A quiet hero’s journey for YA readers, The Cat Who Saved Books tells the story of high-schooler Rintaro Natsuki, a shy hikikomori (shut-in). When the story begins, Rintaro’s beloved grandfather and guardian has just died, leaving him the owner of his grandfather’s secondhand bookstore. The description of Rintaro’s feelings about his grandfather’s death are poignant, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Cat Who Saved Books
In a Nutshell: This book was published in 1986 and it was translated into English and published a couple of years ago. It tells the story of the children, now adults, who survived the Nazi invasion on the eastern front of WW2. This book documents the memories of children who survived. Over 100 testimonies, which … Continue reading Belarus 🇧🇾: Last Witnesses: Unchildlike Stories by Svetlana Alexievich, tr. Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky
In a Nutshell: Zlata’s Diary is the diary of Zlata Filipović, with entries from September 1991-December 1993, it starts just before her 10th birthday. It is a moving, sometimes funny and very sad account of her experience of the Bosnian war as it hit her home city of Sarajevo. Themes: War, friendship, politics, love, childhood and … Continue reading Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 : Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipović, tr. Christina Pribichevich-Zorić
In a Nutshell: This book is Belli’s account of the Nicaraguan revolution, of meetings with Fidel Castro and Gabriel García Marquez and exile in Costa Rica and of her own political and romantic awakenings. A brilliant book, I was gripped from the very first page. I have now thought to myself of all the people … Continue reading Nicaragua 🇳🇮: The Country Under My Skin: a memoir of love and war by Gioconda Belli, tr. by Kristina Cordero
In a Nutshell: Days in the Caucasus, originally published in Paris in 1945, is Banine’s memoir of her childhood in Baku, from when she was born (1905) until she left for Paris in 1923. It was translated into English in 2019. Parisian Days, the kind of sequel to Days in the Caucasus was published earlier … Continue reading Azerbaijan 🇦🇿: Days in the Caucasus by Banine, tr. by Anne Thompson-Ahmadova
Looking for a summertime middle grade adventure tale? Curious to learn about faraway places? Then Batu and the Search for the Golden Cup* will be just the ticket for you! Set in Kazakhstan, Batu and the Search for the Golden Cup is the opening book in a coming-of-age fantasy series set in today’s world but … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Batu and the Search for the Golden Cup
Vitor Martins' tender, funny, and honest YA novels are no stranger to Global Literatures in Libraries Initiative, nor to its Translated YA Book Prize. He returns to us with his newest novel and the 2023 Translated YA Book Prize winner, This Is Our Place. Translated by Larissa Helena (who translated Martins' previous prize winning book), … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: This Is Our Place
NM: Congratulations on the upcoming release on August 1 of your translation of Batu and the Search for the Golden Cup from Russian into English. It's a wonderful coming-of-age magical adventure and was a bestseller in Kazakhstan. How did the book find its way to you and then to Amazon Publishing? Was it an easy journey or one … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: An interview with Translator Shelley Fairweather-Vega
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
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
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 