World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 0-6: USBBY Outstanding International Books List

 

Afloat.

Written by Kirli Saunders.

Illustrated by Freya Blackwood.

Little Hare, 2024.

Picture book.

Roam the water with me. We are here to learn. Here to spin wisdom, to grow... From award-winning Gunai author Kirli Saunders and seven-time CBCA-winner Freya Blackwood comes Afloat, a story told in a time of climate crisis. Against a backdrop of a changed environment, an Elder leads a child along the waterways, sharing her People's knowledge and gathering community along the way. Afloat is an uplifting and inspiring picture book that uses the practice of weaving as a powerful metaphor for the honouring and teaching of First Nations wisdom, and the coming together of all people to survive, thrive and create a more hopeful future.

The threads that weave us together – the importance of traditional weaving in many cultures.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 13-18: Oceania

Liar's test.

Written by Ambelin Kwaymullina.

Text Publishing, 2024.

Seven will come. Two will die. Two will sleep. Two will serve. One will rule. I didn't want to rule the Risen. Wreak a little havoc upon them, though? That was something else entirely. Bell Silverleaf is a liar. It's how she's survived. It's how all Treesingers have survived since they were invaded by the Risen and their fickle gods. But now Bell is in the Queen's Test-she's one of seven girls competing in deadly challenges to determine who will rule for the next twenty-five years. If Bell wins, she'll have the power to help her people and take revenge on the Risen. But first she has to make it through the challenges alive. She doesn't know how much she's been lied to, or where she fits in a bigger story, a mystery stretching back generations. And she's facing much bigger dangers than the Queen's Test. She's up against the gods themselves. Liar's Test is a fast-paced, intricately woven fantasy novel with an unforgettable heroine inspired by the strength and power of Aboriginal women.

So, when’s the next one coming?!!!

Riveting, edge-of-your-seat material.

Slight romantic interest going on.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 13-18: Oceania

 

Migration.

Written by Steph Matuku.

Huia Publishers, 2024.

Farah can't wait to escape her mother's incessant demands and attend the legendary Western Wānanga, where the best military fighters are trained. Through daring battles against her classmates and encounters with cryptic temple masters, Farah sheds her life as a person from the upper ranks of society and becomes an intuitive. But when her world comes under attack, she learns who she really is.

Colonisation through a science-fiction lens.

Action, adventure – death and violence. A little touch of romance. 

And lots to think about. 

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 0-6: A Language with a Non-Latin Script

 

I am here.

Written and illustrated by Kim Hyo-eun.

Scribe Publishing Company, 2026.

Translated from Korean.

Board book.

Beginning with 'below' concepts read vertically — sun, clouds, rainbow, Mum — the book matches how babies naturally look up at their world. It then transitions to 'beside' relationships read horizontally — grandfather, cat, ants, nature treasures — reflecting babies' growing engagement with their immediate environment. The journey ends with the profound moment of self-recognition: 'me'. The ingenious format mirrors how babies actually develop — looking up first, then engaging laterally with their environment.

A wee gem of a book. It opens both up and down; and then back to front.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 13-18: Graphic Novel or Comic

Folk remedy: the hidden world of the yōkai. (Book 1).

Written and illustrated by Jem Yoshioka.

Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2025.

After twelve-year-old Maple Morimura reads a book detailing her family's relationship to the spirits and supernatural beings called yōkai, she unexpectedly travels to a hidden spirit world with a mischievous Yōkai named Ember.

Shortlisted for the Russell Clark Award for Illustration, in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, 2026.Shortlisted for the NZSA Best First Book Award in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, 2026.

Ends on a cliffhanger!

Jem dedicated her first book to her grandmother, Taeko, who travelled from Japan to Aotearoa New Zealand.

Which led to an online conversation between myself and Jem as to where does she feel her book fits. And the answer is, both Oceania and Asia. So, for my own sanity – and because it was an incredibly unfair question for me to ask – I’ve put it in graphic novels.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 0-6: The Americas

  

Letters in charcoal.

Written by Irene Vasco. Illustrated by Juan Palomino.

Translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel. Lantana, 2023.

Original published in Spanish as Letras al carbón by Editorial Juventud S.A., Spain in 2015. Sophisticated picture book.

