#WorldKidLit Month: Summer Adventures and Goodbyes—Four Japanese Books for Middle Graders

Posted on by Avery Fischer Udagawa

Today’s post comes to you from Sabrina Rossi: If summer feels already like a distant memory, you may want to dive into the following middle grade books, all set in the hot Japanese summer and offering, like a colourful ice cream, flavours for any taste: from historical fiction to magic realism, from short novella to … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month: Summer Adventures and Goodbyes—Four Japanese Books for Middle Graders

#WorldKidLit Month: History at a Child’s Scale—Three Japanese Middle-Grade Books on War and Memory

Posted on by Avery Fischer Udagawa

Today’s post comes to you from Ecre Karadag: The scope and impact of the Second World War can seem overwhelmingly large when encountered through dates and casualty figures, but children’s literature can bring that history closer through the ordinary details a child can understand: a school day, a paper lantern or even a glass of … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month: History at a Child’s Scale—Three Japanese Middle-Grade Books on War and Memory

#WorldKidLit Month Focus on Japan: A Series for All Ages

Posted on by Avery Fischer Udagawa

Kiki’s Delivery Service by Hans Christian Andersen Award (“children’s Nobel Prize”) winner Eiko Kadono has been well known in both Japanese and English for years as the book that inspired the Studio Ghibli film of the same name. But did you know it’s the first book in a series? When interviewed about the first book, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month Focus on Japan: A Series for All Ages

#WorldKidLit Month Focus on Japan: Rainy Weather From All Angles

Posted on by Avery Fischer Udagawa

Today's post comes to you from Deborah Iwabuchi: When it comes to weather, Japanese children’s books contain lots of it. Today, I present three books on rain that have been translated into English.  While each book is structured around a day full of precipitation—pre-rain, rain, and post-rain—the actual stories are completely different. Every Color of … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month Focus on Japan: Rainy Weather From All Angles

#WORLDKIDLIT: USBBY’S OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL BOOKS 2026

Posted on by katieday

Today’s post comes to you from Laura Simeon: This marks the 21st year that the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY), a division of the International Board on Books for Young People, has selected some of the very best titles from around the world for children and teens. Our dedicated committee of … Continue reading #WORLDKIDLIT: USBBY’S OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL BOOKS 2026

#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Soul Lanterns

Posted on by Planet Picture Book

August 6, 1945, is a date forever etched into the memories of those who live in Hiroshima. Today, it is marked by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, where thousands of lanterns are set afloat along the Motoyasu River in memory of those who died in the devastating bombing of the city. Soul Lanterns, a historical … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Soul Lanterns

#WorldKidLitWednesday: Kiki’s Delivery Service

Posted on by Nanette McGuinness

Make way for Kiki! A beloved children’s classic in Japan ever since it was originally published in 1985, Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono has been out of print in English translation for over a decade, despite its continuing fame via Hayao Miyazaki’s animated adaptation. And adaptation it is: there are significant differences between the book and the movie. … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Kiki’s Delivery Service

The Vast Light Novel Universe — by translator Emily Balistrieri

Posted on by David Jacobson

May GLLI Blog Series:  Japan in Translation, No. 28 What’s the significance of the numbers 18, 49, 82, and 183? If you answered that those are the numbers of light novels published in English annually from 2014-2017, you’re right. But I have a sneaking suspicion you are more likely thinking, “Wait, a ‘light’ novel? What’s … Continue reading The Vast Light Novel Universe — by translator Emily Balistrieri