World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 0-6: A Language Spoken by a Friend

  

The fluffy futon.

Written and illustrated by Yuichi Kasano.

Translated from Japanese by Cathy Hirano.

Gecko Press, 2026.

Picture book.

Originally published by Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, in 2000 under the title of Under the sun on the fluffy futon.

Grandma spreads her newly washed futon to dry in the sun. The futon is so soft and smells so clean! The cat can't resist nestling down for a snooze. Instead of chasing it away, Grandma settles in alongside, soon followed by the hen and her chicks, a little boy, the dog, the goat, and the pig family. . . . Soon the whole household is taking a nap! Until Grandma starts to find the futon so comfy that no one else can fit.

A fun and cute read. I’ve heard from translators that translating sounds is hard. That emergency service vehicles, and animals, make different sounds in different languages. I wonder how this translator handled them.

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

 

Our beautiful darkness.

Written by Ondjaki.

Illustrated by António Jorge Gonçalves.

Translated from the Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann.

Enchanted Lion Books, 2024.

During a blackout in a war-torn Angola, two teenagers explore their deepest emotions as they share personal stories and dreams in the intimacy of the darkness.

A tiny taonga (treasure), with flashes of intensity and emotion – like the flickering shadows and lights on the wall.

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

 

My first ikura.

Written by Qiane Matata-Sipu.  

Illustrated by Isobel Te Aho-White.

Taku ikura tuatahi

Nā Qiane Matata-Sipu. 

Nā Stacey Morrison i whakamaori. 

Nā Isobel Joy Te Aho-White i waituhi. 

QIANE+co, 2025.  

Sophisticated picture book.

A gentle and powerful story that reclaims the sacredness of a girl’s first ikura (period) through a Māori lens — celebrating connection, ceremony and whakapapa. Rooted in te ao Māori, My First Ikura and the reo Māori translation Taku Ikura Tuatahi is a beautifully illustrated children’s book that follows a young girl’s first period, guided by the support of her whānau. More than a story of physical change, it celebrates womanhood as a sacred rite of passage. First of its kind in Aotearoa, it addresses first menstruation through a Māori cultural framework. Culturally affirming, it emphasises ceremony, family support and ancestral wisdom — it also includes a specially written karakia for families to learn together. Beautifully produced, with premium finishes and lush, full-colour illustrations using traditional earth pigments (kōkōwai). Created by recognised Māori creatives: Builds trust and demand from readers seeking authentic Indigenous voices. Education-friendly: Supports conversations in kura, classrooms and at home about periods, wellbeing and identity.

What an absolutely stunning book. Such positivity and support. 

Dragging out the knowledge I half-remember from the introductory anthropology paper I took (in *mumble* 1990!) - and the essay I wrote about menstruation customs - this approach is very rare. 

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

 

Who Will Make the Snow?

Written by Taras Prokhasko.

Illustrated by Marjana Proshasko.

Translated from Ukrainian by Boris Dralyuk and Jennifer Croft.

Elsewhere, 2023.

The two newest moles in the forest learn to dig themselves out of their comfort zones and experience the boundless, unpredictable world around them – a Social Emotional Learning adventure. Twin moles, Purr and Craw, are born on the first day of spring. The newest members of their woodland world, they’re curious about everything. What is swimming? Why does mother speak French as she makes pancakes? What does father scrawl in his notebook? Do animals live in the sea? Why do grownups eat smelly cheese? How do we get better when we're sick? What happens when we die? As they start to grow up, every day is filled with another adventure as they explore the peculiar characters that surround them in the forest. Home is always waiting for them, filled with the clacking of father’s typewriter, the sound of mother playing her upright bass, and the smells of quince jam and medicinal moss brews. During their adventures outside the home, they learn that the world is sometimes scarier, stranger and more dangerous than it seemed from the pocket of their father’s coat. Each new encounter leaves Purr and Craw a little braver and wiser and with a few extra friends. Beautifully illustrated with scenes of mischief and discovery by Marjana Prohasko, Who Will Make the Snow? reminds us that the world is always larger and more wonderful than we can see from our own corner of the woods.

An early chapter book. Very cute, however many tasks are assigned based on gender stereotypes. 

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

 

Feather.

Written and translated from the Welsh by Manon Steffan Ros.

Firefly Press, 2024.

Originally published in Welsh as Pluen.

