by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

At the high school where I teach German and Spanish, we’re celebrating World Book Day this year by reading a book in a day. Year 7 and 8 students will go from lesson to lesson with a short novel (around 10-12 chapters) that they’re aiming to read aloud in a day. During tutor time, and in each lesson, their teacher will read 2 chapters, and over the course of the day they’ll read the whole book together.

As a passionate advocate of global children’s literature, this fabulous idea of course got me thinking: what if the whole school did this, and each year group read a book from a different country?

For globally curious schools, here are ten books for you to bring the world into your school this World Book Day. These ten short novels would be perfect for a whole class read over the course of a day. The list includes contemporary and classic novels from or set in Japan, India, Nigeria, South Africa, Uruguay, Mexico, Greece, Italy, New Zealand and Australia.

Let us know where your World Book Day reading takes you!

Asia

The Village Beyond the Mist 

by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Miho Satake, translated from Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa. Restless Books. Buy from our Bookshop.org UK store. 160 pages

From the bestselling, Batchelder Award-winning author and translator of Temple Alley Summer and The House of the Lost on the Cape, this is the fantastic adventure that first inspired Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved Studio Ghibli movie, Spirited Away.

See Nanette McGuinness’s review here at World Kid Lit.

Naeli and the Secret Song

by Jasbinder Bilan. Chicken House. Buy from our Bookshop.org UK store. 272 pages

This is another stunning historical cross-continental adventure from the author of the Costa Award-winning Asha & the Spirit Bird and Nush and the Stolen Emerald.

Naeli loves her life in Hyderabad, India, yet she yearns to find her English father, who left when she was little. When a mysterious ticket arrives from England, Naeli abandons her familiar world to track him down. Armed only with her father’s name and cherished violin, she embarks on a bold adventure through Victorian London and beyond.

BookTrust describes it as “a pacy adventure starring a brave heroine who is determined to unravel a family mystery.”

Africa

Children of the Quicksands

by Efua Traoré. Chicken House. Buy from our Bookshop.org UK store. 276 pages

Set in Ajao, a remote village deep in the forests of Nigeria where magic still prevails like thousands of years ago when the deities and Orishas walked the lands, this is a gripping fantasy from Nigerian-German author Efua Traoré.

BookTrust says: “Stunning storytelling blends the richness of Nigerian culture in a nail-biting mystery thriller that invokes Yoruba myths and legends against a 21st century backdrop.”

The Girl with Wings 

by Jaco Jacobs, illustrated by Tori Stowe, translated from Afrikaans (South Africa) by Kobus Geldenhuys. Rock The Boat. Buy from our Bookshop.org UK store. 168 pages

Outside In World say: “Jacobs is an excellent storyteller and The Girl With Wings is a heart-warming tale with an array of quirky characters, however, beneath the surface, there is also an underlying subtext of being different, wanting to fit in and the power of friendship.”

Geldenhuys’s translation won a place on the prestigious 2024 IBBY Honour List – another great source of ideas for international reads!

Americas

Sword of Fire 

by Federico Ivanier, translated from Spanish (Uruguay) by Claire Storey. Puffin Books. Buy from our Bookshop.org UK store. 256 pages

Joanne Owen at LoveReading4Kids says: “There’s a bold lyricism to the writing, and kudos must go to translator Claire Storey for rendering the text so beautifully. Pacey and compellingly conjured, Sword of Fire strikes a satisfying balance between real-world struggles and those of a richly-imagined fantastical sphere.”

See my review over at World Literature Today: “With a healthy dose of sibling squabbles and skepticism about the workings of this mysterious place Novrogod, we’re launched into a classic quest story with a foot in both worlds—the timeless and the modern.”

Secrets We Tell The Sea

by Martha Riva Palacio Obón, translated from Spanish (Mexico) by Lourdes Heuer. Bloomsbury. Buy from Amazon

Sofia doesn’t feel safe at home with her mom’s abusive boyfriend when mom works nights, so when she’s sent to live with her abuela on the Mexican coast, she finds sanctuary of a kind with her grandmother and the sea that ought to feel like an old friend. Especially since Sofia is convinced she’s actually a mermaid. But moving house and starting at a new school are never easy, and the waters are troubled here too. With themes of domestic abuse and bereavement, there is much to discuss, and captivating prose full of magic and marine metaphor.

