#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Different: A Story About the Spanish Civil War

Posted on by Nanette McGuinness

Life can change suddenly and without warning. I know because it happened to me. So begins Different: A Story of the Spanish Civil War, a book for upper middle grade and young adult readers based on author Mónica Montañés’ family history. Montañés’ father had resisted Francisco Franco’s forces in Spain when Franco attempted a military coup against … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Different: A Story About the Spanish Civil War

Day 22: 🇨🇴 Holiday Heart

Posted on by jessenana

I read this in an evening and a half. What a treat.Robayo’s prose is cutting, sardonic, precise and witty, brilliantly translated by Charlotte Coombe. In a Nutshell: Lucía and Pablo are a married couple, originally from Colombia they now live in the USA with their twins, Rosa and Tomás. We meet the family just as … Continue reading Day 22: 🇨🇴 Holiday Heart

Day 11: 🇵🇪 Nine Moons

Posted on by jessenana

In a Nutshell: Published by Restless Books, a US indie publisher and written in 2009, Nueve Lunas in Spanish, this wonderful essay collection was translated into English in 2019 by Jessica Powell. Each chapter is a month of Wiener’s pregnancy, she is from Lima, at athe time of writing the book, she was living in … Continue reading Day 11: 🇵🇪 Nine Moons

Day 8: 🇦🇷The German Room

Posted on by jessenana

In a Nutshell: The German Room transported me to another place, it had notes of (Elena) Ferrante, Murakami and (Mario) Benedetti in this wonderful novel. The narrator of the novel is pregnant, she lives in Buenos Aires but escapes to her childhood home, the German city of Heidelberg to escape and clear her head. Heidelberg … Continue reading Day 8: 🇦🇷The German Room

Day 7: 🇨🇺 Havana Year Zero

Posted on by jessenana

After reading two brilliant books from Charco Press last summer: The German Room by Carla Maliandi ( tr. Frances Riddle) and Holiday Heart by Margarita García Robayo (tr. Charlotte Coombe). I decided to subscribe to their 2021 bundle. Charco Press is a small indie publisher, based in Edinburgh, that brings Latin American contemporary writers to … Continue reading Day 7: 🇨🇺 Havana Year Zero

#INTLYALITMONTH: That’s a wrap!

Posted on by EliaG

I cannot believe we have arrived at the end of the first ever International Young Adult Month! It’s been truly an honor to be the first guest editor of #IntlYALitMonth by the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative. It’s been an eye-opening experience for me as I have learned so much about international translated Young Adult Literature … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: That’s a wrap!

#INTLYALITMONTH: Furia

Posted on by EliaG

Written by Yamile Saied Mendez ISBN: 978-1-61620-991-9 Publisher: Workman: Algonquin Books for Young Readers Buy it here. Furia is an #ownvoices novel, set in Rosario, Argentina, and it's the story of a young woman named Camila Hassan, also known as, La Furia. Camila dreams of playing fútbol professionally and being one of the best Futboleras in the … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: Furia

#WorldKidLit Wednesday: ¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market & ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat

Posted on by Nanette McGuinness

Imagine a bilingual Richard Scarry Busytown crossed with The Magic School Bus. Mix in Mexican culture with an old-time comics flair. Add several large tablespoons of zaniness and a quart of cleverness… and you’ll still be missing the secret sauce that makes Raúl the Third’s ¡Vamos! picture book series so fabulous.* The first, ¡Vamos! Let’s Go … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: ¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market & ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat

#INTLYALITMONTH: The Courage of Elfina

Posted on by EliaG

Written by  André Jacob, Translated by Susan  Ouriou Illustrated by Christine Delezenne ISBN:13: 978-1-4594-1419-8 Publisher: James Lorimer & Company LTD., Toronto Twelve-year-old Elfina lives in Paraguay with her grandmother, brother, and her dad, who she sees every couple of months as he is a migrant farm worker in Brazil. Elfina is aware that her family … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: The Courage of Elfina