Catherine's War There’s certainly no shortage of WWII stories available for younger readers, especially stories focusing on the devastating impact and consequences of the Holocaust. And at first blush, Catherine’s War seems like just another entry to the cannon of middle grade Holocaust fiction. But the graphic novel, adapted by Claire Fauvel from Julia Billet’s … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth: Catherine’s War
#IntlYALitMonth: The Last Cuentista
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera The Last Cuentista is about the power of stories in our lives. When Halley's Comet goes on a collision course for Earth in the year 2061, Petra Peña, a 13-year-old storyteller -- a cuentista -- along with her younger brother and parents (scientists who specialize in botany), and … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth: The Last Cuentista
#TasmanianLitMonth – Featured Writer Lian Tanner
Photo courtesy of the author. About Lian Lian Tanner has worked as a teacher, a tourist bus driver, a juggler, an editor and a professional actor. She has been dynamited while scuba diving and arrested while busking. She once spent a week in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, hunting for a Japanese soldier left … Continue reading #TasmanianLitMonth – Featured Writer Lian Tanner
#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: Pearl of the Sea
Set in South Africa, Pearl of the Sea* is a beautifully illustrated coming-of-age graphic novel for upper middle grade and YA readers. Pearl, whose mother abandoned the family long before the start of the story, lives with her father, Vernon—a restaurant owner and chef who is sinking deeper and deeper into financial trouble—and her beloved … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Pearl of the Sea
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Different: A Story About the Spanish Civil War
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
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear
Chang is a young Vietnamese girl and a wildlife conservationist; Sorya is a bear at the rescue and conservation center where she works. This 120-page middle grade graphic novel is their story. And it’s based on the real-life experiences of author Trang Nguyen, herself a wildlife conservationist, and bears that have been rescued from captivity. … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Blue Wings by Jef Aerts
Shortlisted for the 2021 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Prize "You're Jadran's guardian angel," Mom had told me when I was only eight..."If your brother's having problems, you have to help him.""Jadran is a giant," I said. "How am I supposed to help him?""You're a giant too," Mom said. "A little giant … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Blue Wings by Jef Aerts
#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
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Other Side
Much of the rhetoric around immigration from Central America across the southern United States border discusses persons wanting to enter the U.S. in abstract and dehumanizing terms: as caravans, illegal aliens, vectors of disease, even as an invasion. We spend so much time talking about Central American refugees and what they represent, yet we rarely … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Other Side
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 