Filled with imaginative illustrations, Thread by Thread is a delightful picture book for readers age 4-7 that is based on a single, wonderfully extended metaphor--knitting. It's also a moving story about a family of refugee mice. When the story begins, the family lives in a lovely, tidy, red knit house: "Toasty warm in my home, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Thread By Thread
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
What happens when a flightless bird tries to learn to fly? In Teaching Eddie to Fly, a funny, whimsical picture book for ages 3-7, a little bear named Arthur decides to teach his best friend Eddie to fly. Eddie is a bird, so this seems as if it should be a slam dunk. Not so … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Teaching Eddie to Fly
Little Black Fish is not like the other fish in the stream. He is desperate to see what lies beyond his world. This is a longer-style picture book for children aged 5 and over, narrated by a grandmother fish to a large shoal of younger fish. Little Black Fish is among them. He lives in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Little Black Fish
Sweet but not saccharine, heartwarming but not maudlin, Two Little Red Mittens is a charming, old-fashioned story. A picture book for children ages seven and under, the gentle tale features an anthropomorphic pair of red mittens: Left and right, they always went out as a pair, wrapping Little One’s hands in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Two Little Red Mittens
In our big, bustling hometown in southwest China,On the top floor of an apartment tower, lives an old grandma.A weather-worn apron covers her cornflower blue blouse,And she putters about town, lugging her little cart around. In Grandma’s Roof Garden, a delightful, heartwarming picture book for ages 4-8, we meet an eccentric, energetic grandmother. With enviable … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Grandma’s Roof Garden
"Up for smashing the patriarchy?" "Yes!""Yeah!""But... What is the patriarchy, exactly?" So goes the opening dialogue in Smash the Patriarchy, a fabulous graphic novel for upper YA readers. The much-deserving winner of this year’s GLLI Translated YA Book Prize, it describes and defines terms such as “the male gaze,” “slut-shaming,” and, yes, “the patriarchy” with … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Smash the Patriarchy
The Bodyguard Unit: Edith Garrud, Women’s Suffrage, and Jujitsu is the engagingly told story of a lesser-known figure from an important part of 20th century history, Edith Garrud. A 2024 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Honor Book, this superb nonfiction graphic novel connects the dots between women’s suffrage, their personal freedom, and their ability to … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Bodyguard Unit: Edith Garrud, Women’s Suffrage, and Jujitsu
Coming of age stories are a often visited theme in young adult and even middle grades literature. It is not a common theme in picture books, however. Forthcoming from Catalyst Press, Wankijũ, Child of Mine is a picture book bildungsroman of a Kenyan girlhood. Like other titles from Catalyst Press, it gives pride of place … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wankijũ, Child of Mine
Mayowa wants to stay in the city and play computer games rather than visit his grandmother in another town. But he doesn’t stay in a bad mood for long! Especially when his new friend Denuyi takes him on a tour of the neighborhood. In Mayowa and the Masquerades, the two boys share in simple wonders: … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Mayowa and the Masquerades
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 