Japan
The World's Poorest President Speaks Out
By Yoshimi Kusaba (Editor), Andrew Wong (Translator), Gaku Nakagawa (Illustrator)
The World’s Poorest President Speaks Out. Edited by Yoshimi Kusaba. Translated by Andrew Wong. Illustrated by Gaku Nakagawa. Enchanted Lions Books, 2020. Originally published as 世界でいちばん貧しい大統領のスピーチ (Sekai De Ichiban Mazushi Daitoryo No Speech) in Japanese by Choubunsha Publishing, Co. Ltd., in Tokyo, in 2014. ISBN 9781592702893. 40 p. (Ages 5-10). Picture book.
Based on Uruguay president José Mujica's 2012 speech to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Thought-provoking and a good introduction to discussions on poverty, social justice, and having enough. Worlds of Words recommended book, April 2021. [all]
India
Savi and the Memory Keeper
By Bijal Vachharajani
Savi and the Memory Keeper. Bijal Vachharajani. Hachette India Children’s Books, 2021. First published in India. Also available in a US edition from Blackstone Publishing, Oregon, 2023. ISBN 9789391028015. 242 p. (Ages 10 and up). Fiction.
Savi has recently lost her father and has to move to a new city because of pollution. She finds an ally in a ficus tree in her school, who tells her stories. A story about personal grief layered with issues about climate change, Savi and the Memory Keeper asks its readers to view the natural world through a different lens. Would pair with A Snake Falls to Earth by Darci Little Badger. The author is based in Bengaluru, Karnataka region of India. She is the senior editor at Pratham Books and has a Masters in Environment Security and Peace from the University of Peace in Costa Rica. Vachharajani is part of the Nalada Abhiyan Library Campaign, a movement to set up community libraries across India. She has written multiple planet friendly books. The book has won the AutHer Award (2023) and the Green Lit Fest-WWF Honor List (2022). Here is a short interview with the author. [mi]