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Red Stars by Davide Morosinotto tr. Denise Muir

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 12 Oct 2020

“The story is superb, but even better is the magnificent book production… the book is filled with recreated documents, photos, maps, etc, and just looks beautiful. Every page has something to enthral the mind and eye.” Anthon McGowan

“With chilling ‘annotations’ added by some dreaded agency of the Stalinist state the novel is utterly gripping and feels like an authentic, rich and yet accessible account of what it must have been like for children caught up in war with all the resonance that has today.” Elaine McQuade

THE COUNTRY IS UNDER ATTACK Twins Viktor and Nadya are twelve years old when Hitler’s Germany declares war on the Soviet Union. As the Nazi army crushes the defending forces and enemy planes appear overhead, they are hurriedly evacuated from their home.
‘WHATEVER HAPPENS, STAY TOGETHER’ Their parents told them to look after each other, no matter what. But amid the chaos of the evacuation, disaster strikes – the twins are separated, stranded many miles apart with no way of communicating.
A DESPERATE RACE ACROSS SNOW AND ICE Despite the war raging all around, Viktor and Nadya are determined to find each other and get back home. Can they pick a path through the danger and destruction, with only their courage and love to keep them going?

Davide Morosinotto is an Italian journalist, video game translator, science fiction writer and children’s book author. In 2007 he won the Mondadori Junior Award, and published his first book. Since then he has written more than thirty books. He lives in Bologna.

Waterstones
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Poems The Wind Blew In by Karmelo C. Iribarren tr. Lawrence Schimel ill. Riya Chowdhury (illustrator)

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Shortlisted for the 2020 CLIPPA Poetry Award

Be careful when you open this book: as soon as you do, the wind will whisk you up and take you on an adventure across the city. You’ll roam down empty streets, take a ride on the Metro, and catch glimpses of worlds within worlds in puddles and on chimney tops. But even as the wind hurries you along, there will always be time to stop for a moment and look: at the night, the rain, the trees, the sea…

These poems reveal the magic in small, everyday things: a plastic bag dreams of becoming a cloud, raindrops go on holiday to the sea, and hats fill up with thoughts. The book builds an immersive, tender world and encourages the reader to look at the world around them with wonder and delight.

Waterstones
Amazon

Vivaldi by Helge Torvund and Mari Kanstad Johnsen tr. Jeanie Shaterian and Thilo Reinhard

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Originally published in Norwegian in 2012 (when it featured on Flavorwire’s 20 Most Beautiful Children’s Books Of All Time) and now available in translation in a beautifully produced edition from The New York Review Children’s Collection.

Not a story about the musician, despite the piano on the cover, but a sensitive and poetically told short story about a girl and her kitten.

It’s summer vacation and Tyra wants nothing more than to spend every minute in the company of her newly adopted kitten, named after her favourite composer. But when September rolls around it’s back to school and back to the bullies who make her fell speechless and small.

Highly recommended.

Waterstones

A Postcard To Ollis by Ingunn Thon ill. Nora Brech tr. Sian Mackie

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published 1 Nov 2019

ACHUKA Book of the Day, Mon 21 Oct 2019

Gripping and humorous debut novel from Norway about friendship and family.

Shortlisted for the Italian equivalent of the Carnegie Medal, the Premio Strega in 2018.

The author is also a scriptwriter and puppeteer.

The illustrator is from Oslo. Her book Jungle Machine is published by Gecko Press.
Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/norabrech/

Waterstones 

The Wild Book by Juan Villoro

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A middle-grade / YA debut from a leading Mexican author. First published in Mexico City in 2008. This English translation by Lawrence Shimel.

Thirteen-year-old Juan’s summer is off to a terrible start. First, his parents separate. Then, almost as bad, Juan is sent away to his strange Uncle Tito’s house for the entire holiday! Who wants to live with an oddball recluse who has zigzag eyebrows, drinks fifteen cups of smoky tea a day, and lives inside a huge, mysterious library? As Juan adjusts to his new life among teetering, dusty shelves, he notices something odd: the books move on their own! He rushes to tell Uncle Tito, who lets his nephew in on a secret: Juan is a Princeps Reader, which means books respond magically to him, and he’s the only one who can find the elusive, never-before-read Wild Book. An unforgettable adventure story about books, libraries, and the power of reading.

Hope Road is a publisher specialising in writers and writing from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. 

Waterstones

Alfred And The Blue Whale by Mina Lystad ill. Ashild Irgens tr. Sian Mackie

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A charming story for 5-7 translated from Norwegian.  The author works in Norway as a journalist, TV scriptwriter, photographer and blogger. This was her debut children’s book.

Alfred is scared of red lights, thick duvets and fireworks. And of jumpers with tight necks. Preparing a class talk on the Blue Whale gives him courage and confidence.

The illustrator is also Norwegian.

Her Instagram handle is ‘showonthegreen’ https://www.instagram.com/shoeonthegreen

Waterstones

 

Lampie And The Children Of The Sea by Annet Schaap tr. Laura Watkinson

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ACHUKA Book of the Day Monday 2 Dec 2019

Every evening Lampie the lighthouse keeper’s daughter must light a lantern to warn ships away from the rocks. But one stormy night disaster strikes. The lantern goes out, a ship is wrecked and an adventure begins. In disgrace, Lampie is sent to work as a maid at the Admiral’s Black House, where rumour has it that a monster lurks in the tower. But what she finds there is stranger and more beautiful than any monster. Soon Lampie is drawn into a fairytale adventure in a world of mermaids and pirates, where she must fight with all her might for friendship, freedom and the right to be different.

The video includes the author reading from Lampie in the original Dutch:

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Greek Publisher Sets Up UK Imprint

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papadopoulos_publishing

Papadopoulos Publishing is to set up an imprint in the UK to publish children’s books.

Faros Books will launch in February and plans to publish 10 titles in the first year, building to 15-20 books in 2024.

“The decision to become English language publishers in the first place came after we realised that many of our Greek language picture books were being translated (and published successfully) in other languages, but too few among them in English,” the publisher’s MD told The Bookseller. “English language books output is so huge that very seldom do publishers there seek to translate books (especially children’s’) from other languages. Thus we took the task upon ourselves!”