by Cecelia Heikkilä, and translated from Swedish into English by Polly Lawson. An old postcard … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2025: The Quest for Legacy in ‘Finding the Way to Faraway Valley’
Welcome back to #WorldKidLit Month 2025! Today's post comes to us from Staci Fox. One of the coolest things about running a library these days? Our readers are more connected to the world than ever before. Whether it's through travel, streaming services, international classmates, or even TikTok trends, there's a real appetite for stories that … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2025: The Moonwind Mysteries
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
Twelve-year-old Movits “Mo” Lind is the antithesis of cool. He plays chess, trains his guinea pig, cooks for his younger sister, and mortifies his popular older sister with his geeky interests. His life changes, though, when he agrees to travel with his best friend, Ruben, from their quiet suburb to downtown Stockholm to see Ruben’s … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Biggest Fake in the Universe
Mika is back! She stars in the award-laden Moonwind Mysteries, a gripping upper MG/YA historical series set in 1880s Sweden. The first two books in the series, The Night Raven and The Queen of Thieves, were filled with suspense, gritty details, fast pacing, and vivid characters, including the city of Stockholm, which becomes a tangible … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Lost Ones
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
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 