An explosion and traffic crash involving a truck filled with pigs on their way to the slaughterhouse leads to unexpected fame and terror for a teenage band in Rosario, Argentina in 1976. Sixteen-year-old Daniel Aguirre and his 15-year-old brother Adrián write a song from the perspective of pigs who end up in the neighborhood’s cooking … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Hear Ye Mortals
Today’s post comes to you from Kim Tyo-Dickerson & Helle Kirstein The Seer and the Nun We recently met to discuss Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem’s immersive historical novel Daughter of Doom, translated from Dutch by Kristen Gehrman, and published by Levine Querido (2025). Originally published as Onheilsdochter by Querido (2022), the book was shortlisted for the prestigious … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Daughter of Doom
Today’s post comes to you from Erica Prenda Magic, Memory, and the Aftermath of Dictatorship Since I am an English teacher, it is probably unsurprising that visiting the world’s famous libraries, bookstores, and other literary haunts is my top priority when I arrive in a new country. Accordingly, my souvenir to take home is always a … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: Hungary
Part thriller, part nostalgic political critique, Alexei Ivanov's The Food Block (2024, translated from Russian by Richard Coombes and published by Glagoslav Publications) takes place in a pioneer camp on the banks of the Volga set against the backdrop of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The Food Block (Пищеблок) was originally published in 2018, and was … Continue reading #INTLYA Month: Vampires and Collectivism in ‘The Food Block’
By Kim Tyo-Dickerson 70th Anniversary Graphic Novel Adaptation of Lord of the Flies by Aimée de Jongh: A Masterpiece Reimagined in English and Dutch What happens when a fictional group of British schoolboys crash-land on a deserted island with no adults, no rules, and no way out? Lord of the Flies is a gripping survival … Continue reading #INTYALITMONTH: The Graphic Lord of the Flies
By Kim Tyo-Dickerson and Maria van Lieshout Introduction It was a privilege to speak with author and illustrator Maria van Lieshout about her powerful Young Adult graphic novel debut, Song of a Blackbird / Het lied van de merel, a story that has already earned five starred reviews in the United States for its “exploration … Continue reading #INTYALITMONTH: “Fight HATE. Make ART.” —Interview with Maria van Lieshout, Dutch American author.
In the pampas of Argentina in the mid-twentieth century, a young girl, Clara, helps her mother wash and deliver laundry for the wealthier families of their village. One day, her mother tells her to “Take these clothes to the man in the big house.” The mother warns her not to get distracted, to leave the … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Clara and the Man With Books in His Window
When Annick, an older teenager living in Amsterdam, learns that the grandmother who has raised her ever since her parents’ death in an accident, needs a bone marrow transplant, it leads her on a journey that will take her across oceans and continents, and almost 70 years into the past. Searching for a perfect match, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Song of a Blackbird
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
In 1934 the American occupiers have left Haiti, but things are no better for the people ruled by corrupt and brutal section chiefs. When one of them kidnaps 16-year-old Lucille’s best friend and cuts down their favorite mapou tree, Lucille goes down to the police station to inquire. That puts her own family in danger, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: When the Mapou Sings
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 