August is Women in Translation Month, so there is no better time to celebrate some of the books in translation for young readers that we are loving and looking forward to!
I Am Here
Kim Hyo-eun, translated by Aerin Park
I Am Here proves that there is no reader too young to enjoy literary delights from around the world. This is a beautiful fold-out board book that has been thoughtfully created to reflect the perspective shifts that babies experience as they grow.
Hyo-eun Kim's previous books, How We Share Cake and I Am the Subway, are both wonderful and firm favourites at Readings too.
Josephine
Chloé Alméras, translated by Daniel Hahn
For over 20 years, Wellington-based children's publisher Gecko Press has been a trailblazing force in translated books. A recent highlight from Gecko is the delightful French board book Josephine.
This is a small book with just a handful of pages, but Josephine has the feel of an epic. It is moving and funny, depicting the journey of a small giraffe experiencing the wonders of the big wide world.
Edith
Catharina Valckx, translated by Antony Shugaar
Edith is also translated from French and a recent Gecko Press favourite.
Two fairy wishes were granted to Edith's parents when she was a baby, making her a girl with the ability to animate objects, who will never grow old. Bored and lonely as her 100th birthday approaches, Edith sets out with an oddball crew to try and reverse the anti-ageing spell and make some friends along the way.
This hilarious and philosophical story is a great read-aloud.
Odds and Ends
Maija Hurme, translated by Mia Spangenberg
Odds and Ends is a gorgeous picture book that has been translated from Finnish.
While we often record first occasions, in this book a collector creates a scrapbook of lasts. This book is beautifully illustrated and a great conversation starter. Readers of all ages will enjoy reflecting on and sharing their own experiences of lasts, which are sometimes firsts too!
Comet in Moominland
Tove Jansson, translated by Sarah Death
This year marked the 80th anniversary of Comet in Moominland and a new translation of this incredible novel was released to mark the occasion.
If you haven't read the Moomin books before, Comet in Moominland is the best place to start. This was the first full Moomin novel and it is a fantastic adventure story, written in 1946. Jansson's delightful characters are steadfast and joyful in the face of an apocalyptic threat.
There's more on the horizon too …
We are excited that a children's book by Asako Yuzuki, author of bestselling novels Butter and Hooked, is due to hit our shelves in October – Mari the Unwonderful Witch.
And in more exciting news for fans of Japanese witch stories, Kiki and the New Magic, the sequel to Eiko Kadono's much-loved Japanese classic Kiki's Delivery Service, has been translated by Emily Balistrieri and will become available to readers of English for the first time later this year!
Explore more recommended books in translation on our blog. ⭐
