Every two or three years, I usually would have one Taiwanese student who loves to read come to the library occasionally to discuss the books they have read with me. We would recommend books to each other, and thanks to them, I read some fantastic Taiwanese literature while busy catching up with the English YA … Continue reading #TaiwanKidLitMonth: Recommended Taiwanese literature by and for high school students
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Smash the Patriarchy
"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
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wild Poppies
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
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Bodyguard Unit: Edith Garrud, Women’s Suffrage, and Jujitsu
The Bodyguard Unit: Edith Garrud, Women’s Suffrage, and Jujitsu is the engagingly told story of a lesser-known figure from an important part of 20th century history, Edith Garrud. A 2024 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Honor Book, this superb nonfiction graphic novel connects the dots between women’s suffrage, their personal freedom, and their ability to … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Bodyguard Unit: Edith Garrud, Women’s Suffrage, and Jujitsu
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Boy from Clearwater, Book 1
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
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: An Interview with Author and Translator Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Lyn Miller-Lachmann is a multiply published author whose books include Torch, Moonwalking, Gringolandia, and Rogue, among many. She also is the translator (primarily from Portuguese and also Spanish into English) of a number of books for young readers, including Three Balls of Wool, Lines, Squiggles, Letters, Words, and Pardalita, a 2024 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: An Interview with Author and Translator Lyn Miller-Lachmann
#IntlYALitMonth Review: The Ventriloquist’s Daughter
Review by Alice Penfold “I had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen…” Liur is dominated by the fear of “something terrible” happening to her or her father. After her mother dies suddenly, her father disappears to America; although he originally goes there to study, he soon abandons this plan and goes travelling, … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth Review: The Ventriloquist’s Daughter
#IntlYALitMonth Review: Bitter
Review by Kelly-Anne McDonald "All these feelings were knotted inside her - how helpless she felt, how hopeless Lucille felt, how even talking about change felt like a joke, a cruel hope." Bitter is set in the imagined city of Lucille, which is rife with corruption and police brutality. Ordinary citizens have been oppressed for … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth Review: Bitter
#IntlYALitMonth Spotlight: The YA Studies Association
The YA Studies Association (YASA) is an international organisation existing to increase the knowledge of, and research on, young adult (YA) literature, media, and related fields and to encourage the cooperation of specialists, institutions, organisations, and individuals engaging with YA whether through research, teaching, or practice. We welcome scholars and practitioners at all stages and … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth Spotlight: The YA Studies Association
#IntlYALitMonth Review: Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Review by Alex Henderson It takes twenty-three years to travel from Earth to the exoplanet Terra-Two. By the time the Beta crew of the Off-World Colonization Programme arrive, they will be in their forties. But when they leave, they are just teenagers—six of the best and brightest young people in the UK, put through rigorous … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth Review: Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 