This September marks the third anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Maria on the island of Puerto Rico. By now much has been written on the impact of the storm, the devastation it wrought, and the objectively inadequate response to the ensuing humanitarian crisis. Puerto Ricans continue to wrestle with the psychological, emotional, and economic … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2020 Translation Recommendation: Por ahí viene el huracán
#WorldKidLit Month 2020: Luci Soars
Released just this past month, Luci Soars is the newest book by prolific author and illustrator Lulu Delacre. Born in Puerto Rico to Argentine parents, Delacre knew early in her career as an artist that she wanted to illustrate children's books. Rest assured that this is in no way the last time that will discuss … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2020: Luci Soars
#WorldKidLit Month 2020: A New Kind of Wild
Published just this year, A New Kind of Wild is a delightful, imaginative picture book. Inspired by her father's stories of growing up in Puerto Rico, author and illustrator Zara González Hoang has given readers a luminous piece of Puerto Rican Kid Lit. I haven't yet had the chance to give this book to my … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2020: A New Kind of Wild
#WorldKidLitWednesday: The Visitor
Elise is scared of everything, even trees, so she never ventures out. Her house is spotless and totally devoid of color until the day a pale blue paper airplane flies through an open window, bringing with it a shaft of light from the outside world. Then Emil, a young boy dressed in bright red and … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: The Visitor
#WorldKidLit Month 2020: Across the Bay
Across the Bay by Carlos Aponte As an early childhood literacy specialist, I read a lot of picture books. It is part of my job to know what kinds of books are out there for early readers, and how parents can share these books with their children. I am, of course, particularly interested in diverse … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2020: Across the Bay
#WorldKitLit Month September 2020: Spotlight Puerto Rico
If you will indulge me, let me begin this first blog post of Puerto Rican Kid Lit Month with an anecdote about Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. Apparently, the Nobel Prize winner and master expositor of magical realism—where the fantastical meets the everyday—was once asked why he had never written about Puerto Rico. "If I … Continue reading #WorldKitLit Month September 2020: Spotlight Puerto Rico
#WorldKidLitWednesday: Do Fish Sleep?
Originally an award-winning play for children, Do Fish Sleep? is a heartbreakingly matter-of-fact look at death for middle grade readers from the perspective of Jette, a 10-year-old whose little brother, Emil, dies during the course of the book. Unsurprisingly, she and Emil are both puzzled about what happens to people after they die—animals, too. When … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Do Fish Sleep?
#WorldKidLitWednesday: Witch Hat Atelier, v. 1
What if the thing you most yearned to do was an innate ability? And you weren’t one of the lucky ones born with it? That’s the set up for Witch Hat Atelier, a wonderful YA coming-of-age manga series by Kamome Shirahama, translated by Stephen Kohler, the first volume of which just won an Eisner Award for the … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Witch Hat Atelier, v. 1
#WorldKidLitWednesday: Felix After the Rain
Grandma used to say to Felix that the sun always shines after the rain and that after every uphill climb there’s a downhill stroll. Felix is a deeply unhappy boy, who drags around a large suitcase wherever he goes. Unbeknownst to him, the negative situations and emotions he experiences in life are hidden in the … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Felix After the Rain
Crime Fiction Title Pick: The Farm by Max Annas (Germany)
Eight Hours, Minute by Minute Somewhere in South Africa, a farm comes under heavy attack. No shooters in sight. Only one thing is certain: The attackers are savagely resolute. A diverse group of people barricade themselves inside the farmhouse: women, men, and children; bosses and workers; blacks and whites; a police officer; random visitors. Who … Continue reading Crime Fiction Title Pick: The Farm by Max Annas (Germany)
