World Kid Lit Month 2024: Food

Food, glorious food! 

There are many books out there, which use food as a vehicle to foster cross-cultural understanding. 

I get that. I believe they're coming from a good place.

But, do we have to 'shame' children for their food, in order to get a message through? 

These books don't do that. They just celebrate food, especially that with cultural meaning and history. 

Awâsis & the world famous bannock by Dallas Hunt & Amanda Strong. 

I'm recommending this book on a friend's love of it. The use of Cree names, rather than English, helps this book stand out. And, there's use of gender-neutral pronouns, too. Not to mention glorious illustrations, and all-around goodness. 

Bang Bang Noodles by Nessie Sharpe. 

Nessie is a New Zealand-based Chinese-Kiwi (her words) who celebrates her heritage in a couple of cute board books. Each are English-Cantonese dual language, with English to the forefront. 

Chaiwala! By Priti Birla Maheshwari & Ashley Barron. 

A celebration of an Indian tradition. The book is warm and cosy, like a welcoming cup of chai. 

Cora cooks pancit by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore & Kristi Valiant. 

I've shared this book for previous World Kid Lit Month years, and I'm recommending it again. Because it is beautiful. There's even a recipe. Which I've used. 

Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street by Felicita Sala. 

Food brings people and community together, especially when the smells spread throughout an apartment building. Recipes are included, so you can recreate the experience. 

Olive harvest in Palestine by Wafa Shami & Shaima Farouki. 

The heart-break. A world that will never be, again. 
People who no longer with us. 
Taken and destroyed. 

World Kid Lit Month 2024: Around the world

Here are some of my favourite picture books which span the globe. 

Celebrate by Laura Mucha & Hannah Tolson

How better to kick off my World Kid Lit Month, than with a book about celebrations and parties! There are worldwide celebrations, and then site-specific ones. 

List of festivals included: Arbor Day, Argungu Fishing Festival, Barriletes Gigantes, Bloemencorso Zundert, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Constitution Day, Crepissage De La Grande Mosque, Cure Sale, Diade los Muertos, Diablos Danzantesdel Yare, Diwali, Duanwu, Easter, Eid, Festival of Giants, Festival of Near-Death Experiences, Fiesta de la Tirana, Gion Festival, Golden Stilt Festival, Guca Trumpet Festival, Guy Fawkes Night, Halloween, Heivai Tahiti, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Indian Market, Inti Raymi, Juneteenth, Kurentovanje, Kuru Dance Festival, Lajkonik, Las Parrandas, Laura Quinkan Dance Festival, Lotus Lantern Festival, Moussemof Sidi Hmad Mghani, Naadam, Nowruz, Oruro Carnival, Pchum Ben, Pesach, Quebec Winter Carnival, Rio Carnival, Tango Festival, Thanksgiving, The Great Ethiopian Run, Toraja Funeral Rites, Vaisakhi, Venice Carnival, Waitangi Day, Yam Festival. 

Hanukkah upside down by Elissa Brent Weissman & Omer Hoffman

Cousinly rivalry from the other side of the world based on Hanukkah traditions. 

Matariki around the world by Rangiānehu Mātāmua, Miriama Kamo, & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. 

I'm not sure whether there are enough words in the world for how much I love this book. Yes, I own a copy. If my mother is healthy and alive at 90, there's an illustration in there she wants as a tattoo (her previous ones were for her 70th and 80th birthdays). 

Mirror by Jeannie Baker

I have a longstanding love for Jeannie Baker, and I would recommend every single one of her books - especially the ones illustrated in assemblage - but there is something even-more-than-usual magical about this title. 

World Kid Lit Month 2023: A book from the Middle East / West Asia

A book from the Middle East / West Asia: 

The Arabic quilt: an immigrant story. 
Written by Aya Khalil; illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan. 

Tilbury House Publishers, 2020. 

I love how supportive the teacher is, and how she educates her class, while celebrating Kanzi's heritage. 

Kanzi's uncertainty about being visibly different is something common for many immigrants. There are many children's picture books about this experience. 

Have a look for Lunch from Home by Joshua David Stein, which has a similar theme. 

World Lit Lit Month 2022: Day 29: A book from the Middle East

Bingo: A book from the Middle East

The servant by Fatima Sharafeddine From an email from a customer: Almost one month ago, you had recommended many books after I had filled the forum for a librarian to choose books for me.

