September is #WorldKidLitMonth, a wonderful time to discover world literature and translation for children and young adults. Perhaps you’ve never thought about children’s books created in another country and another language? Or would like to see what’s new in the international world of children’s books?
The World Kid Lit team is active all year round, collecting
information, making lists, writing blogs and so much more. And in September, we
try to encourage everyone to join in. This year it’s our 8th World
Kid Lit Month, and our website is better than ever. Take a look, dip in, search
for books by country, language, target reader age, author, illustrator, translator
– browse any way you like! Most of all, enjoy!
If you relish a challenge, try reading your way around the world, or playing World Kid Lit Month Bingo! You can download maps and bingo charts on the World Kid Lit website. We have lots of ready-made resources that you can download for free. It can be fun to do these challenges with friends, as a family, or as a class.
We’re also keen to learn from you! Tell us what you're reading! We're on social media as @worldkidlit - remember to use the hashtag #WorldKidLitMonth. Or you can contact us via the World Kid Lit website.
A few words about the World Kid Lit team - we're a group of volunteers around the world who come together through our interest and love of children's and YA books. You can find out more about us here.
How did World Kid Lit Month start? - The hashtag #WorldKidLitMonth was first used on social media in 2016 by Marcia Lynx Qualey, Lawrence Schimel and Alexandra Büchler. This was followed by the blog, also in 2016. A campaign emerged for greater visibility of world literature within English-language children's and YA publishing. It's part of a broader campaign for inclusive and representative literature for children - books that represent our global population in all its diversity.
Improving visibility - It wasn't always easy to discover children's books from other countries, as publishers don't always highlight when a book is translated, what language it was translated from, or who the translator was (please, always #namethetranslator). Project World Kid Lit evolved to help English readers all over the world discover global authors, illustrators and translators.
Working collaboratively - The World Kid Lit website was founded with the aim of shining a spotlight on a vibrant and growing area of children's and YA publishing. It also aims to be a hub connecting readers with many other organizations championing world literature for young people. We're delighted to work with SCBWI!
Translation in SCBWI - SCBWI has translator members and there is a Translation section on the SCBWI website.
SCBWI's Global Translator Coordinator is the award-winning translator Avery Fischer Udagawa, translator of Sachiko Kashiwaba’s novel Temple Alley Summer, illustrated by Miho Satake, (Restless Books, 2021), which won the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award.
This is the first of four posts by the World Kid Lit team this September! Read all four posts!
It’s September! Welcome to World Kid Lit Month!
We're Almost Halfway Through World Kid Lit Month 2023!
A World of Ways to Explore World Literature for Young Readers
World Kid Lit Month 2023 - September is such a full month!
Helen Wang is a UK-based translator of children's literature from Chinese to English. Her best known translation is the novel Bronze and Sunflower, by Cao Wenxuan, winner of the Hans Christian Anderson Award, 2016. She runs the blog Chinese Books for Young Readers.
1 comment:
Happy #WorldKidLitMonth!
If you have read Bronze and Sunflower and are seeking another spellbinding novel, check out Helen's brilliant translation of Dragonfly Eyes by Cao Wenxuan.
Post a Comment