#IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Self Portrait

Today’s post comes to you from Kim Tyo-Dickerson & Helle Kirstein Windows and Mirrors from the Shore Self Portrait – by Ludwig Volbeda / Translated from Dutch by Lucy Scott (Levine Querido/2025) – NETHERLANDS [Previously reviewed on this blog by Lynn Miller-Lachmann on Feb. 4, 2026] Ludwig Volbeda’s debut Young Adult novel, Self Portrait, is an intimate, stream-of-consciousness epistolary … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Self Portrait

#IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Daughter of Doom

Today’s post comes to you from Kim Tyo-Dickerson & Helle Kirstein The Seer and the Nun We recently met to discuss Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem’s immersive historical novel Daughter of Doom, translated from Dutch by Kristen Gehrman, and published by Levine Querido (2025). Originally published as Onheilsdochter by Querido (2022), the book was shortlisted for the prestigious … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Daughter of Doom

#IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Movies Showing Nowhere

Today’s post comes to you from Kim Tyo-Dickerson & Helle Kirstein Echoes in the Empty Theater: Grief, Independence, and Magical Realism It is fascinating to watch the journey of translated literature from its native culture to the global stage. For us, and for Job Roggeveen, a colleague and parent at the International School of Amsterdam, one … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Movies Showing Nowhere

#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Under the London Sky

Today’s post comes to you from Alice Henry 'Under the London Sky' by Anna Woltz (2021), translated from Dutch by Michelle Hutchinson (2025), is a coming-of-age story for four teenagers during the Blitz, a context with profound impact on our narrator, Ella, and her friends. Fourteen-year-old Ella, born and bred in the East End into … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Under the London Sky

#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Song of a Blackbird

Today’s post comes to you from Song Yee Paik Since being published a year ago, "Song of a Blackbird" by Maria van Lieshout has been featured twice on GLLI (reviewed by Lynn Miller-Lachmann in March 2025, and explored in an author interview by Kim Tyo-Dickerson in May 2025) and has received significant critical acclaim. Last … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Song of a Blackbird

#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Self-Portrait

High schooler Jip has a big problem—an art class assignment to draw a self-portrait. That shouldn’t be a problem, as Jip is a talented artist who can draw bugs, shells, and other items in exquisite detail. Jip is also obsessed with biology in general and insects in particular, spending days (and nights) in an overgrown … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Self-Portrait

#INTYALITMONTH: Brazilian YA: An Exploration of a Postcolonial Literary Tradition by and for the Diaspora

By Allan Pinto & Kim Tyo-Dickerson Introduction to a Queer, Black Brazilian Reading Life by Allan Pinto During my time in middle and high school, I can barely remember Black authors being mentioned in the annual book lists given out by the school. Many Black and queer authors used to be called “autores malditos” or … Continue reading #INTYALITMONTH: Brazilian YA: An Exploration of a Postcolonial Literary Tradition by and for the Diaspora

#INTYALITMONTH: The Graphic Lord of the Flies

By Kim Tyo-Dickerson 70th Anniversary Graphic Novel Adaptation of Lord of the Flies by Aimée de Jongh: A Masterpiece Reimagined in English and Dutch What happens when a fictional group of British schoolboys crash-land on a deserted island with no adults, no rules, and no way out? Lord of the Flies is a gripping survival … Continue reading #INTYALITMONTH: The Graphic Lord of the Flies

#INTYALITMONTH: “Fight HATE. Make ART.” —Interview with Maria van Lieshout, Dutch American author.

By Kim Tyo-Dickerson and Maria van Lieshout Introduction It was a privilege to speak with author and illustrator Maria van Lieshout about her powerful Young Adult graphic novel debut, Song of a Blackbird / Het lied van de merel, a story that has already earned five starred reviews in the United States for its “exploration … Continue reading #INTYALITMONTH: “Fight HATE. Make ART.” —Interview with Maria van Lieshout, Dutch American author.

#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Song of a Blackbird

When Annick, an older teenager living in Amsterdam, learns that the grandmother who has raised her ever since her parents’ death in an accident, needs a bone marrow transplant, it leads her on a journey that will take her across oceans and continents, and almost 70 years into the past. Searching for a perfect match, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Song of a Blackbird