#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II

Last week the American Library Association (ALA) presented their annual Youth Media Awards, celebrating the best in literature for young people. Among major awards such as the Caldecott and the Newbery medals, there is also the Mildred L. Batchelder Award, given to an outstanding "children’s book originally published in a language other than English in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II

#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Fighting the Good Fight: Social Justice in Children’s (Translated) Books and Graphic Novels

Books for young readers help shape children’s minds, attitudes, and viewpoints. Hence it’s crucial for young readers to have the opportunity to hear diverse voices from around the world. Today’s impressionable, thoughtful young minds need to be aware of important issues and acts of historical or social justice. Graphic Novels Maus: A Survivor’s Tale From … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Fighting the Good Fight: Social Justice in Children’s (Translated) Books and Graphic Novels

Day 20: 🇦🇹 I belong to Vienna: a Jewish Family’s Story of Exile and Return

In a Nutshell: Part fiction, history, biography and memoir. In 1942, Anna Goldenberg’s maternal great-grandparents and one of their sons are deported to the Thersienstadt concentration camp, a then German-occupied region of the Czech Republic. Goldenburg’s grandfather, Hansi avoids deportation and survives but he will never see his parents and brother again. Using letters, archives … Continue reading Day 20: 🇦🇹 I belong to Vienna: a Jewish Family’s Story of Exile and Return

#INTLYALITMONTH: That’s a wrap!

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: I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education and Changed the World (Young Readers Edition)

I Am Malala: Young Reader's Edition Written by Malala Yousafzai, with Patricia McCormick Published by: Little Brown Books For Young Readers ISBN: 9780316327916 Malala Yousafzai is a household name nowadays, more commonly known by her first name like Cher or any number of pop stars. But Malala started out as just a normal girl in … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education and Changed the World (Young Readers Edition)

#INTLYALITMONTH: It’s Trevor Noah: Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers)

Written by Trevor Noah Publisher: Yearling : An imprint of Random House Children’s Books ISBN-13: 978-0525582199  It’s Trevor Noah’s: Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers)  Trevor’s story from his book, Born A Crime, remains the same in the adaption for young readers, but this version makes it more … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: It’s Trevor Noah: Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers)

#INTLYALITMONTH: No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference

Written by: Greta Thunberg ISBN: 978-0-593-29497-0 Publisher: Penguin Random House Buy it here It’s August 2018, and 15-year-old Greta Thunberg from Stockholm Sweden decided it was time to make a call of action about climate change and its effects in the world and our daily lives. Greta began her school strike outside the Swedish Parliament … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference

Literature of Exile: Palestine

Like the Kurds, to be a Palestinian is to grow up in exile, and with exile as a family heritage. During the Nakba, the catastrophe of 1948, "more than half of Palestine's native population, close to 800,000 people had been uprooted, 531 villages had been destroyed, and eleven urban neighborhoods emptied of their inhabitants (from … Continue reading Literature of Exile: Palestine

Literature of Exile: LGBTQ authors

The life of an exile is always complicated, but being an LGBTQ+ refugee can sometimes mean exile from your family and community as well as from your homeland. Today we look at writers from Iran, Somalia, and Pakistan who have confronted the challenge of being a gay refugee. Négar Djavadi flatly states, "I’m not an … Continue reading Literature of Exile: LGBTQ authors

Literature of Exile: The Ashour/Barghouti Family

"Silence said:truth needs no eloquence.After the death of the horseman,the homeward-bound horsesays everythingwithout saying anything." • 'Silence' translated by Radwa Ashour from Midnight and Other Poems, by Mourid Barghouti Although exile is often a family experience it's rare that it produces a family of acclaimed writers. And yet we have the remarkable Ashour/Barghouti family: Mourid … Continue reading Literature of Exile: The Ashour/Barghouti Family