A flock of chickens lives a comfortable, safe life on a farm. It may be rather predictable, but there is plenty of food, and everyone knows their role and their place. So what if one of them is carried off every so often? After all, they're just chickens. But one day the capybaras arrive, seeking … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Capybaras
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
Terra Nova: An Anthology of Contemporary Spanish Science Fiction, edited by Mariano Villareal co-selected by Mariano Villareal and Luis Pestarini translated from the Spanish by Sue Burke and Lawrence Schimel Sportula June 15, 2013 258 pages Outstanding novella-length stories make up this important collection of contemporary Spanish-language science fiction. Thanks to translators Sue Burke and … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Terra Nova
Wicked Weeds by Pedro Cabiya translated from the Spanish (Dominican Republic) by Jessica Powell Mandel Vilar Press October 25, 2016 184 pages Subtitled “A Zombie Novel,” Wicked Weeds is so much more than that. Yes, it is a book whose main character is a self-professed “zombie,” but it is also a work of simultaneously free-wheeling … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Wicked Weeds
The Bottom of the Sky by Rodrigo Fresán translated from the Spanish by Will Vanderhyden Open Letter Books May 19, 2018 266 pages ** warning: here be spoilers** I’ve got to be honest with you. I seriously don’t know how I’m going to write any kind of coherent review of Fresán’s The Bottom of the … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: The Bottom of the Sky
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
Welcome to the #WorldKidLitWednesday reviewer team, Klem-Marí Cajigas! Klem-Marí Cajigas is no stranger to the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative blog. As guest editor for World Kid Lit Month this September, she shared her passion for books by Puerto Ricans both from the island and from the diaspora. You can read no fewer than 26 … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Meet Reviewer Klem-Marí Cajigas
In 1939, the Saint Louis sails from Hamburg into Havana’s port with hundreds of Jewish refugees seeking asylum from the Nazi regime. From the docks, nine-year-old Daniel Kaminsky watches as the passengers, including his parents, become embroiled in a fiasco of Cuban corruption. But the Kaminskys have a treasure that they hope will save them: a Rembrandt … Continue reading Crime Fiction Pick: Heretics by Leonardo Padura (Cuba)
Sometimes it’s the little observations that spark the imagination and inspire readers to look anew at the world around them. Written by well-known Spanish poet Karmelo C. Iribarren and translated by Lawrence Schimel, this slim book of illustrated children’s poems is a source of wonder and enjoyment for children ages 6 and up. Iribarren invites … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Poems the Wind Blew in
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