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
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
A flock of chickens lives a comfortable, safe life on a farm. It may be rather predictable, but there is plenty of food, and everyone knows their role and their place. So what if one of them is carried off every so often? After all, they're just chickens. But one day the capybaras arrive, seeking … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Capybaras
Ellie’s Voice or Trööömmmpffff,* an adorably whimsical Estonian picture book for ages 3-6, is about a seabird named Ellie, who has no voice. “Everything else has a voice,” Ellie thought sadly. "The trees rustle. The waves crash. Even the rain sings when it falls." I’m the only one who can’t make a sound." Ellie felt tears … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Weekend: Ellie’s Voice or Trööömmmpffff
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 