Huw always pops in to see his nan on the way home from school – she bakes him cakes and never fusses about his homework. So it's a great shock when, one day, Nan forgets his name, and calls him Johnny – the long-unmentionable name of her late brother. As Nan slowly slips into the grip of dementia, Huw and his friends go on a quest to learn more about Johnny and what happened to him. Exploring themes of friendship, family bonds and the history of conscientious objection in WW2, Feather is both modern and historical, as well as being relatable, particularly for children who may have grandparents with a similar dementia struggle to Nan.

Sympathetic and gentle, with moments of strength and sadness. Huw standing up to his father and asking for some attention is so brave.

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 7-12: A Language with a Non-Latin Script

 

The village beyond the mist.

Written by Sachiko Kashiwaba.

Illustrated by Miho Satake.

Translated from Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa.

Restless Books, 2025.

A mountain town that's not on any map, a messy bookstore with infinite doors, and a spoiled prince under a forgetful wizard's curse... this summer might hold more than Lina bargained for! When a gust of wind carries off her umbrella, it leads Lina down a secret path between the trees to a strange and incredible world. In the hidden village of Misty Valley, centaurs roam the cobblestone streets and gnomes visit shops stuffed with spellbooks and enchanted desserts. All magic has a dark side, though, and sometimes even sorcerers need a human's helping hand.

For the younger age group – more 12 to 14 years.

Ethereal and mystical.

World Kid Lit Month: Bingo for 0-6: A Language with a Non-Latin Script

Senses series in English-Urdu. 

Original Turkish text by Erdem Seçmen. 

Illustrated by Chris Dittopoulos. 

Translated to English by Alvin Parmar and adapted by Milet. 

Milet Publishing, 2013. 

These books are an example of the global nature of publishing.

Simple concept books, originally in Turkish, translated to English, and into many languages:

• Bengali.
• Chinese
• French.
• German.
• Italian.
• Korean.
• Polish.
• Portuguese.
• Russian.
• Somali.
• Urdu.
• Vietnamese.

I am, however, disappointed that the translator into Urdu isn’t noted in the publication information. 

World Kid Lit Month: Bingo for 0-6: The Americas

We All Play Kimêtawânaw. 

Written and illustrated by Julie Flett. 

Translations into Plans Cree (y-dialect) by the Cree Literacy Network. 

Greystone Books, 2021. 

A little delight of a book, with boundless fun and energy.

From the author’s afterword:

[W]e are all connected [land, plants, beetles, etc], living in relationship and in care to one another, in kinship. In Cree, this is called wâhkôhtowin.

World Kid Lit Month: Bingo for 0-6: Oceania

The dynamic duo of Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata).

•  Keys / Ngā Kī (Huia, 2014). 

• The Marble Maker | Te Kaihanga Māpere (Huia, 2016). 

• The Bomb | Te Pohū (Huia, 2018). 

• Cannonball (US edition of The Bomb; Sourcebooks, 2020). 

• One Bird Band (Little Steps Publishing, 2022) 

• When Daddy Tucks Me In (US edition of Keys; Sourcebooks, 2023). 

• Dazzlehands / Ringakōreko (Huia, 2023). 

• A Guide to Rocks / He Taonga te Toka (Huia, 2025)

Te reo Māori editions translated by Kawata Teepa (Tūhoe, Te Whakatōhea).

I had the privilege to be part of the audience for the inaugural performance of A Guide to Rocks at the Auckland. Claire Mabey, in this article for The Spinoff, wasn’t the only one crying – and wanting the pair to have a recording contract. Like Crissi Blair, in her report, I thought Ice Cream was a hit – I heard it once, months ago, and now my earworm is ‘brain freeze emergency.’

One the face of it, not all of their books are obviously from Oceania / the Pacific region / Aotearoa New Zealand, but there’s a certain quality that infuses them all.

World Kid Lit Month: Bingo for 0-6: A Language Spoken by a Friend

Miro / Look and Titiro / Look. 

English text, and illustrations, by Gavin Bishop. 

Spanish translation by Zab Translation. 

Te reo Māori translation by Darryn Joseph. 

Gecko Press, 2024. 

I love, love, LOVE the te reo Māori / English version of this, so finding the Spanish / English version in our collection, was a joy.

Gavin Bishop is a legend – a taonga (treasure).

Recently, he has been tasked with creating little gems of board books, perfect for our littlest readers.

Titiro / Look won this year’s Best Picture Book Award in the New Zealand Books Awards for Children & Young Adults. 

As reviewers have noted, it is deceptively simple.

