Next month is September, World Kid Lit Month: the time to explore the world through international and translated children’s books. September is a busy month for many of us, so how can we get involved even when time is tight?

The mini World Kid Lit challenge

The World Kid Lit Month challenge couldn’t be easier: simply read a book from another country besides your own, or translated from another language.

You’ll find hundreds of reading ideas here on this site, and we have oodles of new international book reviews lined up for September!

The biggest challenge is choosing what to read once you realize that there is an entire planet full of awesome books out there, originally in English and translated into English. As readers of English we are so lucky: hundreds of children’s books are translated from other languages every year.

Head to your library and ask them what they recommend. Or go armed with one of our read the world book lists!

Reading for fun & exploring the world at home

Maybe you’d like a family reading project, to encourage a love of reading and book talk with your little ones. Or a creative project for the kids’ days with their grandparents?

Our reading prompt bingo charts are ideal for a group reading challenge! Between you, can you complete a line of three? Or a color category? Perhaps one picture book from each of the five continents?

Or maybe you’re drawn to the pale cream categories. How do you find a book translated from a language spoken by a friend? Browse this site – every blog post is categorized by country and language, and we have covered books from over 160 countries so far! (And we always recommend Kids Read the World where Lori and family have read and reviewed books from 115+ countries! The GLLI blog is also easy to search; look for #WorldKidLitWednesday reviews, or search by language/country.)

A children’s book translated from (or maybe a bilingual book featuring) a language with a non-Latin script … Easy! Try searching for Japanese, Korean, Ukrainian, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek … you’ll find lots of picture books and middle grade translations here on this site.

USBBY Outstanding Books List? We will never tire of recommending this incredible resource. Check out this blog post for more! And for bilingual picture books – ask your library! And see here for past articles on our blog.

World Kid Lit is for everyone

There are incredible journeys to be had for middle grade readers (see our 7-12 bingo chart and book lists) and for teens (loads of themed reading ideas here to help you explore international YA).

Our fourth bingo chart, the yellow one, has prompts for exploring global literature for young people of all ages, 0-18! But of course, this makes for a fascinating and fabulous reading tour of the world for everyone, 0-118!

Schools: the New Reading Challenge Award

The World Kid Lit Reading Challenge Award, launching September 2025, is a new competition for schools to promote international and inclusive reading.

The Award is intended to encourage young people to read for pleasure, to explore international perspectives and global citizenship and, through reading in translation, to see the value of a second language as a cultural and creative asset.

The reading challenge could be of any scale: one class reads 5 picture books from 5 countries in a day, for example. Or, over the course of a week, reading buddies read picture books together from 10 countries and learn how to say “hello” in a language spoken in each of those countries. Or, three 6th grade classes compete to see which class can read the most translated books in a month!

Schools set the parameters of the challenge, and the Award is for the most imaginative, innovative or inclusive presentations where students share and reflect on what they’ve read. See here for full details on how to enter, and please share the info with the teachers and school librarians in your life!

Please spread the word!

If you’re on social media, please post about #WorldKidLitMonth and share our lovely graphics! (You can download all 6 designs in 3 colors here.) Or make your own. Put your own stamp on it. What does “world kid lit” mean to you? How would you like to explore the world through reading?

Support World Kid Lit!