India
Thukpa For All
By Praba Ram and Sheela Preuitt, Shilpa Ranade (Illustrator)
Thukpa For All. Praba Ram and Sheela Preuitt. Illustrated by Shilpa Ranade. Karadi Tales Picturebooks, 2019. First published in Chennai, in 2018. ISBN 9788193388983. 48 p. (Ages 7-9). Picture book.
Tsering can’t wait to eat his grandmother's noodle soup, Thukpa. He invites all his friends and neighbors for a celebratory moment, but there is a power cut. Will his Abi, grandmother, be able to make the noodles? Narrated from a blind child’s, Tsering’s, perspective with remarkable illustrations, this story is perfect for readers who want to learn more about Ladakh region of India. Would pair with My Ocean is Blue by Darren Lebeuf. The first author, Praba Ram, is a children’s writer, reading specialist, and early childhood educator. She is also the founder of Saffron Tree— an award winning site dedicated for children’s literature from India and the US. Ram resides in Chennai with her family. The second author, Sheela Preuitt is based in Oregon, US and is a writer, cuisinière, applications developer, childhood literacy advocate, and craftswoman. Thukpa For All was selected for the 2019 IBBY list of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. It was also featured in the 2020 USBBY Outstanding International Books list. Shortlisted for Neev’s Book Award (2019) and listed as Highly Commended book by South Asia Book Awards (2019). Watch a book-reading of Thukpa For All by author Praba Ram. [mi]
China & Taiwan
China
Bronze and Sunflower
By Cao Wenxuan, Helen Wang (Translator), Meilo So (Illustrator)
Bronze and Sunflower. Cao Wenxuan. Translated by Helen Wang. Illustrated by Meilo So. Candlewick, 2017. Originally published by Phoenix Juvenile and Children’s Publishing in China, and then released by Candlewick sister company Walker Books in the UK in 2015. ISBN 9780763688165. 400 p. (Ages 9-12.) Fiction.
The Cultural Revolution provides the largely unspoken background to this beautiful story, in which a 7-year-old girl and her artist father are forced to move to rural China to be re-educated. After her father dies early in the book, she is taken in by the poorest family in the village. Despite their vastly different circumstances, she forms a tight bond with her mute brother, new family and fellow villagers. Mutual love and caring enable them to endure fires, floods, lack of food and bitter cold. This book earned translator Helen Wang the 2017 Marsh Award for Translation of Children’s Literature. Raved librarian Betsy Bird, “It’s bold and unfamiliar. Touching and terrifying. Historical but somehow also timeless... Do you truly want your kids to be citizens of the world? Then hand that world to them. Give them this book.” [dj]
My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder
By Nie Jun, Edward Gauvin (Translator)
My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder. Nie Jun. Translated from French and Chinese by Edward Gauvin. Graphic Universe, 2018. First published as Les contes de la ruelle in French, in 2016. ISBN 9781541526426., 128 p. (Ages 7-11). Fiction.
A delightful set of four linked stories, told as a graphic novel, of a child and her grandfather living in a Beijing hutong—a neighborhood of narrow alleys and communal dwellings. It showcases the creativity and resilience of the residents, who though they may lack space and material goods, abound in humor and imagination. A 2019 Batchelder honor book, it was translated by Edward Gauvin from the French translation while consulting the Chinese original. [dj]
The Middle East & North Africa
Iran
In the Meadow of Fantasies
By Mohammad Hadi Mohammadi, Sara Khalili (Translator), Nooshin Safakhoo (Illustrator)
In the Meadow of Fantasies. Mohammad Hadi Mohammadi. Translated by Sara Khalili. Illustrated by Nooshin Safakhoo. Elsewhere Editions, 2021. Originally published as Haft Asb Haft Rang in Farsi by the Institute for Research on the History of Children’s Literature, Tehran, in 2017. ISBN 9781939810908. 42 p. (Ages 3-7). Picture book.
Seven horses, six colorful and one mysteriously colorless, transport a young disabled girl from her bed to a dreamy world where she learns of the power of compassion and imagination. Winner of the 2022 Batchelder Award. [ea]