1808. The Napoleonic wars. In Ghent, a draft for the Emperor’s army is looming and the respectable Hoste family is in financial trouble. From the very first sentence, Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady is the engaging story of the two oldest Hoste siblings, 18-year-old Constance ("Stance") and her entitled 14-year-old brother Pieter (Piers), whom … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady
Half graphic novel and half prose-poem journal, Pardalita is a sweet, gentle coming-of-age story for YA readers. At the start of the book, 16-year-old protagonist Raquel has been suspended from school for two days for cursing at the hall monitor, a suspension that doesn't much bother her, as she has the home to herself. Raquel hangs out … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Pardalita
Rosie is a sleek greyhound who loves to run. And at the start of her story, Rosie Runs–a beautiful, oversized picture book for ages 3-7–that’s exactly what she does, day in and day out: The white mechanical hare scurries in front, and Rosie can just see it from the corner of her eye. Soon she … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Rosie Runs
Looking to dip your toe into the ocean of new graphic novels (in translation) for children and young adults? Reading the Eisners is the perfect approach. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are the comic kingdom’s equivalent of the Oscars, with the winners announced annually at San Diego Comic Con. Children’s graphic novels in translation appear in the obvious … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The 2023 Eisner Nominees
A book is a promise. Its pages can offer adventure, an escape into a world from another time or place. The first book in The Moonwind Mysteries, The Night Raven, and its sequel, The Queen of Thieves, are gripping upper MG novels that fulfill this promise—and then some. Set in a gritty, Dickensian version of … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Night Raven
by Jessica Kirzane A Provincial Newspaper and Other StoriesWritten by Miriam KarpiloveTranslated from the Yiddish by Jessica KirzaneSyracuse University PressISBN: 978-0815611585 Purchase this book or borrow it from a library: Miriam Karpilove’s satirical novella “A Provincial Newspaper,” published in Yiddish in 1926, centers on an overworked writer of popular serialized fiction and journalist for a … Continue reading #Yiddishlitmonth: “A Provincial Newspaper” and Other Stories
by Rachel Mines “The Rivals” and Other StoriesWritten by Jonah RosenfeldTranslated from the Yiddish by Rachel MinesPublished by Syracuse University Press, 2020ISBN 978-0-8156-1120-2 Purchase this book: https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/3032/rivals-and-other-stories-the/ “The Rivals” and Other Stories comprises nineteen stories by Yiddish writer Jonah Rosenfeld selected from collections originally published in 1924, 1929, and 1955. Rosenfeld was a prolific and … Continue reading #Yiddishlitmonth: “The Rivals” and Other Stories
Absurd hilarity can be a wonderful change of pace from the humdrum of everyday life. Featuring comic-style illustrations and buckets of hair flying left, right and sideways, When Dad’s Hair Took Off fits that bill—and then some, The premise? One day, Dad’s hair decides to take a hike with nary a “Hairsta la vista, baby!” … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: When Dad’s Hair Took Off
In a Nutshell: This book was published in 1986 and it was translated into English and published a couple of years ago. It tells the story of the children, now adults, who survived the Nazi invasion on the eastern front of WW2. This book documents the memories of children who survived. Over 100 testimonies, which … Continue reading Belarus 🇧🇾: Last Witnesses: Unchildlike Stories by Svetlana Alexievich, tr. Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky
In a Nutshell: Zlata’s Diary is the diary of Zlata Filipović, with entries from September 1991-December 1993, it starts just before her 10th birthday. It is a moving, sometimes funny and very sad account of her experience of the Bosnian war as it hit her home city of Sarajevo. Themes: War, friendship, politics, love, childhood and … Continue reading Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 : Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipović, tr. Christina Pribichevich-Zorić
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 