Filled with imaginative illustrations, Thread by Thread is a delightful picture book for readers age 4-7 that is based on a single, wonderfully extended metaphor--knitting. It's also a moving story about a family of refugee mice. When the story begins, the family lives in a lovely, tidy, red knit house: "Toasty warm in my home, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Thread By Thread
Mika is back! She stars in the award-laden Moonwind Mysteries, a gripping upper MG/YA historical series set in 1880s Sweden. The first two books in the series, The Night Raven and The Queen of Thieves, were filled with suspense, gritty details, fast pacing, and vivid characters, including the city of Stockholm, which becomes a tangible … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Lost Ones
Jenny McPhee is the author of the novels The Center of Things, No Ordinary Matter, and A Man of No Moon and co-authored Girls: Ordinary Girls and Their Extraordinary Pursuits. Her translations from the Italian include works by Anna Banti, Massimo Bontempelli, Natalia Ginzburg, Giacomo Leopardi, Primo Levi, Anna Maria Ortese, Curzio Malaparte, Pope John … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.5: Jenny McPhee, Translator of Lies and Sorcery, Interviewed by Lisa Mullenneaux
by Leah Janeczko Yesterday, September 30th, was the feast day of San Girolamo – St. Jerome – and I’m thankful to this patron saint of translators for ushering us into October, the month of the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative’s first blog dedicated to Italian literature in English translation, because this is a monumental and … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.1: Italian Lit Month: A Chorus of Voices
If there's one thing that captures the heart and soul of Taiwanese culture, it's the food—and believe me, this is a book that serves it up in style! As a self-confessed food lover (as you might have learned from the bio at the end of each post!), I’ve been eagerly waiting to share this post … Continue reading #TaiwanKidLitMonth: Taiwan Travelogue – A Culinary Journey Through History
Sweet but not saccharine, heartwarming but not maudlin, Two Little Red Mittens is a charming, old-fashioned story. A picture book for children ages seven and under, the gentle tale features an anthropomorphic pair of red mittens: Left and right, they always went out as a pair, wrapping Little One’s hands in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Two Little Red Mittens
In our big, bustling hometown in southwest China,On the top floor of an apartment tower, lives an old grandma.A weather-worn apron covers her cornflower blue blouse,And she putters about town, lugging her little cart around. In Grandma’s Roof Garden, a delightful, heartwarming picture book for ages 4-8, we meet an eccentric, energetic grandmother. With enviable … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Grandma’s Roof Garden
"Up for smashing the patriarchy?" "Yes!""Yeah!""But... What is the patriarchy, exactly?" So goes the opening dialogue in Smash the Patriarchy, a fabulous graphic novel for upper YA readers. The much-deserving winner of this year’s GLLI Translated YA Book Prize, it describes and defines terms such as “the male gaze,” “slut-shaming,” and, yes, “the patriarchy” with … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Smash the Patriarchy
Set against the backdrop of the ongoing Syrian civil war and the resulting refugee crisis, Wild Poppies is the story of two brothers, Omar and Sufyan. As the novel opens, they, along with their mother and younger sister, have been displaced to their aunt's home in a village named Al-Nuaman, or "the poppy flower." Their … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wild Poppies
Named to the 2024 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize shortlist, The Boy from Clearwater tells the story of Tsai Kun-Lin, "an ordinary boy" born in Qingshui District on the western coast of Taiwan. Tsai Kun-Lin's story, however, is nothing short of extraordinary. It is a story of surviving military occupation, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Boy from Clearwater, Book 1
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 