A picture book for readers age 3-7, Memo and the Unexpected Gift is a sweet story with delightful, unexpected twists and gentle, wry humor. The tale begins much like a regular picture book, and the reader quickly expects a traditional trajectory. Memo lives with his grandmother in a small-town cottage. She can’t see very well, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Memo and the Unexpected Gift
Sabrina & Corina: Stories Trigger warning: This book contains scenes of violence and sexual assault that some readers may find triggering to read. Home is where Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s debut short story collection Sabrina & Corina takes place. Home is Denver, Colorado, home is familial, generational relationships between women, but home is also being ripped apart by … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth: Sabrina & Corina: Stories
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
Hunting By Stars Hunting By Stars, written by Métis author Cherie Dimaline is a stunning display of force. The main character, Frenchie, who survived all the harrowing adventures in the very well received The Marrow Thieves (2017), is back. Not only did The Marrow Thieves receive the Canadian Governor General's Literary Award (Young People's Literature … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth: Hunting By Stars
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
In Perfect Presents!, a wry, graphic picture book from Down Under for ages 3-7 (but frankly, for all ages), we meet a rotund owl and his friend, a salamandery lizard. The lizard arrives bearing gifts: a cake, a bouquet of flowers, and a large wrapped box. The owl devours them with great satisfaction. When he licks his … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Perfect Presents!
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
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
Once upon a time, Akiva was all grown up. He had a wife named Rachel. He had a job as a shepherd. And he had a house—well, maybe not quite a house, but a barn full of straw that kept the two of them warm in winter and gave them shade in summer. So begins … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Donkey and the Garden
There are parents and caregivers who look upon bedtime with dread. It can be a fraught time, what with perhaps recalcitrant young children who don't always realize how nice it is to go to sleep, and adults who want nothing more than to do the same. In dreamy Norwegian import Bedtime for Bo, however, a … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Bedtime for Bo
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 