#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II

Posted on by Klem-Marí Cajigas

Last week the American Library Association (ALA) presented their annual Youth Media Awards, celebrating the best in literature for young people. Among major awards such as the Caldecott and the Newbery medals, there is also the Mildred L. Batchelder Award, given to an outstanding "children’s book originally published in a language other than English in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II

#WorldKidLit Wednesday: How Beautiful

Posted on by Klem-Marí Cajigas

The question of what is beautiful has preoccupied philosophers and poets alike. In How Beautiful, however, a caterpillar is the one pondering the subject. Yes, a caterpillar! In this elegant and whimsical picture book from Italy, a young caterpillar sets out to find exactly what beautiful means. As the book opens, the caterpillar lives "a … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: How Beautiful

Speculative Fiction in Translation: BloodBusters

Posted on by Rachel Cordasco

BloodBusters by Francesco Verso translated from the Italian by Sally McCorry Luna Press Publishing April 10, 2020 220 pages Winner of the 2015 Urania Award,* Francesco Verso’s BloodBusters is a heady mix of economic and political intrigue and fast-paced adventure, all circulating (pun intended!) around the unique premise that people pay their taxes in blood … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: BloodBusters

Crime Fiction Excerpt: Black Souls by Gioacchino Criaco (Italy)

Posted on by Karen Van Drie

Three normal students. Or so we seemed.At school, as with everything in life, Luigi was a tagalong; I got by, sticking somewhere in the middle; and Luciano was the classic brainiac, with no topic he hadn’t explored or book he hadn’t read.Three good boys, and not because we pretended to be; we had always been … Continue reading Crime Fiction Excerpt: Black Souls by Gioacchino Criaco (Italy)

ITALIAN CRIME SERIES IN TRANSLATION

Posted on by Karen Van Drie

The killer was a young Calabrian male whose mother’s virtue had been slandered. He had been in town for only a few days and didn’t know that, in this part of Italy, slandering someone’s mother was almost as common as saying ‘Ciao’. A sad story of cultural misunderstanding.  These lines, from Marco Vichi’s Death in … Continue reading ITALIAN CRIME SERIES IN TRANSLATION

Five Picture Books That Surprise and Delight

Posted on by Planet Picture Book

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

World Back-to-School Books

Posted on by Planet Picture Book

In many parts of the world, the summer holidays are over. September marks the beginning of a new term and the first day of primary school for a whole intake of young children. It can be a daunting and exciting time for new pupils. And for their parents and caregivers too! Books can be a … Continue reading World Back-to-School Books

Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: The Leopard (1960)

Posted on by Karen Van Drie

In our series of 60 classic first translations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Translators Association, 1960 is represented by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s THE LEOPARD, translated from the Italian by Archibald Colquhoun. This great historical novel by the last prince of Lampedusa recounts the story of a Sicilian nobleman caught in the political … Continue reading Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: The Leopard (1960)

Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: If This is a Man (1959)

Posted on by Karen Van Drie

Next in the series of 60 classic first #translations celebrating 60 years of the Translators Association of The Society of Authors is IF THIS IS A MAN, Primo Levi's devastating account of his time in Auschwitz, first published in English in 1959 in a translation from the Italian by Stuart Woolf. Levi supervised the first … Continue reading Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: If This is a Man (1959)

USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Mister Doctor by

Posted on by Karen Van Drie

Nothing—not even the chance to live—makes Dr. Korczak abandon the children of the Warsaw Ghetto. November 1940. A circus parade walks through the streets of Warsaw, waving a flag and singing. They are 160 Jewish children, forced by the Nazis to leave their beloved orphanage. It’s a sad occasion, but led by Doctor Korczak, their … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Mister Doctor by