Here at World Kid Lit, we aim to connect young readers with world literature. That can mean all kinds of things: stories, poetry, nonfiction and graphic novels published in other countries besides our own, books written in English from beyond our shores, or books written in other languages and translated into English.
We place a particular focus on translations into English, because they tend not to get the critical coverage they deserve, and because they represent a vibrant and diverse section of children’s publishing.
We’ve been keeping a list of published translations every year since 2017 (see here), and we’re delighted to unveil the 2024 list.
So far, we know of 104 books due to be published in 2024, which were translated into English. These are translations from over 20 languages: Arabic, Chinese, Cree, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Taiwanese Hokkien, and Ukrainian.
If you know of any titles we’re missing, please send us the details via this Google form. We’re looking for children’s and YA titles publishing in 2024, that were translated into English from any language, anywhere.
Where possible we #namethetranslator, and list the country and language the book was first published in. For example, [Spanish, Argentina] means the English edition was translated from Spanish, and the original Spanish edition was published in Argentina.
Happy travels … wherever in the world your reading journey takes you!
Amazon Crossing Kids
Picture books
A Pair of Little Red Mittens written by Kirin Hayashi, illustrated by Chiaki Okada, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa [Japanese, Japan]
Middle grade
Lenny Among Ghosts written by Frank Maria Reifenberg, illustrated by Thilo Krapp, translated by Rachel Reynolds [German, Germany]
The Moonwind Mysteries: Queen of the Thieves by Johan Rundberg, translated by A.A. Prime [Swedish, Sweden]
Arctis
Franny Cloutier Book 2: The Year I Followed My Father to the Other Side of the World written by Stephanie Lapointe Marianne Ferrer, illustrated by Ann Marie Boulanger [French, Canada]
King Bro! written by Jenny Jagerfeld, translated by B.J. Woodstein [Swedish, Sweden]
Kepler62 Book 3: The Voyage written by Timo Parvela and Bjorn Sortland, illustrated by Pasi Pitkanen, translated by Owen Witesman [Finnish, Finland]
Kepler62 Book 4: The Pioneers written by Timo Parvela and Bjorn Sortland, illustrated by Pasi Pitkanen, translated by Owen Witesman [Finnish, Finland]
Kepler62 Book 5: The Virus written by Timo Parvela and Bjorn Sortland, illustrated by Pasi Pitkanen, translated by Owen Witesman [Finnish, Finland]
Kepler62 Book 6: The Secret written by Timo Parvela and Bjorn Sortland, illustrated by Pasi Pitkanen, translated by Owen Witesman [Finnish, Finland]
Little Sisters by Tomo Miura, translated by Nanette McGuinness [from French]
The Picture Visitors: A Case for the Van Gogh Agency by Christina Wolff, translated by Claire Storey [German, Germany]
The Rosenholm Trilogy Volume 2: Forget Me Not by Gry Kappel Jensen, translated by Jennifer Alexander [Danish, Denmark]
Understanding Adolescence for Girls: A Body-Positive Guide to Puberty written by Barbara Pietrusczak, illustrated by Anna Rudak, translated by Agnes Monod-Gayraud [Polish, Poland]
Understanding Adolescence for Boys: A Body-Positive Guide to Puberty written by Barbara Pietrusczak, illustrated by Anna Rudak, translated by Agnes Monod-Gayraud [Polish, Poland]
Whisper of the Ravens Book 2: Fehu written by Malene Solvsten, translated by Adrienne Alair [Danish, Denmark]
Balestier Press
Yoghurt and Jam (or how my mother became Lebanese) written by Lena Merhej, translated by Nadiyah Abdullatif and Anam Zafar [Arabic, Lebanon]
Blue Dot Kids Press
Picture books
Kai’s Ocean of Curiosities written and illustrated by Joséphine Topolanski, translated by Johanna McCalmont [French, France]
Middle Grade
Garden Surprise: Kaleidoscope Club Series Book #1 written by Marie Mazas, illustrated by Joëlle Passeron, translated by Johanna McCalmont [French, France]
Cardinal Media
Picture books
The Book Snail written by Jin Bo, illustrated by Wang Zumin, translation edited by Helen Wang [Chinese, China]
I Am a Tiger written and illustrated by Wang Zumin and Wang Ying, translation edited by Helen Wang [Chinese, China]
Lila and the Swallows written by Qi Zhi, illustrated by Cheng Yue, translation edited by Helen Wang [Chinese, China]
Mouse and Frog written and illustrated by Chen Zexin, translation edited by Helen Wang [Chinese, China]
Chicken House Books
Hotel for Cats written by Marie Voyelle, illustrated by Marie Pavlenko, translated by Anna Brooke [French, France]
