Welcome to January’s World Kid Lit web round-up. The new year is off to a great start with a whole host of prize-winners and nominations being revealed this month. There are also plenty of news, reviews and interviews. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom to check out new releases from around the world…
News
The American Library Association Youth Media Awards (#ALAYMA) were announced this week.
The Batchelder Award celebrates the best children’s and YA books in translation. This year’s winner is…
TEMPLE ALLEY SUMMER by Sachiko Kashiwaba, ill. by Miho Satake, translated from Japanese [Japan] by Avery Fischer Udagawa.
A record FIVE Honor titles were also awarded:
- The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas by María García Esperón, illustrated by Amanda Mijangos, translated from Spanish [Mexico] by David Bowles (Levine Querido)
- In the Meadow of Fantasies by Hadi Mohammadi, illustrated by Nooshin Safakhoo, translated from Persian/Farsi [Iran] by Sara Khalili (Elsewhere Editions)
- The Most Beautiful Story by Brynjulf Jung Tjønn, ill. by Øyvind Torseter, translated from Norwegian [Norway] by Kari Dickson (Enchanted Lion)
- Sato the Rabbit by Yuki Ainoya, translated from Japanese [Japan] by Michael & Shizuka Blaskowsky (Enchanted Lion)
- Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost, by Betina Birkjær, ill. by Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard, translated from Danish [Denmark] by Sinéad Quirke (Enchanted Lion)
Coming up this week on the World Kid Lit Blog, Paula Holmes takes a closer look at this year’s winners and nominees.
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Also from the ALA Youth Media Awards, the John Newbery Medal is awarded for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature. This year Darcie Little Badger is the *FIRST* Native author to be recognized by the Newbery committee with her book Snake Falls to Earth (Levine Querido).
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The ALA’s Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) have published their 2022 list of Notable Children’s Books. It’s great to see several translated titles on this list, and even better that the list names the translators – thank you ALSC!
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The 2021 Nominations for the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards (Cybils) have been released and feature several translations across their lists.
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The Jewish Children’s Book Award has just revealed their inaugural shortlist including three books originally written in Hebrew. The winners will be announced on Sunday 6th March.
The three translated books are Workitu’s Passover, byZahava Goshen and Maayan Ben Hagai, translated by Jessica Bonn, and The Thank You Tomatoes, by Tamar Weiss-Gabbay, translated by the author, and The Wonder Room Of Grandma Masha by Yael Albert.
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The 2021 “My Favourite Children’s Book” was announced in China on Christmas Day. Chinese Books for Younger Readers summarises the favourites from the past year.
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Bolivian writer Grissel Bolívar Vallejo has won the sixth Libro Álbum competition for her picture book “Donde todo es posible” (news item in Spanish)
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The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, USA opened its latest book exhibition entitled Read the World: Picture Books and Translation. The exhibition runs from January 15 – April 17, 2022.
You can learn more about this exhibition at a free online event hosted by The Centre for Book Cultures and Publishing at the University of Reading in partnership with Outside in World on Thursday 3 February 2022, 17:00 – 19:00 UTC. Register here.
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The riveting HIDDEN LIKE ANNE FRANK: 14 TRUE STORIES OF SURVIVAL by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis, trans. Laura Watkinson has a new companion website with interactive map and audio. It’s well worth a visit!
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ADINKRA JEUNESSE, a new online platform offering African books for children aged 3-12 launches on 31st January. This is a subscription service offering books in French and English.
Submissions / registration open
Children’s Africana Book Awards is inviting nominations: The Children’s African Book Awards invites suggestions of titles to be considered for the category of “New Adult” books. The award recognizes a book by an African author marketed to adults but suitable for mature high school students.
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The Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival opens registrations for the Sharjah Children’s Book Award, recognising authors, illustrators and publishers; deadline for entries is March 13, 2022
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IBBY Malaysia (MBBY) is calling from papers and poster presentations for the 38th World Congress. Submission are open until March 15 2022. Particularly of interest is their subtheme on Bridging Divides in Children’s and YA Literature, focussing on
- Multicultural and multilingual themes in literature
- National and transnational themes in literature
- Translations and communication
- Diversity and inclusivity in multicultural society, including Indigenous representation
- Oral to written tradition
- Multimedia for bridging traditional oral literature with modern technology.
More details here.
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Submit for the Asian Festival of Children’s Content Book Illustrators Gallery 2022: Illustrators should be of Asian descent, or are based in Asia or have illustrations dealing with or of Asian diaspora.
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Bristol Translates Literary Translation Summer School
4-8 July 2022, online. Featuring a non-language-specific workshop on translating children’s literature led by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, and workshops for translators into English from: Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and a multilingual workshop led by Daniel Hahn
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British Centre for Literary Translation Summer School
Monday 18th – Friday 22nd July 2022, online. Featuring workshops for translators into English from Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian, German, Japanese, Ukrainian, as well as Multilingual Poetry, Multilingual Prose, Training the Trainer, and Literature from Taiwan.
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Manchester in Translation
22nd to the 24th February. Keynote from award-winning translator Lawrence Schimel, two panel events and three workshops focusing on literary translation from Portuguese, Turkish and French into English.
