Let's face it: butts, buttocks, bottoms—whatever term you prefer—are funny. Cute animals are always a hit. Put them together, and you have the delightful Animals Brag About Their Bottoms. Published just this year by the children's imprint of Canada based publisher Greystone Books, this beautifully illustrated and cheeky picture book is a wonderful read aloud … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Animals Brag About Their Bottoms
Sometimes, aliens need a little helping hand. Well, Oort and Quog certainly do when they crash land on their way to a friend’s birthday party. Argh! There’s a Skeleton Inside You! is an information picture book aimed at readers ages 4+. It's a fabulous mix of fun, fact and fiction with bright, engaging illustrations throughout. … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Argh! There’s a Skeleton Inside You!
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?
Princess Arabella at the Museum is a bold and quirky ode to a selection of brilliant artists. The portrait-style cover features little Princess Arabella wearing her signature crown and a geometrical print dress that pays homage to the works of twentieth-century Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian, just like Yves Saint Laurent did in the 1960s! This … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Princess Arabella at the Museum
Welcoming a new baby into an established household is not always easy, especially when some family members don’t quite understand what is going on. This charming Moroccan import for young children ages 2 and up tells a new baby story from the perspective of three cats: Minouche, Pasha and Amir. Even if, like me, you’re … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Alya and the Three Cats
Being a teenager is hard enough as it is. Layer in the loss of a beloved grandparent, gossiping relatives, a father who is a political prisoner, and the trauma of military occupation, and perhaps the only way to make sense of everything is to resort to the fantastical. Trees for the Absentees is the coming-of-age … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Trees for the Absentees
Writing fiction about music can be tricky. Music is sound in time; it speaks to our brains at a pre-verbal level. As a result, using words to describe music can be hard and the literature is littered with near-misses. So it’s a great pleasure as a musician to read a well-written novel centered around music … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wonderful Feels Like This
Photo credit: Austin Malema Please extend a warm welcome to Lebohang Masango who joins the #WorldKidLit Wednesday team at the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative blog as a regular reviewer. Lebohang is a writer, poet and anthropologist with an impressive range of publications to her name, including Mpumi’s Magic Beads, a picture book for which … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Meet Reviewer Lebohang Masango
Oxymoronic as it may sound, there is an exciting comfort in picking up a book by a beloved author—or, as in Dragonfly Eyes, a beloved, award-winning writer-translator team. What joys, worlds, and experiences lurk within its pages? Will anticipation be tempered by disappointment? In the case of Dragonfly Eyes*, Cao Wenxuan’s new YA historical novel, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Dragonfly Eyes
Last month I reviewed a book produced by Spanish publisher Cuento de Luz, which exclusively uses stone paper, a paper made without bleach or wood pulp. Today we return to Cuento de Luz's innovative books in The Map of Good Memories. Written by Spanish author Fran Nuño and illustrated by Poland born artist Zuzanna Celej, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Map of Good Memories
