By Mariana Ruiz

There are countless authors and illustrators in Latin America, but the percentage that gets visibility outside their borders is very low; in fact, less than 10% of published authors in the US come from Latin America. Fortunately, each year is better than the last, with new publishers daring to not only publish them in English but also making publications simultaneously available in their original language, Spanish.

Today, I’d like to showcase recent translations from award-winning authors from three different countries: Argentina, Chile and Colombia. Usually, the best way to get author visibility is either at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair or through the Cuatrogatos Foundation which produces an annual list of 100 books from all over the continent for young readers. You can find their 2024 selection here.

The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent

Irene Vasco is one of the best-known Colombian authors for children. She cares a lot about kids in far-away, hard-to-get-to places and has written widely about the consequences of the internal war struggle with the armed forces of Colombia and their effect on the lives of children. She hosts a library on the beach, called La Alegría, which means ‘Joy’ in English, and all of her books are about the joy of learning different things and the struggles of the war. She won the IBBY Outstanding Reading Promoter award in 2024.

Colombia has had a civil war going on for several decades and some of the young people involved tend to reject books and reading, and Irene Vasco has fought her entire life to change that.

In this beautifully illustrated book, a young teacher sets out for the Amazon rain forest, to teach young children at an indigenous village called Las Delicias. It takes forever to get there, but she is proud to have managed to bring her books with her, to share with the children.

The kids love the books and the young teacher soon settles into a routine, trying to help the kids learn the things she brings. However, when they, in turn, try to warn her about the great serpent, she dismisses such belief as indigenous superstitions.

This will change when the river rises, and she learns that books might not be the only way to discover the wisdom of past generations…

This book received The New York Times New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award (2023).

Loose Threads: A Picture Book 

Isol is a great Argentinian illustrator, a beloved artist who is constantly challenging herself and her readers. She won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2013 for her body of work.

When the Palestinian Society approached her, they invited her to use a Palestinian shawl for her next book. She set to work and, without uttering a single word about conflict, created a wondrous invitation to think about life’s different sides.

Young Leilah lives in an idyllic village on top of the tapestry where everything is neat and orderly, as it should be. However, there is an upside down place called the Other Side—messy, wild, and weird, like what you see when you flip over a tapestry and discover the loose threads behind. Leilah often visits this place in her dreams.

Holes and gaps in the tapestry connect both worlds, and Leilah is convinced that her lost things are falling through to the messy side. So, she decides to close the gaps by using a needle and thread.

But closing gaps doesn’t mean stuff stops happening. Bad feelings will not just disappear by shutting them out … Hidden things tend to overspill and seep through.

But is this a bad thing?

Her grandmother comes to the rescue, sharing her wisdom with the conflicted Leilah.

Future

This is the second book that Tapioca Stories has published of the award-winning Chilean poet Maria José Ferrada. An outstanding poet, she has won several prizes in Spain and Latin America, including the Spanish Cervantes Chico Award in 2022.

A simultaneous release in English and Spanish for the American market, it is by no means an easy book—it’s a challenging one, but in a good way.

Have you ever pondered the mysteries of the future? The future can be a wonderful place, a wonderful word, but it is up to us to envision it.

Future is a book filled with poetry, big illustrations, big questions, and a few robots and rocket ships. But all in all, it’s an abstract book with silvery pages and mysterious imagery conjured up by Mexican illustrator Mariana Alcántara.

The book introduces children to otherworldly/complex ideas by incorporating philosophical questions and a touch of science fiction to enhance the reading experience.

*All above reviews first appeared on Geekdad.com

About Mariana Ruiz

A Bolivian children’s author with more than 16 books to her name, she has a degree in philosophy and literature and is a member of the Bolivian Academy of Children’s Literature. For the American market, she collaborates with Geekdad.com, recommending kid lit titles from all over the globe, and is proud to say that more and more translations are appearing on her reading list.