In the pueblo of Palenque in Colombia, hardly anybody knows how to read. Curious about the letters her older sister Gina receives from a young doctor each month — letters that she is sure contain promises of love — one young girl makes a decision that will change her life, and the lives of every child in the pueblo, forever. With the help of Senor Velandia, the owner of the village shop, she will slowly unlock the letters of the alphabet and discover the magic of reading. And soon she will make a discovery that is more miraculous still — that letters are literally all around her. 

The assumption by the literate and privileged that *every one* can read.

Also the power of reading. But, I have a deep sadness for the two worlds that struggle to meet.

The literate / online world that is dominate – and I am very much part of – and how difficult it makes navigating the world for those who are not part of it.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: A Language Spoken by a Friend

 

Timeline: science & technology: a visual history of our world.

Written and illustrated by Peter Goes.

Translated from the Dutch by Bill Nagelkerke.

Gecko Press, 2020.

Illustrated nonfiction.

A visual introduction to our planet and society told through the history of our greatest inventions and the technology that has changed the world. In his signature playful style, Peter Goes illustrates the most fascinating technologies, from the first tools to the most specialized IT, from medical breakthroughs to the creation of YouTube. He includes remarkable scientists and innovators and highlights lesser-known stories. A compelling history of technology from the Stone Age to the present day, from America to the Southern hemisphere and beyond.

Busy and detailed – the human figures are not stereotyped – which is great.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: Europe

 

Girls who slay monsters: daring deeds of the Irish goddesses.

Written by Ellen Ryan.

Illustrated by Shona Shirley Macdonald.

HarperCollinsIreland, 2022.

Unsung stories from ancient Irish myths re-imagined for nine-to-twelve year olds.

There was a time when tales of Ireland’s mythical goddesses—their astonishing powers, bravery, and unbreakable bonds with nature—were famous, in Ireland and beyond. But over time, these stories were lost, often replaced or rewritten to make room for male warriors and kings.

Until Now.

Girls Who Slay Monsters brings these heroes of Irish mythology back to vibrant, magical life. From Éire, Ireland’s fierce namesake, and Bé Binn, a giant who overcame her bullies, to Badb, a gleefully gruesome death prophet, and Bé Mannair, a gender-fluid spy who challenged an entire army. These are goddesses of many shapes, skin shades and sizes, from every corner of ancient Ireland, whose daring still inspires today.

Stand by their sides as they wield magic, fight monsters, and protect the powerless — and you might just discover that you, too, are a force of nature.

Inspirational and empowering stories of goddesses, so many I’ve never heard of.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 13-18: Europe

 

Invisible.

Written by Eloy Moreno.

Translated from Spanish by Cristina Gahan.

Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2026.

A boy wakes up in a hospital room with no memory of how he got there. As time passes, the pieces of what happened that terrible fateful day start falling into place, and the boy remembers his secret: he has the power to become invisible. The boy is hesitant to tell anyone the truth. What will they think of him if they find out why he gained this ability? And what if it makes everything worse? One thing is certain - the invisible boy has become visible. Can he stand up to his biggest fear?

Be gentle with yourself, on reading this.

Told through multiple points of view, this is a confronting, challenging, and heartbreaking investigation into bullying – and the perpetrators, including the bystanders, observers, and those who laugh. Adults are complicit in this story of school bullying. Whether it is parents laughing at viral videos, or school staff who don't want to deal / acknowledge the issue. Or, parents who are so tied up with their lives, they don't see. 

So much is heartbreaking, but the interaction between the boy and his father, who is at his hospital bed, is right up there: 

"You don't work today either, Dad?" 

“No, not today. They gave me leave so I could stay with you, look after you.”

“And can’t they give you leave when I’m fine, when I’m not sick, so we can spend more time together?”

            And that’s when his heart started hurting him. That night he tried to remember the times he’d spent at home on a weekday: when he caught that awful flu, when he had that accident with his hand, when Grandpa died, when he’d taken the day off for his mother-in-law’s burial, but they’d never given him time off to celebrate a first tooth falling out, to show a child how to ride a bike, to spend a birthday together, to go for a swim at the beach…. In other words, they had never given him time off for the only real important things in life. 

         

 

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: Africa

  

Ikenga.

Written by Nnedi Okorafor.

Viking, 2020.

Fiction.

In southeastern Nigeria, twelve-year-old Mnamdi is determined to avenge his police chief father, who was murdered while trying to rid the town of criminals, but Nnamdi feels powerless until he receives a magical object which gives him superpowers.

