"The Colony" by Annika Norlin (2023), the debut novel of a Swedish pop star, translated into English by Alice E. Olsson (2025) In the spring of 2023, a lone, burned-out journalist escapes the city and heads up to a remote village to live in a tent, trying for a bit of a nature cure, a … Continue reading #WITMonth: “The Colony” by Annika Norlin
"Deep in the forest sat a little house. The witch who lived in the house was very old. She was so old even her wrinkles were wrinkled. But one day she went for a walk and never returned.” So starts The Little House That Needed a Witch, a whimsically charming picture book for readers age … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Little House That Needed a Witch
Today’s post comes to you from Nadine Bailey Ann-Helén Laestadius’s Punished is a profound, deeply unsettling exploration of systemic oppression, extinguishing of language, intergenerational trauma, and the enduring struggle to reclaim cultural identity. It is a narrative based on the author’s family story* that forces readers to confront a dark and often overlooked chapter of Scandinavian … Continue reading #WITMonth: “Punished”
Whether it's your cup of tea or not, horror is having a moment. While not generally considered a horror story per se, Dante's Inferno is, in fact, one of the early masterpieces of the genre, right up there with the much older Greek myth of Oedipus Rex and the more recent Frankenstein and The Tell-Tale … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Dante’s Inferno: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Today’s post comes to you from Erica Prenda Magic, Memory, and the Aftermath of Dictatorship Since I am an English teacher, it is probably unsurprising that visiting the world’s famous libraries, bookstores, and other literary haunts is my top priority when I arrive in a new country. Accordingly, my souvenir to take home is always a … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: Hungary
Twelve-year-old Tuva has always felt different from her classmates. In the past, they’ve bullied her. Now, “at best, they ignore” her. But until people from Tuva's Stockholm archipelago go missing--even a classmate--she has no idea why she doesn't fit in nor how different she really is. Accompanied by new kid Rasmus, who befriends her, Tuva … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Secrets Below
The 2026 GLLI Translated Young Adult Book Prize Committee is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2026 prize. This is the eighth year of the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize, which recognizes publishers, translators, and authors of books in English translation for young adult readers, aged 12 through 18 inclusive. Publisher submissions to the … Continue reading Announcing the Shortlist for the 2026 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize
Budding volcanologists rejoice! Young scientists roll up your sleeves! As for the rest of the world, get ready to rock! Mountain of Fire: Into the Heart of Volcanoes is a fascinating nonfiction book about volcanoes for middle grade readers. And perhaps it may even inspire a few young readers to turn an early volcanic passion … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Mountain of Fire: Into the Heart of Volcanoes
In the deep, dark, frigid days of winter, what could be more fun than curling up in a blanket with a shivery ghost story? Set during summer vacation, The Ghosts of Pandora Pickwick is a wonderful combination of two evergreen middle grade tropes: the aforementioned ghost tale and an adoption/origin story. Protagonist Mia Jones has … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Ghosts of Pandora Pickwick
Okchundang Candy 옥춘당 by Jung-soon Go 고정순Translated from Korean by Aerin ParkLevine Querido, March 2025 “I still remember that house filled with summer lingering.” As the story opens, the narrator leads us back into the summers she spent with her grandparents, Mr. Go Jadong and Ms. Kim Soonim. Words rendered in crayon carry a handlettered … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Okchundang Candy
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 