by Maya Thiagarajan Here’s a question for you: What percentage of recent American college graduates have read the following American classics? To Kill A Mockingbird The Great Gatsby To be honest, I don’t have an accurate answer for you, but I’m willing to guess that the percentage would be quite high. These are books that … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Does India need its own Literary Canon?
#WORLDKIDLITMONTH – September 2022 – Slices of Indian Children’s Literature Served Up Over Time – #INDIAKIDLIT
by Karthika Gopalakrishnan India is a country of multitudes, made up of over a billion lives that intersect across lines of class, culture, language, and tradition, to coalesce into a thriving, proud, and fascinatingly curious whole. Composed of individual states, some of which are more populous than Brazil while others have roughly the same population … Continue reading #WORLDKIDLITMONTH – September 2022 – Slices of Indian Children’s Literature Served Up Over Time – #INDIAKIDLIT
#INTLYALITMONTH: Burmese Moons by Sophie Ansel & Sam Garcia
Review by Jonathan Hill Burmese Moons by Sophie Ansel and Sam Garcia America and the media we consume is incredibly sterilized, especially to the plight of the people who aren’t white. We’re led to believe that despite harrowing circumstances, through determination and strength of spirit, we’ll be delivered the happy ending. Everything will work out … Continue reading #INTLYALITMONTH: Burmese Moons by Sophie Ansel & Sam Garcia
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Hunt is On (Seekers of the Aweto Book 1)
As an early literacy advocate, I am a huge proponent of graphic novels and comic books. Graphic novels can help hook reluctant readers, build visual literacy, and challenge students to read analytically. Do not let the presence of pictures fool you; as in picture books, there is often more to them that meets the eye. … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Hunt is On (Seekers of the Aweto Book 1)
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Here the Whole Time
Last month I reviewed the first of our co-winners for the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize. This month we turn to the second winner of the prize, Here the Whole Time. Written by Vitor Martins, this book gives us another look into the lives of LGBTQ young people in Brazil. Also translated by Larissa Helena, … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Here the Whole Time
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Where We Go From Here
As someone who grew up during the 80s and 90s, I have several memories of the earlier years of the AIDS epidemic. I still remember the news reports of gay men dying in large numbers, and learning about how HIV is spread—and how it is not. I also remember the death of Freddie Mercury (right … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Where We Go From Here
World Languages Review: La sonrisa de los peces de piedra (Spain)
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)
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: MAX by Sarah Cohen-Scali
Max (by Sarah Cohen-Scali, translated by Penny Hueston) is creepy. Beautifully written. Translated in flawlessly idiomatic English. And seriously creepy. A well-researched work of historical fiction for upper YA readers*, the book tells the story of the eponymous Max, aka Konrad von Kebernsol, a product of the once-secret, actual Nazi Lebensborn program (literally, fountain of … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: MAX by Sarah Cohen-Scali
GLLI YA Prize Shortlist Excerpt: Piglettes by Clémentine Beauvais
Chapter 1 Here we go: the Pig Pageant results have just come out on Facebook. I’m in third place: bronze medal. How perplexing. After winning gold for two years in a row, I thought I’d never lose the top spot. I was wrong. I check who’s won the grand title. She’s a new girl, in … Continue reading GLLI YA Prize Shortlist Excerpt: Piglettes by Clémentine Beauvais
GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Shortlist: Wonderful Feels Like This by Sara Lovestam (Sweden)
Sara Lovestam's Wonderful Feels Like This is “a coming-of-age tale of a young artist and is as soulful as it is triumphant” (SLJ) that celebrates being a little bit odd, finding your people, and the power of music to connect us For Steffi, going to school everyday is an exercise in survival. She's never fit … Continue reading GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Shortlist: Wonderful Feels Like This by Sara Lovestam (Sweden)
