One of my repeated assertions is that picture books are much more than what they seem. They are more than just cute pictures and easy words to read to children before bedtime; they are in fact powerful works of art that can reveal deep truths to people of all ages. Picture books are for everyone. … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: That’s Not Normal!
Much of the rhetoric around immigration from Central America across the southern United States border discusses persons wanting to enter the U.S. in abstract and dehumanizing terms: as caravans, illegal aliens, vectors of disease, even as an invasion. We spend so much time talking about Central American refugees and what they represent, yet we rarely … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Other Side
When I moved to the contiguous United States at the age of 7 from Puerto Rico, I did not speak English. I still remember my first day in a second-grade classroom, where I was the only Hispanic student and no one spoke Spanish. I went up to the teacher and told her I had a … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Day Saida Arrived
Juan Hormiga is not your stereotypical hard-working ant; he is a master napper who can doze off up to ten times in one afternoon. Fortunately, he also has a talent for storytelling and the other ants often gather around to listen as he recounts his grandfather’s daring exploits. The ants are somewhat surprised, though, when … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Juan Hormiga
Last month I reviewed a book produced by Spanish publisher Cuento de Luz, which exclusively uses stone paper, a paper made without bleach or wood pulp. Today we return to Cuento de Luz's innovative books in The Map of Good Memories. Written by Spanish author Fran Nuño and illustrated by Poland born artist Zuzanna Celej, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Map of Good Memories
For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, it's currently winter, which is my favorite season. Yes, I may have been born in the Caribbean, but I feel more at ease when it is colder outside. I can wear cozy clothes, avoid the sun, and not contend with the oppressive humidity of the southern … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Winter Train
La sonrisa de los peces de piedra (The Smile of the Stone Fish) by Rosa Huertas (Anaya). This book is written in Spanish and set in Spain. In 2017, it won the XIV Premio Anaya de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil (Anaya Children’s and Young Adult Literary Prize). In 2017, it was included on the Lista … Continue reading World Languages Review: La sonrisa de los peces de piedra (Spain)
Synopsis The novel is set in a town on the industrial outskirts of Bilbao during the 1980s, marked by heroin, unemployment and industrial decline, where the police fight running street battles with local youths, and the walls are covered with threatening slogans. Its narrator, Amaia, is a young child at the start, and progresses through … Continue reading World Languages Title Pick: Mejor la ausencia by Edurne Portela (Spain)
When I was a good bit younger, I once followed several of my cousins into a lakeside cave. This ragged, rocky opening had only recently become accessible due to drought, so with all the invincibility of the young, we wriggled and shrugged our way in, entirely blind in the darkness. There came a moment when, … Continue reading Indie Translation Review: Silent Shadows by Sanz Irles
Don Quixote de La Mancha is the greatest literary work to come from Spain, the first novel, written by the pen of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. It is also one of the most translated books in the world. The novel was published in two volumes, the first book published in 1605 and the second in … Continue reading Don Quixote de La Mancha: Timeless Message of Hope and Chivalry
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 