There is little to no separation of the natural and supernatural – which, in this book, are completely Western cultural impositions on this world. On this culture. Reading – understanding and absorbing – takes a bit as you need to decouple any Western worldviews about nature and supernatural, to understand.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 13-18: A Language with a Non-Latin Script

 

Asad's secret: a novel of Gaza.

Written by Najlaa Attaallah.

Translated by Sawad Hussain.

Translated from Arabic.

Levine Querido, 2026.

Asad lives in Gaza, in a tiny house, on a narrow street pocked by half-destroyed buildings, in a camp that looks shabby to him and feels claustrophobic. He walks virtually the same route every day to his summer job at a printing press, passing the prison that holds his father, for reasons that have not been fully explained to him. As the oldest son, he feels the weight of responsibility for his seven brothers, his sisters, and his Ummi, who wants him to study hard and excel in school, as all mothers do. Moody and reserved Asad has few friends, and fewer distractions. Thank goodness for Um Fawzi, a feisty, cigarette-smoking old woman, who's the only one who seems willing to tell it like it is, sharply enough, and with a biting sense of humor that snaps him out of his fog sometimes. There's also Houriya, a lovely and smart girl, who brings him books to read and sometimes prompts him to think about a future that he can't truly imagine. There seems to be no escaping. But Asad has a secret, too, a mysterious black bag that holds something important that he keeps hidden from everyone.

A tiny but powerful book. The book is so far in Asad’s head that it feels all-consuming. He’s not the easiest character to like.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: ALA Batchelder Award for Children’s Books in Translation

 

Home.  

Written and illustrated by Isabelle Simler.

Translated from the French by Vineet Lal. 

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2024.

Originally published in French as Maison by Éditions Courtes et Longues, 2022.

Illustrated large format poetic nonfiction.

A spectacular tour through the dwellings of twenty-seven different animals, from a hermit crab's secondhand shell to a beaver's lakeside dam to a comet moth's silk cocoon. Acclaimed creator Isabelle Simler presents a poetic journey through amazing animal homes across the world. In Europe, alpine marmots stay safe in underground refuges. In southeast Asia, Sumatran orangutans doze off in treetop bedrooms. In Mexico and the southwestern US, elf owls nest in holes in saguaro cacti. On every continent but Antarctica, honeybees mold wax into palaces for their queens. No matter where you travel, some creature is making an extraordinary place to call home. With connections to life cycles, camouflage, and other biological concepts, Home is a spellbinding showcase of the wonders of the natural world. Enchanting poetry, fascinating back matter, and intricately detailed art invite young readers to be amazed by the creativity and diversity of our animal neighbors.

Translation is an art. It is one I am incapable of – but I can imagine that translating poetry would be the hardest. This is exemplary – and accompanied by amazing illustrations.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: Europe

 

Earth.

Written by Anna Skowrońska.

Graphic design and illustrations by Agata Dudek and Matgorzata Nowak.

Translation from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.

Illustrated nonfiction.

The earth seems to be the most unshakable and solid of the elements and yet it changes all the time only we don't notice it on a daily basis. Where oceans once were, today mighty mountains pile up. In the place where glaciers stood, there are lakes. And if we go back 4.6 billion years, we won't find our planet at all. Where the globe moves today, there was only gas and dust.

Like Timeline (reviewed under Language Spoken by a Friend), this is a large format illustrated nonfiction.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 13-18: Europe

 

Night shift.

Written and illustrated by Debi Gliori.

Hot Key Books, 2017.

Picture book for older readers / adults.

A groundbreaking picture book on depression with stunning illustrations. With stunning black and white illustration and deceptively simple text, author and illustrator Debi Gliori examines how depression affects one's whole outlook upon life, and shows that there can be an escape - it may not be easy to find, but it is there. Drawn from Debi's own experiences and with a moving testimony at the end of the book explaining how depression has affected her and how she continues to cope, Debi hopes that by sharing her own experience she can help others who suffer from depression, and to find that subtle shift that will show the way out. 'I have used dragons to represent depression. This is partly because of their legendary ability to turn a once fertile realm into a blackened, smoking ruin and partly because popular mythology shows them as monstrous opponents with a tendency to pick fights with smaller creatures. I'm not particularly brave or resourceful, and after so many years battling my beasts, I have to admit to a certain weariness, but I will arm-wrestle dragons for eternity if it means that I can help anyone going through a similar struggle.’