Reviews
On Twitter, Alice Visser-Furay reviewed 150 books during 2021. Take a look at her thread for wordless picture books to epic fantasy novels to thought-provoking non-fiction
World Literature Today – Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp recommends 3 translated books for children from Korea: I Am the Subway by Kim Hyo-eun, translated by Deborah Smith (Scribe), One Day by Lee Juck, illustrated by Kim Seung-youn, translated by Asuka Minamoto, Lee Juck & Dianne Chung (Enchanted Lion Books), and Magic Candies by Baek Heena, translated by Sophie Bowman (Amazon Crossing)
Book Riot – THE MOST POPULAR MANGA FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, list compiled by Lucas Maxwell
Lots of love this month for The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros, translated from Welsh (Wales, UK) by the author (Firefly Press)
Irish Times – Young-adult fiction round-up for January: A strong start to 2022, by Claire Hennessy, featuring Me, In Between by Julya Rabinowich, translated from German by Claire Storey (Andersen Press), and The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros, translated from Welsh by the author (Firefly Press).
Alex’s Fiction Addition – Review: Me, In Between by Julya Rabinowich, translated by Claire Storey
Jewish News – Review: Me, In Between by Julya Rabinowich, translated by Claire Storey
Eerdlings – 10 Exciting Children’s Books Coming Out in Spring 2022, featuring It’s So Difficult, written and illustrated by Raúl Nieto Guridi, translated by Lawrence Schimel, A Perfect Spot, written & illustrated by Isabelle Simler, translated by Vineet Lal, The Book that Kibo Wrote, written and illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson, translated by Lawrence Schimel.
Publishers Weekly – Elephant Island by Leo Timmers, trans. from the Dutch by James Brown. Gecko
Japanese Board on Books for Young People (JBBY) – A curated, depended-upon list of recent Japanese children’s books, described in English, now available online.
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative #WorldKidLitWednesdays translated book reviews:
- Dulcinea in the Forbidden Forest Written by Ole Könnecke, translated by Shelley Tanaka (Gecko Press). Review by Nanette McGuinness
- Magic Candies Written and illustrated by Heena Baek, Translated by Sophie Bowman (Amazon Crossing Kids) reviewed by Klem-Marí Cajigas
- Little Bear’s Treasures Written and illustrated by Stella Dreis, translated by Laura Szejnmann
(Greystone Kids). Review by Laura Taylor
Interviews and articles
Words and Pictures – Interview with Kari Dickson, an award-winning British translator who specialises in Norwegian literature
Lit Hub – A Conversation With Graphic Novelist Rutu Modan, author of Tunnels (translated into English by Ishai Mishory)
IBBY – Reflections from the 37th IBBY World Congress in Moscow, Russia 10-12 September 2021
The Independent – Found in translation: Children’s books from around the world, by Laura Fentress
Podcasts and videos
Yugntruf/Kinder-Loshn Publications – The online book launch for Yugntruf/Kinder-Loshn Publications’ first title, Solomon Simon’s The Clever Little Tailor. The program features translator David Forman reading from the book and discussing his translation process and memories of his grandfather, Solomon Simon, the actor and singer Mikhl Yashinsky performing ‘badkhones’ in honor of the publication, and singer Adah Hetko’s bilingual setting of Abraham Sutzkever’s “valdiks” (sylvan) in honor of the novel’s prominent use of forest imagery. Publisher Jordan Kutzik speaks about the goals of Kinder-Loshn Publications and the press’ upcoming Yiddish/English titles.
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British Centre for Literary Translation – An online book launch to celebrate the publication of International LGBTQ+ Literature for Children and Young Adults, edited by B.J. Epstein and Elizabeth L. Chapman, and featuring the work of scholars, authors, translators, and activists from around the world. Speakers included: Cheeno Marlo Sayuno, Patricia Sarles, Åsa Warnqvist, Andrej Zavrl, Thaddeus Andracki, B.J. Epstein and Elizabeth Chapman.
World Kid Lit blog this month
- Johanna McCalmont reviews Halley’s Comet by Hannes Barnard and interviews the author about the book and his process of self-translation
- Kirsty Lappin talks to us about typography in The Day Saida Arrived
- Mia Spangenerg share two non-fiction titles featuring fossils and dinosaurs
- Carol Felicio from Language Lizard explores the two official languages of Afghanistan, Dari and Pashto
New Releases: January and February 2022
Picture books
It’s So Difficult by Raúl Nieto Guridi, translated from Spanish (Spain) by Lawrence Schimel ~ Jan 2022 ~ Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
My Grandmother’s Photos by Özge Bahar Sunar, illustrated by Senta Urgan, translated from Turkish (Turkey) by Amy Marie Spangler ~ Jan 2022 ~ Amazon Crossing
The Gift by Alain Serge Dzotap, illustrated by Dephine Renon, translator not known, from French (Cameroon) ~ Feb 2022 ~ Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Piatti for Children by Celestino Piatti, from German (Switzerland), translator not known ~ Feb 2022 ~ NorthSouth
Graphic novels
Magical History Tour #7: Gandhi by Fabrice Erre and Sylvain Savoia, translated by Nanette McGuinness ~ Jan 2022 ~ Papercutz
Teen / young adult fiction
Me, In Between, by Julya Rabinowich, translated from German (Austria) by Claire Storey ~ Jan 2022 ~ Andersen Press
The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros, translated from Welsh by the author ~ Jan 2022 ~ Firefly Press
Ironhead, or Once a Young by Lady Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem, translated by Kristen Gehrman ~ Feb 2022 ~ Levine Querido
World Kid Lit 