Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones This is the first fiction book on my list this month and there is a good reason. The novel is a crime story but with a twist in that it is also a primer for vegetarian ethics. The novel … Continue reading #Veganuary: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Rosie Runs
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
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: The 2023 Eisner Nominees
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
#Yiddishlitmonth: Dineh
A Bildungsroman of a Different Sort: Ida Maze’s Dineh Reverberates Across the Decades by Yermiyahu Ahron Taub Dineh: An Autobiographical NovelBy Ida MazeTranslated and with an Afterword by Yermiyahu Ahron TaubForeward by Emma GarmanWhite Goat Press, 2022Paperback edition ISBN: 978-1-734872-9-2; Hardcover edition ISBN: 978-8-9852069-0-6; Ebook edition ISBN: 978-8-9852069-1-3 Dineh: An Autobiographical Novel by Ida Maze … Continue reading #Yiddishlitmonth: Dineh
#Yiddishlitmonth: “A Provincial Newspaper” and Other Stories
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
End of the road!
Last week, in my capacity as learning support teacher, I taught a lesson to the whole grade 4 cohort about my book project. Why you might ask. The Grade 4s are looking at why we read. I presented my project and blog then set them on their own discovery task, linked here. Thanks to the … Continue reading End of the road!
Spain 🇪🇸: Tell me Who I am by Julia Navarro, tr. by James Womack
In a Nutshell: Dime Quién Soy or Tell Me Who I am in English, is the story of Amelia Garagoya, the great-grandmother of the narrator. The narrator is a journalist, who lacks any ambition and is asked by his aunt to go and research the life of his great-grandmother and write a book on her life. The book … Continue reading Spain 🇪🇸: Tell me Who I am by Julia Navarro, tr. by James Womack
Holland 🇳🇱: The Tree and The Vine by Dola de Jong, tr. by Kristen Gehrman
In a Nutshell: First published in Dutch in 1954, The Tree and The Vine was regarded as groundbreaking and controversial. I read about this book, along with Nine Moons thanks to the wonderful online magazine, Words without Borders. Set in Amsterdam in 1938, the novel explores the tumultuous relationship between two very different women. In the shadow of the Nazi … Continue reading Holland 🇳🇱: The Tree and The Vine by Dola de Jong, tr. by Kristen Gehrman
Sudan 🇸🇩: Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun, tr. Elizabeth Jaquette
In a Nutshell: Thirteen Months of Sunrise depicts the lives of ordinary people living in contemporary Sudan. It is a slim collection of 10 short stories. My personal favourite was the first and the story that gives the collection its title. Themes: Isolation, urban living, human experience, love. A Quote: “Perhaps the abaya I was wearing … Continue reading Sudan 🇸🇩: Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun, tr. Elizabeth Jaquette
Czech Republic 🇨🇿 : Europe Must be for the 99 Per Cent by Apolena Rychliková, tr. by Julia Sherwood, in Europa 28: Writing by Women on the Future of Europe, edited by Sophie Hughes and Sarah Cleave
An Overview: Europa 28 is a brilliant anthology of essays, short stories and play excerpts from women writers, artists, scientists, entrepeneurs and dreamers. In this anthology, one woman from each of the EU states, including the UK, shares their vision for the future of Europe, hence the title Europa 28. Who would have thought a book on … Continue reading Czech Republic 🇨🇿 : Europe Must be for the 99 Per Cent by Apolena Rychliková, tr. by Julia Sherwood, in Europa 28: Writing by Women on the Future of Europe, edited by Sophie Hughes and Sarah Cleave
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 