It just sort of makes this wackadoodle tale of an ear with impetus that extra goofy push. I’m giving publisher Thames & Hudson some extra points on gumption for putting the rather kooky “Inspired by Van Gogh” button on the cover of some editions. Sadly there is no word on who did the translation for this book. Translators noted when credited:Īll Around Bustletown: Winter by Rotraut Susanne Bernerīecause you simply cannot have enough Estonian children’s books on your shelves, as far as I’m concerned. Even so, they’re stellar and they deserve our love. You probably won’t even see most of them on the end of the year “Best of” lists. You probably won’t see most of them winning the major awards. Whether or not you agree that now is the time for translations to enter the American limelight, here is a list of those titles I saw this year that I just thought were super. At the same time, spurred by the rise of the internet, the ease of long-distance travel and a belated recognition of the value for American children of a cross-cultural perspective, American publishers have become increasingly open to working with authors and illustrators from abroad and to introducing books that originated elsewhere.” Picture books are as ubiquitous an American export as iPhones and soybeans. “Today, the children’s publishing industry is a global enterprise. Why not encourage a similar mind-set in these fractious times?” He also says the following: He writes, “Two devastating world wars had prompted some idealists to wonder if a cross-cultural exchange of children’s books might have some small role to play in setting the stage for a more peaceful future.

Did you see Leonard Marcus’s article in the New York Times called The Caldecott Medal Needs an International Makeover? In the piece Marcus notes that after WWII, two awards for children’s literature that were open to international recipients began (The New York Times Best Illustrated list and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, respectively). She has loads of great recommendations for picture books from across the globe. We spotted this post on her “31 Days, 31 Lists” project and she has kindly agreed for us to share it with you. Today we welcome guest writer Betsy Bird.

The Sea by Piret Raud