Hotel for Cats 2 written by Marie Voyelle, illustrated by Marie Pavlenko, translated by Anna Brooke [French, France]
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Fast Cheetah Slow Tortoise written by Bette Westera, illustrated by Mies van Hout, translated by David Colmer [Dutch, Netherlands]
Home by Isabelle Simler, translated by Vineet Lal [from French]
What Makes Us Human written by Victor Dias de Oliveira Santos, illustrated by Anna Forlati, translated by Victor Dias de Oliveira Santos [Portuguese, Brazil]
Water: Discovering the Precious Resource All Around Us by Olga Fadeeva, translated by Lena Traer [Russian, Russia]
Elsewhere Editions
Meeselphe by Claude Ponti, translated by Alyson Waters & Margot Kerlidou [French, France]
Head in the Clouds by Rocío Araya, translated by Sarah Moses [Spanish, Spain]
Amu Norouz’s Violets written by Hadi Mohammadi, illustrated by Nooshin Safakhoo, translated by Sara Khalili [Farsi/Persian, Iran]
Enchanted Lion
Picture books
Loose Threads by Isol, translated by Lawrence Schimel [Spanish, Argentina]
Miss Leoparda by Natalia Shaloshvili, translated by Lena Traer [Russian, Russia]
Unruly Books imprint (Illustrated books for older readers)
The Book of Denial written by Ricardo Chávez Castañeda, illustrated by Alejandro Magallanes, translated by Lawrence Schimel [Spanish, Mexico]
Our Beautiful Darkness written by Ondjaki António, illustrated by Jorge Gonçalves, translated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann [Portuguese, Portugal]
We Go to the Park by Sara Brita Stridsberg, illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, translated by B.J. Woodstein [Swedish, Sweden]
Gecko Press
Bear’s Lost Glasses by Leo Timmers, translated by David Colmer [Dutch Netherlands]
A Better Best Friend by Olivier Tallec, translated by Antony Shugaar [French, France]
Around the World with Friends by Philip Waechter, translated by Melody Shaw [German, Germany]
Cake for Everyone by Thé Tjong-Khing, [Dutch, The Netherlands]
Can I Sit in the Middle? by Susanne Strasser, translated by Melody Shaw [German, Germany]
Giraffe Island by Sofia Chanfreau & Amanda Chanfreau, translated by Julia Marshall [Swedish, Sweden]
Good Night, Belly Button by Lucie Brunellière [French, France]
My Baby Sister Is a Diplodocus by Aurore Petit, translated by Daniel Hahn [French, France]
One Wise Sheep by Ulrich Hub & Jörg Mühle, translated by Helena Kirkby [German, Germany]
The Pinchers and the Dog Chase by Anders Sparring & Per Gustavsson, translated by Julia Marshall [Swedish, Sweden]
The Pinchers and the Diamond Heist by Anders Sparring & Per Gustavsson, translated by Julia Marshall [Swedish, Sweden]
A Rainy Dragon Day by Julie Völk, translated by Melody Shaw [German, Germany]
The Remarkables by Clotilde Perrin, translated by Daniel Hahn [French, France]
Sounds Good! by Ole Könnecke, translated by Melody Shaw [German, Germany]
Groundwood Books
Every Wrinkle Has a Story written by David Grossman, illustrated by Ninamasina, translated by Jessica Cohen [Hebrew, Israel]
José Speaks Out written by José Mujica and Dolors Camats, illustrated by Raúl Nieto Guridi, translated by Sofía Jarrín Groundwood Books 2024 [Spanish, Spain]
ninitohtênân / We Listen by Caitlin Dale Nicholson, translated by Leona Morin-Neilson [Bilingual in Cree and English; Canada]
Taming Papa written by Mylène Goupil, translated by Shelley Tanaka [French, Canada]
HopeRoad Publishing
The Darkness of Colours by Martín Blasco, translated by Claire Storey [Spanish, Argentina]
Lantana
Picture books
The Invisible Story written by Jaime Gamboa, illustrated by Wen Hsu Chen, translated by Daniel Hahn [Spanish]
Step Into My Shoes written by Alkisti Halikia, illustrated by Fotini Tikkou, translated by Konstantine Matsoukas [Greek, Greece]
Lerner Books
If I Were a Fungus by Gaia Stella, translated by Nanette McGuinness [Italian, Italy]
Levine Querido
Tilted Sky written by Emei Yao, translated by Kelly Zhang [Chinese, China]
Aiko and the Planet of Dogs written by Ainhoa Cayuso, illustrated by Christoffer Ellegaard, translated by Irene Vázquez [French, France]
The Boy From Clearwater: Book 2 written by Yu Pei-Yun, illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin, translated by Lin King [Taiwanese Hokkien, Chinese, Japanese; Taiwan]
The Curse of Madame Petrova written by Marjolijn Hof, illustrated by Annette Fienieg, translated by Bill Nagelkerke [Dutch, Netherlands]
The First Day of May written and illustrated by Henrique Coser Moreira [wordless, Portugal]
Grandma’s Roof Garden written and illustrated by Wei Tang, translated by Kelly Zhang [Chinese, China]