I went with (Faten the servant), and it was the first book in my entire life that I had read. I was so attached to the reader that I felt so upset when I read the last line and flipped to the next page, hoping for some more.

I might have found it interesting because it talked about a middle eastern girl, and that was just who I am. Could you recommend more books of the same type as that book? Representation matters!

World Kid Lit Month 2022: Day 21: Graphic novel translated from another language

Bingo: Graphic novel translated from another language:

I remember Beirut

By Zeina Abirached; art by Zeina Abirached; translation by Edward Gauvin

World Kid Lit Month 2022: Day six: A book from the Middle East

 #WorldKidLitMonth Bingo:

A book from the Middle East: Loujain dreams of sunflowers  Written by Lina AlHathloul & Uma Mishra-Newbery; illustrated by Rebecca Green. Based on the true story of Loujain AlHathloul, Saudi women's rights activist. Written by her sister.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: TURKEY

TURKEY: 

A 16th century mosque. 

By Fiona Macdonald; series created by David Salariya; illustrated by Mark Bergin. 

Discusses the design, construction and spiritual significance of Islamic mosques, looking in particular at those built in 16th century Istanbul.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: SYRIA

SYRIA: 

Boy, everywhere. 

By A. M. Dassu; cover illustration by Zainab Daby Faidhi. 

Forced to sell all their belongings and leave their friends and beloved grandmother behind, Sami and his family travel across the Middle East to Turkey, where they end up in a smuggler's den. From there, they cross the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean and manage to fly to England, only to be separated and detained in an immigration prison for the crime of seeking asylum. Yet the transition from refugee to immigrant in a new life will be the greatest challenge Sami has ever faced.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: SAUDI ARABIA

SAUDI ARABIA: 

The green bicycle. 

By Haifaa Al-Mansour. 

Since girls do not ride bikes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 11-year-old Wadjda has a scheme to get her own.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: QATAR

QATAR: 

Love from A to Z. 

By S.K. Ali. 

After a chance meeting in an airport, Adam and Zayneb are thrown together during spring break. Both have obstacles they need to overcome to be themselves and to be together. S.K. Ali creates believable, likeable characters in this character driven novel that explores what it’s like to be a young adult trying to be true to yourself and your beliefs.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: PALESTINE

PALESTINE: 

Sitti's secrets. 

By Naomi Shihab Nye; illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. 

When Sitti, an American girl, goes to visit her grandmother in her small Middle Eastern village on the other side of the world, they don't need words to understand each other's heart.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: OMAN

OMAN: 

The turtle of Oman. 

By Naomi Shihab Nye; illustrations by Betsy Peterschmidt. 

When Aref, a third-grader who lives in Muscat, Oman, refuses to pack his suitcase and prepare to move to Michigan, his mother asks for help from his grandfather, his Siddi, who takes Aref around the country, storing up memories he can carry with him to a new home. 

World Kid Lit Month: LEBANON

LEBANON: 

Huda and me. 

By H. Hayek. 

When their parents have to travel to Beirut unexpectedly, 12-year-old Akeal and his six siblings are horrified to be left behind in Melbourne with the dreaded Aunt Amel as their babysitter. Things do not go well, and Akeal's naughty little sister, Huda, hatches a bold plan to escape. After stealing Aunt Amel's credit card to buy plane tickets to Lebanon, Huda persuades her reluctant favourite brother, Akeal, to come with her. 

World Kid Lit Month 2021: JORDAN

JORDAN: 

The princess and the foal. 

By Stacy Gregg (NZ author). 

Inspired by a real-life princess, the unforgettable story of how a truly special horse heals a girl's broken heart.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: ISRAEL

ISRAEL: 

Rah! Rah! Mujadara. 

By Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh; illustrated by Claudine Gévry. 

A rhyming, rhythmic story follows a diverse group of Israeli children as they taste a variety of different ethnic foods found in Israel. 

World Kid Lit Month 2021: IRAQ

IRAQ: 

Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein: based on a real life story. 

By Jennifer Roy and Ali Fadhil. 

For 42 days in 1991, 11-year-old Ali Fadhil and his family struggle to survive as Basra, Iraq, is bombed by the United States and its allies.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: IRAN

IRAN: 

My favorite memories. 

By Sepideh Sarihi; Julie Völk; translation by Elisabeth Lauffer. 

A beautifully simple story about moving to a new home, exploring themes of change and permanence and told with warm illustrations from an award-winning illustrator.