Kirkus Reviews say: “Readers will be left both intrigued and sometimes wondering what really happened but still emotionally blown away”. 

Europe

The Wildcat Behind Glass 

written by Alki Zei, translated from Greek by Karen Emmerich. Yonder/Restless Books. Buy from our Bookshop.org UK store. 176 pages

From its 1963 release to the dozens of international editions and honors that followed including a Mildred L. Batchelder Award and a place on the USBBY 2025 Outstanding International Books list, this is a timeless Greek classic in a new translation.

Given a starred review by Kirkus Reviews, they say: “Zei’s tale sensitively chronicles both rising political tensions and general patterns of life on a Greek island in the mid-1930s, when the country was under the dictatorship of Gen. Ioannis Metaxas, as seen through the eyes of 7-year-old Melia. . . . Her journey invites modern young readers to see potential parallels in their own times.”

The Adventures of Cipollino 

by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova, translated from Italian (Italy) by Antony Shugaar. Enchanted Lion Books. Buy from our Bookshop.org UK store. 248 pages

In this colorful, episodic adventure story, in which nearly everyone is animal, vegetable, or fruit, Cipollino leaves home and sets off into the world to free his wrongfully imprisoned father. In the process, he faces off against scoundrels of all kinds with wit and humor, while winning both allies and friends.

What hangs in the balance is the freedom of an entire kingdom from the ridiculous rules of the all-powerful Prince Lemon and the dignity of each blueberry, string bean, and spider!

This much-loved Italian classic in Shugaar’s stunningly inventive new translation won a Mildred L. Batchelder Honor title at the ALA’s 2026 Youth Media Awards.

Kirkus Reviews: “Common types of garden produce repeatedly thwart their upper-class fruit and veggie overlords in this droll translated classic, originally published in Italy in 1951 and selected by Hayao Miyazaki as one of his 50 favorite children’s books.”

Oceania

The Whale Rider

by Witi Ihimaera. Aotearoa/New Zealand. Puffin Classics. Buy from our Bookshop.org UK store. 176 pages

In every generation since the legendary ‘whale rider’, a male descendant inherits the title of chief. But now there is no male heir-there’s only Kahu. She should be next in line for the title, but her great-grandfather is blinded by tradition and sees no use for a girl.

But Kahu will not be ignored. And in her struggle, she has a unique ally: the ancient whale rider himself. With a fierce determination and the power of her gifts, Kahu may be able to strengthen her tribe’s ancestral connections, earn her great-grandfather’s attention-and lead her community to a bold new future. Can she embrace her destiny and become the next whale rider?

The 2003 movie adaptation by Niki Caro was rated the “most popular film at both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals, played to standing ovations, left audiences in tears” (Roger Ebert), and both the book and the film would make an excellent introduction to Māori culture for all ages.

Middle East

WHERE THE STREETS HAD A NAME

by Randa Abdel-Fattah. Marion Lloyd Books. Set in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Buy from Amazon. 240 pages

Hayaat and her family spend their days dodging curfews, trying to buy a week’s groceries before the sirens blare, remembering their home among the olive groves before it was taken from them.

But when the curfew breaks and her beloved grandmother Sitti is taken to hospital, Hayaat sets out on a mission to retrieve a jarful of soil from the family’s old farm so she can grant Sitti’s last wish of touching the soil of her homeland once more. All Hayaat and her friend Samy have to do is cross the hated wall that divides the West Bank and traverse the most dangerous patch of land on earth.

Alternatively Eva Di Cesare’s adaptation as a play would also be a wonderful way to read this daring adventure of freedom and friendship, exile and courage, family and love.

Find more global reads

You will find hundreds more translated and diverse book ideas across our website and at our Bookshop.org site. Here are a few lists to get you started…

• Read Africa | 7+
• Read the Americas | 7+
• Read Asia | 7+
• Read Europe | 7+
• Read Oceania | 7+
• Read Africa | 13+
• Read the Americas | 13+
• Read Asia | 13+
• Read Europe | 13+
• Read Oceania | 13+

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