by Ayo Oyeku This month Ayo Oyeku reviews some new and upcoming picture books that transport readers around the world. Wanjikũ, Child of Mine Written by Ciiku Ndung’u-Case Illustrated by Karen Vermeulen Published by Catalyst Press (August 2024) “Everything smells like ashes. Outside, roosters crow. Sunlight falls through the cracks in the walls onto the dirt floors. I don’t want to get out the warm bed but the smoke makes me cry. When the goats are stirring and somebody has to let them outside. That’s my job.” Wanjikũ was born in a part of the world where all colours are brought to life ..read more

By Johanna McCalmont This week we’re excited to celebrate World Kid Lit Co-Founder Marcia Lynx Qualey as she receives the 2024 Ottaway Award, a prize awarded by Words Without Borders (WWB) recognizing an individual whose work and activism have advanced WWB’s mission of promoting cultural understanding through the publication and promotion of international literature. For many years, Marcia has not only been a passionate translator of all kinds of literature from Arabic, receiving several awards for her work, she has also found the time and energy to become a powerhouse behind many other initi ..read more

By Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp Last month, it was Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the world’s leading trade fair for children’s books and media. Every year, for four days in spring, publishing industry professionals from across the globe come together to buy and sell rights, make connections, and find out what’s new in the children’s/YA publishing space. We caught up with a few publishers and translators to hear their impressions of the fair and tips for first-time attendees … World Kid Lit: What brought you to Bologna and what did you hope to achieve at the book fair?  Joy Bean: I’d never been to ..read more

By Nanette McGuinness This week Nanette McGuiness talks to Eva Apelqvist about her work as both a writer and a translator of Swedish-language books for children. The interview is published with kind permission from the GLLI #WorldKidLit Wednesday blog where it first appeared on April 10, 2024 here. Eva Apelqvist is the author of the Swedish-language skateboard mystery Mörker över skateparken (2022 Swedish Mystery Academy Award for best mystery for children and young adults),  Swede Dreams, LGBTQ FAMILIES: The Ultimate Teen Guide, and Getting Ready to Drive: A How To G ..read more

By Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp Hearty congratulations to Siân Mackie, translator of this year’s Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Prize winner: Smash the Patriarchy: A Graphic Novel by Marta Breen & Jenny Jordahl. Published in English (and also German) by Helvetiq in 2023, this colorful and often very funny graphic novel was first published in Norwegian as Patriarkatet Faller. Opening with an overview of the centuries of male pontificating about women’s alleged inferiority, Smash the Patriarchy charts the history of misogyny and male gaze through the writi ..read more

By Amanda Bird While multiple themes link this Eerdmans quartet, two predominate: the sea and human encounters. All four titles adhere to realism, in the main; facts particularly abound in Fadeeva’s guides to the science of wind and water. But her conceptual illustrations spill from the page, and the unlikely encounters in the two fiction titles encourage us to believe in the power and possibility of human connection, even when circumstance and geography divide us. Three of these titles also share a common source language (Russian) and translator (Lena Traer), while Here and There was publishe ..read more

This week WKL regular contributor and French-to-English translator Catherine Leung talks to French YA author Manon Fargetton about some of her great books that have yet to be published in an English translation. Catherine Leung: Thanks for joining us on the blog today. I know you are very busy as you have just published the first book in your new YA fantasy series, Le Cycle des Secrets, with Gallimard Jeunesse in France. I think young readers will be really inspired to hear that you started writing at a young age. Could you tell us a little bit about what drew you to writing? Did you always k ..read more

Are you a publisher on the look out for great books for children and young adults from across the globe? Are you excited about publishing fantastic stories in English translation? Then look no further! This week, World Kid Lit celebrates London Book Fair by bringing you a few suggestions we think readers (of all ages) will love! Today we travel to Belgium, Bulgaria, the Faroe Islands, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine. And the great news for publishers is that translation funding opportunities are available for all languages! Belgium Morris Written by: Bart Moeyaert Illustrated by: Se ..read more

Are you a publisher on the look out for great books for children and young adults from across the globe? Are you excited about publishing fantastic stories in English translation? Then look no further! This week, World Kid Lit celebrates London Book Fair by bringing you a few suggestions we think readers (of all ages) will love! Today we travel to Africa with tips from Cameroon & Côte d’Ivoire. Cameroon Le Défilé (The Parade) Written by: Kouam Tawa Illustrated by: Marco Chamorro Original language: French [Cameroon] Target age group: 9+ Publisher: Éditions Voce Verso (2023 ..read more

Are you a publisher on the look out for great books for children and young adults from across the globe? Are you excited about publishing fantastic stories in English translation? Then look no further! This week, World Kid Lit celebrates London Book Fair by bringing you a few suggestions we think readers (of all ages) will love! Today we travel to the Americas, North and South, with tips from Canada, Curaçao & Bolivia. Canada Ratatin Written by: Mélina Schoenborn  Illustrated by: Felipe Arriagada-Nunez  Original language: French [Canada] Target Age: 3+  Pub ..read more