Japan
The Secret of the Blue Glass
By Tomiko Inui, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Translator)
The Secret of the Blue Glass. Tomiko Inui. Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori. Pushkin Children’s Books, 2018. Originally published as 木かげの家の小人たち (Kokage no Ie no Kobitotachi) in Japanese by Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc., in Tokyo, in 1967. ISBN 9781782691846. 192 p. (Ages 10-14). Fiction.
From the publisher: “A classic story about a magical miniature family’s adventures in wartime Japan.” A 2019 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize shortlisted title; 2017 Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation (UK). Author won several awards in Japan, including the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award and was a runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1964. [all]
India
A Tangle of Brungles
By Shobha Viswanath, Culpeo S. Fox (Illustrator)
A Tangle of Brungles. Shobha Viswanath. Illustrated by Culpeo S. Fox. Karadi Tales Picturebooks, 2018. First published in Chennai, in 2018. ISBN 9788181903600. 40 p. (Ages 7-9). Picture book.
A coven of witches brew up a potion to summon Mr. Brungles, who one of the witches wants to marry. Accompanied with stunning illustrations, this book is a creative way to teach children the terms for collective nouns. Would pair with The Witches by Roald Dahl. The author is the co-founder and publishing director of Karadi Tales Company, an independent children’s publishing house based in Chennai, India. Watch a video on A Tangle of Brungles by Shobha Viswanath. [mi]
Korea
Pool
By Lee JiHyeon
Pool. Lee JiHyeon. Chronicle Books, 2015. Originally published in Korean by Iyagikot Publishing Co, in South Korea, in 2013. ISBN 9781452142944. 56p. (Ages 3-5). Picture book.
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Pool is a wordless story of two shy children who meet in a crowded pool and the strange and beautiful things they see—and imagine—together. It is Lee’s debut title which she created while still a student at Korea’s Hankuk Illustration School. [dj]
China & Taiwan
China
White Fox
By Chen Jiatong, Jennifer Feeley (Translator), Viola Wong (Illustrator)
White Fox. Chen Jiatong. Translated by Jennifer Feeley. Illustrated by Viola Wong. Chicken House, 2019. First published by People’s Literature Publishing House, in China, in 2014. ISBN 9781912626083. 288 p. (Ages 8-12.) Fiction.
This is the first of two volumes to be translated of the best-selling Chinese middle-grade White Fox fantasy series to appear in English. It is the story of an orphaned arctic white fox who wants to become human, and searches for a magical moonstone that will give him that power. Translator Jennifer Feeley is winner of the 2017 Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize and a 2019 National Endowment for the Arts translation fellowship. [dj]