The Legend of Tiger and Tail-Flower written and illustrated by Lee Gee Eun, translated by Aerin Park [Korean, Korea]
Mishka written by Edward van de Vendel and Anoush Elman, illustrated by Annet Schaap, translated by Nancy Forest-Flier [Dutch, Netherlands]
Quill the Forest Keeper written by Marije Tolman Marije Tolman, translated by David Colmer [Dutch, Netherlands]
Life Drawn
Seoul Before Sunrise by Samir Dahmani, translated by Nanette McGuinness [French, France]
Winter ’43: From Wally’s Memories written by Valerie Villieu, illustrated by Antoine Houcke, translated by Nanette McGuinness [French, France]
Neem Tree Press
The Djinn’s Apple written by Djamila Morani, translated by Sawad Hussain [Arabic, Algeria]
NorthSouth Books
A Penguin Like Me by Marcus Pfister, translated by David Henry Wilson [German, Switzerland]
Orca Book Publishers
My Sister and Me by Joana Estrela, translated by Daniel Hahn [Portuguese Portugal]
Born a Girl Alice Dussotour, translated by David Warriner [French, France]
Whales and Us by India Desjardins Nathalie Dion, translated by David Warriner [French, Canada]
Billie and Bean in the Mountains Julia Hansson, translated by B.J. Woodstein [Swedish, Sweden]
The Book of Ant Records Katja Bargum Jenny Lucander, translated by B.J. Woodstein [Swedish, Sweden]
Creepy Classroom written by François Gravel, translated by David Warriner [French, Canada]
Bad Bot Pierrette Dubé Vigg, translated by David Warriner [French, Canada]
Salt, Pepper, Season, Spice by Jacques Pasquet Claire Anghinolfi, translated by Ann Marie Boulanger [French, Canada]
Papercutz
Asterix Omnibus #11 by Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo, translated by Nanette McGuinness [French, France]
Asterix Omnibus #12 by Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo, translated by Nanette McGuinness and Joe Johnson [French, France]
Magical History Tour #14: Gladiators written by Fabrice Erre, illustrated by Sylvan Savoia, translated by Nanette McGuinness [French, France]
Magical History Tour #15: Discovery of the Dinosaurs written by Fabrice Erre, illustrated by Sylvan Savoia, translated by Nanette McGuinness [French, France]
Smurf Tales #9 by Peyo, translated by Nanette McGuinness [French, France]
Pushkin Press
Amazing Jellyfish by Michael Stavarič, translated by Oliver Latsch [German, Austria]
Movies Showing Nowhere by Yorick Goldewijk, translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson [Dutch, Netherlands]
What Feelings Like Best written by Tina Oziewicz, illustrated by Aleksandra Zajac, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones [Polish, Poland]
Red Comet Press
Picture books
Extinctopedia written by Serenella Quarello, illustrated by Alessio Alcini, translated by Margaret Greenan [Italian, Italy]
The Gift written and illustrated by Oleksandr Shatokhin, translated by Ali Kinsella [Ukrainian, Ukraine]
How Animals Sleep written by Jiri Dvorak, illustrated by Maria Stumpfova, translated by Benjamin Lovett [Czech, Czechia]
A Surprise in the Wood written by Cosetta Zanotti, illustrated by Lucia Scuderi, translated by Angus Yuen-Killick [Italian, Italy]
Restless Books/Yonder
The Wildcat Behind Glass written by Alki Zei, translated by Karen Emmerich [Greek, Greece]
Seven Stories Press
Rosa Luxemburg: No to Borders by Anne Blanchard, translated by Rosie Eyre [French, France]
Janusz Korczak: No to Denying the Rights of Children by Isabelle Collombat, translated by Rosie Eyre and Sarah Ardizzone [French, France]
Tapioca Stories
Future written by María José Ferrada, illustrated by Mariana Alcántara, translated by Kit Maude [Spanish, Chile]
Marcel Martello Marshmallow written by Ruth Rocha, illustrated by Ana Matsusuki, translated by Tal Goldfajn [Portuguese, Brazil]
Transit Children’s Editions
Picture books
Giant On The Shore written by Alfonso Ochoa, illustrated by Andrés López, translated by Shook. Published simultaneously with the original Spanish edition, Gigante En La Orilla [Spanish]
How Dreadful! written and illustrated by Claire Lebourg, translated by Sophie Lewis [French, France]
The Story of the Everything, the Nothing, and Other Strange Stories written by Gyula Gábor Tóth, illustrated by Norbert Nagy, translated by Adam Z. Levy [Hungarian Hungary]
University of Texas Press
Thunderbird #3 written by Sonia Nimr, translated by M. Lynx Qualey [Arabic, Palestine]
Walker Books
Unicornia: Learning to Fly written by Ana Punset, illustrated by Diana Vincedo, translated by Rosie Eyre [Spanish, Spain]
Yen Press
The Deer King: Returners written by Nahoko Uehashi, cover by Masaaki Yamamoto, translated by Cathy Hirano [Japanese, Japan]
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