Sometimes you are searching your library catalog for books for a winter-themed storytime, and you come across the perfect book not only for storytime, but also for your next GLLI book review! The Penguin Who Was Cold is an absolutely charming picture book about a penguin who does not fit the mold. Written and illustrated … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Penguin Who Was Cold
Life can change suddenly and without warning. I know because it happened to me. So begins Different: A Story of the Spanish Civil War, a book for upper middle grade and young adult readers based on author Mónica Montañés’ family history. Montañés’ father had resisted Francisco Franco’s forces in Spain when Franco attempted a military coup against … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Different: A Story About the Spanish Civil War
“While countless women throughout history have made enormous contributions to the fields of science and technology, many of them, unfortunately, are not synonymous with the words “discovery” and “invention” in the minds of the general public.”Marie-Sophie Pawlak (President of "Elles bougent," the French society for the promotion of women in science) So reads the foreword … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Women Discoverers: Top Women in Science
Observations: There are two English translations of the novel, one for UK audiences (Mend the Living) and one for U.S. audiences (The Heart), which was published in the U.S. in 2017. The Wellcome Book prize rewards exceptional works of literature that illuminate the many ways that health, medicine and illness touch our lives. Mend the … Continue reading Day 5: 🇫🇷 Mend the Living by Maylis de Kerangal, (tr.Jessica Moore)
READ The book I read for France, The Heart, by Maylis de Kerangal and translated by Sam Taylor, left me emotionally drained. It chronicles the twenty-four hours following an automobile accident that leaves a young man brain dead, as doctors race through the steps required to remove his organs and transplant them into the bodies of people … Continue reading The Booktrekker: France
“High above the forest lives the wolf. An icy cry. Crazy eyes. We know to move our butts when the wolf comes down to eat.” What a start for a children’s book! And this one is excellent, a sly, societal commentary cleverly disguised as a book for children. In this hybrid picture book/graphic novel for … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: The Wolf in Underpants
Romain Slocombe is very at home in Occupied France. Often pictured in a Bogartian fedora, trademark scarf round his neck, he could well be slipping down Avenue Kléber, keeping a wary eye out for the German High Command at the Majestic Hotel, blackmarket supplies tucked discreetly into his overcoat. His knowledge of the period is … Continue reading To Be Translated Recommendation: “L’affaire Léon Sadorski” by Romain Slocombe (France)
WINNER OF THE FRENCH VOICES PRIZE The Paris Commune’s “bloody week” sees the climax of the savagery of the clashes between the Communards and the French Armed Forces loyal to Versailles. Amid the shrapnel and the chaos, while the entire west side of Paris is a field of ruins, a photographer fascinated by the suffering … Continue reading Translated Crime Title Pick: IN THE SHADOW OF THE FIRE by Herve Le Corre (France)
As I was editing yesterday’s post on Feather, I started to think about picture books I have recently read that have held surprises, either in their format or artwork – or both. At its simplest, the surprise can be the way a book opens: Horizontally or vertically? A magnificent example is A Lion in Paris … Continue reading Five Picture Books That Surprise and Delight
Chapter 1 Here we go: the Pig Pageant results have just come out on Facebook. I’m in third place: bronze medal. How perplexing. After winning gold for two years in a row, I thought I’d never lose the top spot. I was wrong. I check who’s won the grand title. She’s a new girl, in … Continue reading GLLI YA Prize Shortlist Excerpt: Piglettes by Clémentine Beauvais
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 