If you are familiar with Japanese picture books, you may know that Chirri and Chirra, In the Night is merely the latest (eighth!) entry in the delightful series from author and illustrator Kaya Doi. Translated by David Boyd, this sweet little book is an ode to the magic that nighttime can bring. Chirri and Chirra … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Chirri & Chirra, In the Night
Consider this part two of the June 21st post where I highlighted mainly books from Singapore on the newly released booklist from the AFCC (Asian Festival of Children's Content) and the Singapore Book Council highlighting Asian titles celebrating UN SDG goals & social emotional learning. Now let's look at some books on the list from … Continue reading (More) ASIAN TITLES CELEBRATING UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS & SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
Review by Jeremy Willette How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshina One part science lesson, two parts history, with a ton of philosophy and a splash of economics thrown in, this realistic fiction novel is sure to be a big hit with students who are curious about the world around them and their place in … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: How Do You Live by Genzaburo Yoshina, Translated by Bruno Navasky
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
READ One thing I’m enjoying about this reading-the-world project is that it’s nudging me to read international authors I’ve always heard about, but have never read. In the case of Japan, I finally read a book by bestselling author Haruki Murakami – Norwegian Wood, translated by Jay Rubin. As the novel opens, 37-year-old Toru Watanabe is … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Japan
Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 1: Dawn by Yoshiki Tanaka translated from the Japanese by Daniel Huddleston Haikasoru March 8, 2016 304 pages Legend of the Galactic Heroes truly lives up to its name: it takes the reader on a journey across several centuries and many light-years to tell a story that confirms what … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 1: Dawn
Dendera by Yuya Sato translated from the Japanese by Edwin Hawkes & Nathan A. Collins Haikasoru February 17, 2015 400 pages Yuya Sato is precisely why you should read speculative fiction in translation. After all, if you were just roaming around a Barnes & Noble, or even many indie bookstores, or looking at the New … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Dendera
Let's face it: butts, buttocks, bottoms—whatever term you prefer—are funny. Cute animals are always a hit. Put them together, and you have the delightful Animals Brag About Their Bottoms. Published just this year by the children's imprint of Canada based publisher Greystone Books, this beautifully illustrated and cheeky picture book is a wonderful read aloud … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Animals Brag About Their Bottoms
A classic story about a magical miniature family’s adventures in wartime Japan 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 from old book jackets, they need … Continue reading GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Shortlist: The Secret of the Blue Glass by Tomiko Inui (Japan)
**WINNER OF THE 2019 GLLI TRANSLATED YA BOOK PRIZE** Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi’s estranged gay … Continue reading GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Shortlist: My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame (Japan)
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 