An illustrated book for ages 6-10, The Story of Bodri* is based on the experiences of Swedish-Romanian Hédi Fried. A teenager when she was sent to Auschwitz, author Fried lectures today on racism, democracy, and the Holocaust. She was inspired to write The Story of Bodri when a young attendee at one of her talks asked about … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Weekend: The Story of Bodri
I cannot believe we have arrived at the end of the first ever International Young Adult Month! It’s been truly an honor to be the first guest editor of #IntlYALitMonth by the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative. It’s been an eye-opening experience for me as I have learned so much about international translated Young Adult Literature … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: That’s a wrap!
Written by: Marguerite Abouet, Illustrated by Clement Oubrerie Translated by Helge Dasher ISBN: 978-1-77046-082-9 Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly Aya Life In Yop City is the story of 19-year-old Aya, who’s very dedicated to her studies and committed to her goals. It’s 1978 in Abidjan, a suburb of the Ivory Coast and Aya is your typical … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: Aya Life In Yop City
Written By: Jessica Bab Bonde, Illustrated by: Peter Bergting Translation: Jessica Bab Bonde & Sunshine Barbito Lettering: Kathryn Renta ISBN: 978-1-50671-549-0 Publisher: Originally published in Sweden by Natur & Kultur, 2018, published in English by Dark Horse Books, 2020. Buy it here. We’ll Soon Be Home Again, is a graphic novel #ownvoices collection of stories … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: We’ll Soon Be Home Again
A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier Translated from the German by: Romy Fursland ISBN-10: 1250300193 ISBN-13: 9781250300195 Publisher: Holt Books for Young Readers (Henry Holt & Company) Buy it here Sophie Spark is completing an internship at Castle in the Clouds, a picturesque hotel in the Swiss mountains. On any given day, she … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: A Castle In The Clouds
Written by André Jacob, Translated by Susan Ouriou Illustrated by Christine Delezenne ISBN:13: 978-1-4594-1419-8 Publisher: James Lorimer & Company LTD., Toronto Twelve-year-old Elfina lives in Paraguay with her grandmother, brother, and her dad, who she sees every couple of months as he is a migrant farm worker in Brazil. Elfina is aware that her family … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: The Courage of Elfina
Juliet Respira Profundo Written By Gabby Rivera, Translated by Eva Ibarzabal ISBN: 978059329013 Juliet Respira Profundo is the Spanish translation of Juliet Takes A Breathe, written by Bronx-born Puerto Rican author Gabby Rivera, and translated by Eva Ibarzabal. Juliet Milagros Palante is a proud, brown and queer Bronx girl heading to Portland, Oregon. Juliet never imagined … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: Juliet Respira Profundo
Filled with brightly colored, intricately detailed illustrations that reward repeated viewing, Agnes’s Place* is a quiet, sweet picture book for readers 3-7 about friendship, new friends, isolation, and belonging. When the story begins, Agnes is a contented five-year-old who lives in a land of grownups, a land with many buildings and just as many interesting … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Agnes’s Place
Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada translated by Susan Bernofsky New Directions November 8, 2016 288 pages Inaugural Winner of the Warwick Prize for Women In Translation, 2017 In Memoirs of a Polar Bear, Tawada doesn’t just inhabit the mind of a polar bear to explore such issues as Cold War politics, ancestry, … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Memoirs of a Polar Bear
A picture-book ode to the power of creative nonconformity, Who Left the Light On? achieves a rare trifecta: a loosely rhyming book in translation with brilliant illustrations. Mix in important themes—embracing diversity and expressing oneself—add a huge dollop of whimsy, and you have the ingredients to this charming tale. But the sum of the parts … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Who Left the Light On?
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