Who is Mister Orange? And why is this quiet, moving book named after him? Written by award-winning Dutch author and editor, Truus Matti, and beautifully translated by another award-winner, Laura Watkinson, Mister Orange won the Netherlands' 2012 Silver Slate Pencil Award and the American Library Associations's 2014 Mildred L. Batchelder Award. The story begins in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Mister Orange
In Life According to Dani, it’s Dani’s first summer vacation—and the best ever! She is staying on an island with Ella, her best friend in the world. Dad is still in hospital but he calls every day, and Ella and Dani stay busy building huts, fishing, exploring, and swimming. Then Dad turns up, but with … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Life According to Dani by Rose Lagercrantz
In Bicycling to the Moon, Purdy the cat and Barker the dog live together in a sky-blue house on top of a hill. Barker likes the garden. He wants only to dig, to scratch up the earth and turn it over. But Purdy has big dreams: he wants to fly south with the birds, win … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Bicycling to the Moon by Timo Parvela
The problem of choice is most difficult when you are a child. How do you define yourself? How do you define your position in the world, your gender, your future sexual choices? And it is even more difficult when others try to define you. The most difficult fight is against those who want to tell … Continue reading Review: Playing a Part by Daria Wilke
Baguette, a seemingly ordinary house cat, is a descendant of the magic Catlanteans who lived long ago in peace and happiness on the island of Catlantis. When he falls in love with the seductive alley cat Purriana, she insists Baguette accomplish a heroic feat before she’ll agree to marriage. They pay a visit to the … Continue reading Title Pick: Catlantis by Anna Starobinets
In search of a cozy, quirky book to curl up with on a winter evening or to read out loud with a young child? The Cat Who Came in off the Roof, translated from the beloved Dutch children's classic, Minoes, may be just the ticket. Shy newspaper reporter Tibble is in trouble with his editor … Continue reading Review: The Cat Who Came In Off The Roof by Annie M.G. Schmidt
Mr. Squirrel and the Moon Sebastian Meschenmoser, David Henry Wilson (Trans.) NorthSouth Books, 2015 ISBN 978-0735841567 Winter 2015 Top Ten IndieNext Pick When Mr. Squirrel awakens to find that the moon has landed on his tree, he frantically tries to get rid of it before someone suspects him of stealing it and puts him in jail. … Continue reading Title Pick: Mr. Squirrel and the Moon
Reprinted with permission from The Treasure of Barracuda By Llanos Campos, illustrated by Júlia Sardà Translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel. English translation Copyright © 2016 by Little Pickle Press, Inc. English edition published by arrangement with Ediciones SM through Sylvia Hayse Literary Agency LLC. All rights reserved. ISBN 1939775140 Excerpt: "Blasted freshwater fishermen! And you … Continue reading The Treasure of Barracuda by Llanos Campos
The Secret of the Blue Glass Tomiko Inui, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Trans.) Pushkin Children's Books ISBN 9781782690344 In a dusty library, in the quietest corner of a house in a Tokyo suburb, live the Little People: Fern and Balbo, Robin and Iris. Just a few inches high, sleeping in cigarette boxes and crafting shoes … Continue reading TITLE PICK: Tomiko Inui, The Secret of the Blue Glass
By Kristin Jónsson Mamada, Mineko. Which is Round? Which is Bigger? Illus. Mamada, Minkeo. Originally published in Japanese as Docchikana? Kids Can Press. March 1, 2013. ISBN 978-1-55453-973-4. This delightful picture book is a perfect fit for preschool through first grade. On each page spread the author poses what seems to be a simple … Continue reading Which is Round? Which is Bigger?
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 