Books in Translation

Picture Books | Younger Fiction | Intermediate Fiction
| Young Adult Fiction | Folklore | Nonfiction

The books recommended below were published within the last two years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

Picture Books
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

Every Single Night written by Dominique Demers, illustrated by Nicolas Debon, translated from the French by Sarah Quinn (Groundwood)
Dreamy, lyrical text and richly colored illustrations portray a father and son’s goodnight ritual. Grade level: Preschool–2. 40 pages.

The Wildest Brother written by Cornelia Funke, illustrated by Kerstin Meyer, translated from German by Oliver Latsch (Chicken House/Scholastic)
In this tale of sibling dynamics, a brother and sister take turns protecting each other from the monsters he imagines. Grade level: Preschool. 24 pages.

Today and Today written by Kobayashi Issa, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Scholastic)
Eighteen haiku by the famous Japanese poet are arranged to portray one year in the life of a contemporary family, unforcedly emblematic of the cycle of life. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

What Do You Want? written and illustrated by Lars Klinting, translated from the Swedish by Maria Lundin (Groundwood)
Simple yet unexpected connections between animals, people and things encourage younger readers to guess what each one will want. Grade level: Preschool. 40 pages.

Little Donkey and the Birthday Present written by Rindert Kromhout, illustrated by Annemarie van Haeringen, translated from the Dutch by Marianne Martens (North-South)
Little Donkey chooses a present for his yak friend Jackie, but likes it so much he wishes it were his instead. Grade level: Preschool–2. 32 pages.

Boo and Baa Have Company written by Lena Landstrom, illustrated by Olof Landstrom, translated from the Swedish by Joan Sandin (R&S/Farrar)
The amiable but noodle-headed sheep attempt to rescue a cat from a tree. Grade level: Preschool. 40 pages.

Oink, Oink Benny written by Barbro Lindgren, illustrated by Olof Landstrom, translated from the Swedish by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard (R&S/Farrar)
Benny totes his brother to the mud hole where, inevitably, little brother is pushed in. Grade level: Preschool. 32 pages.

How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird written by Jacques Prevert, illustrated and translated from the French by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook)
The mid-twentieth-century poet, surrealist, and screenwriter provides a poetic exploration of the sources of creative expression, addressing a young artist inspired by a songbird on his windowsill. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Younger Fiction
Suggested grade level for each entry: 1–3

It Happened at School: Two Tales written by Susie Morgenstern, illustrated by Serge Bloch, translated from the French by Gillian Rosner (Viking)
Two sparkling, droll glimpses into French elementary school life. 82 pages.

Intermediate Fiction
Suggested grade level for each entry: 4–6

The Last Dragon written by Silvana De Mari, translated from the Italian by Shaun Whiteside (Miramax/Hyperion)
The last surviving elf and dragon and the child of the couple who saved them fight for hope in a vividly evoked post-apocalyptic fantasy world. 361 pages.

Poor Little Witch Girl written by Marie Desplechin, translated from the French by Gillian Rosner (Bloomsbury)
Verbena longs for a normal life, which is rather difficult when you come from a venerable line of spell-brewing witches. 124 pages.

Piggy by Mireille Geus, translated from the Dutch by Nancy Forest-Flier (Front Street)
Structured like a detective novel, this spare story of manipulation charts a disastrous friendship between naive narrator Lizzy (who seems to be somewhere on the autism spectrum) and brash Piggy. 110 pages.

Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn, translated from the Yiddish by Jeffrey Shandler (Porter/Roaring Brook)
Originally published in 1940, this harrowing fictionalization of the gathering storm of the Holocaust follows two nine-year-old Viennese friends, one Communist, one Jewish, who become its victims. 208 pages.

Rits by Mariken Jongman, translated from the Dutch by Wanda Boeke (Front Street)
Stuck with neglectful Uncle Corry when his mother is institutionalized, Rits survives the summer by journaling, making movies, and hanging out with forthright Rita. 236 pages.

The Book of Everything written by Guus Kuijer, translated from the Dutch by John Nieuwenhuizen (Levine/Scholastic)
A nine-year-old boy struggles to deal with his home life until his older sister stands up to their father’s abusive behavior. 101 pages.

From Another World written by Ana Maria Machado, illustrated by Lucia Brandao, translated from the Brazilian Portuguese by Luisa Baeta (Groundwood)
A nineteenth-century ghost relates her horrific tale of slavery to the modern-day Brazilian narrator, making him promise to “tell her story…so that it would never happen again." 136 pages.