Deceptively simple – but written for older teens / adults – this is profound in its simplicity.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 0-6: Europe

 

Neighbour's Cat.

Written by Michael Rosen.

Illustrated by Alex Willmore.

Walker Books, 2026.

Picture book.

Our neighbour has a cat. We call him Neighbour's Cat. But sometimes he comes to our house, and he acts like he lives here too!

Michael Rosen is a treasure. Over the years I’ve been blogging about World Kid Lit Month, I’ve ignored English books – as they’re so ubiquitous. But, they’re not really. I recently discovered librarians from Canada and USA hadn’t heard of Michael Rosen.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 13-18: A Language Spoken by a Friend

 

The boy from Clearwater. Book 1.

Written by Yu Pei-Yun.

Illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin.

Translated from Chinese by Lin King.

Levine Querido, 2023.

A true story in graphic novel form, that lays bare the tortured and triumphant history of Taiwan, an island claimed and fought over by many countries, through the life story of a man who lived through its most turbulent times. Tsai Kun-lin, an ordinary boy was born in Qingshui, Taichung in 1930s Taiwan. Part 1 depicts a carefree childhood despite the Japanese occupation: growing up happily with the company of nursery rhymes and picture books on Qingshui Street. As war emerges Tsai's memories shift to military parades, air raids, and watching others face conscription into the army. It seems no one can escape. After the war, the book-loving teenager tries hard to learn Mandarin and believes he is finally stepping towards a comfortable future, but little does he know, a dark cloud awaits him ahead.

A mammoth book, with text colours used to show what the original languages were. The use of darkness to signify the differences in the character’s situation is subtle but clear.

A glimpse into a little-known (especially to the West) episode in history. 

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: Oceania

 

The shark prince.

Written by Malia Maunakea.

Penguin Workshop, 2026.

A middle-grade fantasy novel about Nohea, a Hawaiian boy who belongs to a family whose male members inherit the ability to transform into sharks. After his father's disappearance, Nohea lives with his mother and grandmother while trying to manage the family curse. Hoping to win prize money in a surfing competition to help his family remain in Hawaii, he enrols in school for the first time, where he forms friendships and faces personal challenges. As classmates begin to disappear, Nohea investigates whether the events are connected to his family's supernatural inheritance.

Mystery, family drama, making friends – and a world deeply embedded in ‘Ōiwi culture.

As someone with Pākehā (settler colonist) heritage – I could see the strong resonances with te ao Māori (the Māori world). 

Read along side T. K. Roxborogh's Charlie Tangaroa books. 

The author, Malia Maunakea, is Kanaka ‘Ōiwi (Native Hawai’ian).

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: Oceania

  

Charlie Tangaroa and the god of war.

Written by T.K. Roxborogh.

Illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers.

Huia Publishers, 2024.

Like every year, the summer brings new people to Tolaga Bay. It's been a full year since Charlie saved his hometown from destruction at the hands of gods, warring sea creatures and natural disasters. Charlie and his younger brother, Robbie, are enjoying their normal lives - fishing off the wharf and helping out at their mum's store - that is, until a visiting scientist is stabbed at the local campground, days before a meeting between local iwi and the government. So begins Charlie's quest to uncover a mystery taking place in the hills above the town.

A middle book in a series can be ho-hum. Thankfully, this is not the case here.

The author, Tania Roxborogh, is of Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri, Scottish, German, and Irish descent.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 13-18: GLLI Translated YA Book Prize

 

This is our place.

Written by Vitor Martins.

Translated from Brazilian Portuguese by Larissa Helena.

Push, 2022.

The house at Number 8 Sunflower Street tells the stories of three teenagers who have lived within its walls in the 21st century: Ana, a lesbian forced to leave her home, Greg sent to live with his aunt when his parents divorce, and Beto, a would-be photographer living during the COVID pandemic.

The blurb makes it sound like Ana is kicked out – when the fact is that her father accepts her, and they move out to a different city.

The timelines and characters meet and entwine throughout the book.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: The Americas

 

The first rule of punk.

Written by Celia C. Pérez.

Puffin Books, 2018.

There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school – you can't fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malú (María Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School's queen bee, violates the school's dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself. The real Malú loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malú finally begins to feel at home. She'll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!

Identity, trying to fit yourself into moulds – and be true to yourself. Balancing the different parts of your identity, and people’s expectations. The wonder in finding like-minded people – particularly sympathetic adults.