Tag: War

Korea

Cover for When the Spring Comes to the DMZ featuring an illustration of a series of animal groups such as wild pig and birds in what appears to be a junkyard in the foreground and a child and their older relative walking together in the background.

When Spring Comes to the DMZ

By Lee Uk-Bae, Chungyon Won and Aileen Won (Translators), Lee Uk-Bae (Illustrator)

When Spring Comes to the DMZ. Lee Uk-Bae. Translated by Chungyon Won and Aileen Won. lllustrated by Lee Uk-Bae. Plough Publishing House, 2019. Originally published in Korean. ISBN 978-0874869729. 40p. (Ages 5-8). Picture book.

A Batchelder honor book, When Spring Comes to the DMZ was a Korean contribution to the Peace Picture Book Project, a cross-national collaboration among picture book writers and illustrators from Japan, China and Korea. Lee’s book invites readers to view the amazing natural beauty that has developed in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the narrow strip of land between North and South Korea where people are still not allowed to go. Landscapes are punctured by rusting tanks and barbed wire, subtly reminding the reader of the war that separated and continues to separate the two Koreas. [dj]

The Middle East & North Africa

Palestine
Cover of Sitti's Bird: A Gaza Story featuring an illustration of a girl with rosy stylized cheeks and birds above her with cards in their mouths on a dark and starry blue purple background.

Sitti's Bird: A Gaza Story

By Malak Mattar

Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story. Malak Mattar. Translated by Interlink staff. Crocodile Books, 2022. ISBN 9781623718251. 32 p. (Ages 4-8). Picture book.

Malak loved her life in Gaza, watching the fish in the sea, seeing her friends at school and feeding her grandmother's bird. When she questions if her family is trapped like the bird, her grandmother advises her to escape the confines of her life in her imagination. While sheltering during the 2014 bombings in Gaza, Malak heeds this advice and finds strength through painting. This book provides an entry point to discussion of life in Gaza or of war with children. The book is based on the experiences of its now teenage artist/author who grew up and lives in Gaza. Mattar's work has been exhibited around the world. [ea]

Syria
Cover of Wild Poppies featuring a large vibrant orange poppy illustration on a black background with two school age boys, one with a backpack on, illustrated within the poppy's petals on either side facing away from each other.

Wild Poppies

By Haya Saleh

Wild Poppies. Haya Saleh. Translated by M. Lynx Qualey. Levine Querido, 2023. Originally published as شقائق النعمان in Arabic by Dar al-Yasmine in Amman. ISBN 9781646142019. 178 p. (Ages 10-14). Fiction.

Oscar works to keep his family intact after their displacement during the Syrian war and the death of his father. He faces a new challenge when his younger brother becomes a child soldier. Heavy themes are delivered in a way appropriate for a mature young audience. The Arabic version was the 2020 Winner of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature in the YA category and was featured in an appeal by ArabLit Quarterly to translate the book into English. [ea]

Latin America

Venezuela
Cover for Different: A Story of the Spanish Civil War featuring an illustration of a young girl in a school unfirom with a bucket at her feet appearing to be cleaning a chalkboard. There is a yellow border along the left side of the cover and the title appears to be written in chalk.

Different: A Story of the Spanish Civil War

By Mónica Montañés, Lawrence Schimel, Eva Sánchez Gómez (Illustrator)

Different: A Story of the Spanish Civil War. Mónica Montañés. Translated by Lawrence Schimel. Illustrated by Eva Sánchez Gómez. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2022. Originally published as Los distintos by Ediciones Ekaré in Barcelona, Spain, in 2020. ISBN 9780802855985. 88 p. (Ages 9-14). Fiction.

Seven-year-old Socorro and nine-year-old Paco live in the aftermath of the civil war that raged across Spain between 1936-1939. Francisco Franco's persecution of anyone who once opposed him has caused their father to flee the country. Paco, Socorro, and their mother must "keep their heads down" until a letter comes from their father containing hope that they may soon reunite as a family in Venezuela. Appendices at the back of the book provide historical context. A Batchelder Honor Book and a USBBY Outstanding International Books selection. [jm]

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