The Book of Time written by Guillaume Prevost, translated from the French by William Rodarmor (Levine/Scholastic)
Investigating the disappearance of his bookseller father, Sam discovers a peculiar stone that sends him back in time, prompting an adventure-filled cross-temporal search in this novel-length introduction to a longer series. Grade level: 5–8. 213 pages.

The Professor’s Daughter written by Joann Sfar, illustrated by Emmanuel Guibert, translated from the French by Alexis Siegel (First Second/Roaring Brook)
Lillian Bowell embarks on several offbeat adventures with her unlikely beau, a mummy from her father’s collection. 80 pages.

The Shadows of Ghadames by Joelle Stolz, translated from the French by Catherine Temerson (Delacorte)
In nineteenth-century Libya, eleven-year-old Malika longs to break free of the traditional roles constraining women. 120 pages.

Young Adult Fiction
Suggested grade level for each entry: 7 and up

Girl from Mars by Tamara Bach, translated from the German by Shelley Tanaka (Groundwood)
Fifteen-year-old Miriam, bored to death in her small town where everyone has known her forever and nothing ever comes as a surprise, finds herself waking up to life when she develops feelings for her unpredictable new friend, Laura. 180 pages.

The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux, translated from the French by Y. Maudet (Delacorte)
A young, neglected boy in southern Chile develops a friendship with the on-the-run criminal who murdered his parents. 167 pages.

Markus and Diana written by Klaus Hagerup, translated from the Norwegian by Tara Chace (Front Street)
A nerdy, timid thirteen-year-old autograph-hunter schemes to meet his movie-star heartthrob, only to have his plans go awry in myriad hilarious ways. 188 pages.

An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub, translated from the German by Michael Hofmann (Levine/Scholastic)
The friendship between a poor young conscript in Napoleon’s army and his wellborn lieutenant grows during the disastrous 1812 Russian campaign. 232 pages.

Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis, translated from the German by Anthea Bell (Amulet/Abrams)
In nineteenth-century India, new bride Safia, certain that she will be killed once her husband learns that she is not a virgin, deals with the harrowing wait by telling a servant friend the story of Lord Krishna’s daughter, kidnapped by a god and rescued by a thief. 453 pages.

The Pull of the Ocean written by Jean-Claude Mourlevat, translated from the French by Y. Maudet (Delacorte)
A series of first-person accounts form the story of Yann, a ten-year-old boy the size of a two-year-old who leads his six brothers on a journey to the sea in this powerful portrait of poverty and sibling solidarity. 135 pages.

You & You & You by Per Nilsson, translated from the Swedish by Tara Chace (Front Street)
The lives of three teenagers — each preoccupied with dreams, sex, or death, respectively — converge in this pensive, enigmatic novel. 303 pages.

The Center of the World by Andreas Steinhofel, translated from the German by Alisa Jaffa (Delacorte)
An outrageous, sometimes tragic coming-of-age story about seventeen-year-old Phil, reminiscent of The World According to Garp. 469 pages.

Shooting Stars Everywhere by Martina Wildner, translated from the German by James Skofield (Delacorte)
Victor’s summer becomes interesting when he begins finding anonymous letters in verse in his mailbox and sets out to find their author. 181 pages.

Folklore
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

True Friends: A Tale from Tanzania written and illustrated by John Kilaka, translated by Shelley Tanaka
Compellingly illustrated with vivid stylized paintings, this fable shows what happens between best friends Rat and Elephant when a drought makes Elephant succumb to greed and fear. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Nonfiction
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

The Illustrator’s Notebook written and illustrated by Mohieddin Ellabbad, translated from the Arabic by Sarah Quinn (Groundwood)
Using scrapbook-like illustrations, mixed media collage and handwritten Arabic text, the author shares his personal journey toward becoming a writer and artist. Grade level: 4–6. 32 pages.

Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You written by Hanna Jansen, translated from the German by Elizabeth D. Crawford (Carolrhoda)
Jansen recounts her adopted daughter’s early childhood in Rwanda and subsequent survival of the genocide. Grade level: 7 and up. 342 pages.

The Girl from Chimel written by Rigoberta Menchu with Dante Liano, illustrated by Domi, translated from the Spanish by David Unger (Groundwood)
An illustrated collection of autobiographical anecdotes by the Guatemalan Nobel laureate. Grade level: 4–6. 56 pages.

Hans Christian Andersen: His Fairy Tale Life written by Hjordis Varmer, illustrated by Lilian Brogger, translated from the Danish by Tiina Nunnally (Groundwood)
A richly illustrated, multifaceted biography that links Andersen’s life to his celebrated tales. Grade level: 5–8. 113 pages.

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