Oh, what a joy to experience the changing seasons from a child’s perspective! Because sometimes, it’s the little things: the glimpse of a shy peach peeking out from behind some leaves, the pleasure of flying brightly colored kites at the beach, the sound of umbrellas singing in the rain. Beautiful Day! Petite Poems for All … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Beautiful Day! Petite Poems for All Seasons
A belated happy birthday, President Rolihlala "Nelson" Mandela! Pushkin Press has commemorated his life by publishing The Black Pimpernel: Nelson Mandela on the Run, a chapter book by Zukiswa Wanner with captivating black and white, comic book style illustrations by Amerigo Pinelli. This is the latest installment of the publisher's True Adventures series of historical … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Black Pimpernel: Nelson Mandela on the Run
What if the world actually ended with a bang and not with a whimper? (Pace, T.S. Eliot.) And what if you knew the end was coming? How would you spend your final days? That’s the premise in The End, an award-winning upper YA novel by Swedish author Mats Strandberg. When the story begins, scientists have … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The End
When I moved to the contiguous United States at the age of 7 from Puerto Rico, I did not speak English. I still remember my first day in a second-grade classroom, where I was the only Hispanic student and no one spoke Spanish. I went up to the teacher and told her I had a … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Day Saida Arrived
Did you know that male pufferfish carve intricate designs into the sand to attract a female? Or that swifts mate in midair? Or that brown hares can have two pregnancies at the same time? You’ll find these fascinating facts—and plenty more—between the covers of Do Animals Fall in Love? A 142-page illustrated nonfiction book aimed at … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Do Animals Fall in Love?
Written by award-winning Japanese author Sachiko Kashiwaba, Temple Alley Summer* features not one but two ghost stories. The first is the outer shell in this engrossing middle-grade novel and a fully-fleshed narrative; the other is an embedded fairy-tale fantasy with intriguing connections and parallels to the first. In the “outer” ghost story, Kazu, who is … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Temple Alley Summer
Avery Fischer Udagawa’s translations from Japanese to English include the middle grade novels Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba and J-Boys: Kazuo’s World, Tokyo, 1965 by Shogo Oketani. Her short story translations have appeared in the Kyoto Journal, Words Without Borders, The Best Asian Short Stories 2018, and Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Weekend: A Conversation with Avery Fischer Udagawa, Translator of Award-winning Japanese Children’s Author Sachiko Kashiwaba
Too Small Tola by award-winning author, Atinuke and illustrator, Onyinye Iwu is a trio of stories about the triumphs and small-small troubles of Tola and her family in Lagos, Nigeria. Tola lives with her bossy gran, Grandmommy, her studious sister, Moji and her sporty brother, Dapo in a run-down, one-room apartment in the city. The chapter book for ages 7-9 … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Too Small Tola
A Roald Dahlian eco-parable for middle grade readers, The Story of the Blue Planet* takes place on a special, beautiful planet strikingly similar to earth and inhabited only by children. These Peter-Pan-esque protagonists never age and come in all shapes and sizes. Some are “even weird like the child you see in the mirror.” They can … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Weekend: The Story of the Blue Planet
What would you do if you found a baby caiman (a type of alligator)? Would you slip it into your shirt pocket? Unlikely as it seems, that’s what Faoro, a jeweler and watchmaker, did many years ago. The Caiman*, a picture book for ages 5-8, is his story—a real one. Faoro loved animals and let them wander … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Caiman
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 