World Kid Lit Month: Bingo for 0-6: USBBY Outstanding International Books List

We Go to the Park. 

Written by Sara Stridsberg. 

Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna. 

Translated from the Swedish by B. J. Woodstein. 

Enchanted Lion Books, 2024.

Atmospheric and dreamlike, with a naïveté in the illustrations that harks back to children’s art.

The plain, stark white pages which are interspersed throughout, offset the mostly full-page, colour saturated illustrated pages.

There is a longing and pathos, and a yearning, to the text. 

Weekend Reads: 14 September 2025

 Lights On Cotton Rock. 

Written and illustrated by David Litchfield. 

Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2019. 

An old favourite. About wishes and dreams and aliens. 

Sea Glass Summer. 

Written by Michelle Houts. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. 

Candlewick Press, 2019. 

Pieces of sea glass connects across generations. 

The Monster in the Lake. 

Written and illustrated by Leo Timmers. Translated from Flemish by Bill Nagelkerke. 

Gecko Press, 2025. 

A welcome addition to the whimsical world of Leo Timmers. Imagination and ducks. 

Earthlings: Alien Insights into Earth's Secrets. 

Written by Ewa Solarz. Illustrated by Robert Czajka. Translated from Polish by Agnes Monod-Gayraud. 

Big Picture Press, 2024. 

A quirky - and thought-provoking - look at humanity. Non fiction. 

Leonardo's Dragons: Five Far-flung Tales. 

Written and illustrated by Donovan Bixley. 

Upstart Press Ltd, 2025. 

Aotearoa. 

Is there really a dragon in the castle? Based on the story that Leonardo da Vinci had a dragon. 

World Kid Lit Month: Bingo for 0-6: Bilingual Picture Book

Show Us Where You Live, Humpback = Whakaatuhia Kei Hea tō Kāinga, Paikea

Written by Beryl Young. 

Illustrated by Sakika Kikuchi. 

Originally published by Greystone Kid, 2021. 

Te reo Māori translation by Kanapu Rangitauira (Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, Te Whakatōhea), with additional translation and review by Raniera Kingi (Ngāpuhi). 

Bilingual Vox book narrated by Miriama McDowell (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi). 

It feels like the combination of creators of this Vox edition represent the geographic reach of the humpback whale: from Canada, Japan, and Aotearoa New Zealand.

This is a lyrical introduction to the world of the humpback whale, and makes them and their lives more relatable to young readers.

There is a news article about the six Vox books that have been translated into te reo Māori.

And, an article by one of the Auckland Libraries’ team, who were part of the creators of the bilingual Vox collection. 

October Kiwi Kids Books: Day Ten

Share a New Zealand book for children or teens: 
for older children or teenagers, written in te reo Māori. 
Te pakanga a Ngāti Rānaki me Te Ranga-Tipua. 
Translation of Avengers vs the X-Men. 
Authors: Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Jonathon Hickman.
Translator: Te Korou Whangataua. 
Illustrators: John Romita, Oliver Coipel, Adam Kubert. 
Publication: Auckland University Press, 2021; ISBN 9781869409166. 

I was pleasantly surprised when this arrived at my library site! 

Weekend reading: 6 October

Every few weekends, I binge read the children's books I've checked out of the library and brought home.

Some are because I'm checking if they'll work for storytime. 

Some are new from Aotearoa creators.

Some are just because.... 

This weekend's reads were: 

A couple of old favourites, which I own: 

• Old Pig by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks. Allen & Unwin, 1995. 
• The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek by Jenny Wagner and Ron Brooks. Longman, 1973. 

The Bunyip lived in my memory for years, before I owned a copy. Friends bought me a copy, in Australia, in about 1993. And the staff of the bookshop had never heard of it. They had one copy tucked away. 

    

Other books read this weekend: 

• The book of rules by Brian Gehrlein and Thomas Knight. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2021.  
• Sent with love from my other nephew. 

    

Non-fiction / dinosaurs: 

• Name that thing by Gareth Moore and Ryan O'Rourke. Magic Cat Publishing, 2023. 
• Fly by David Lindon and Sara Boccaccini Meadows. Magic Cat Publishing, 2024. 
• Aotearoa Klaxon sounds! 
• Fighting with love: the legacy of John Lewis by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome. Simon & Schuster, 2024. 
• This is one of those books I wish there were illustration notes for. 

        

        

Dinosaurs: 

• Dinosaur knowledge genius by Dr Chris Barker and Riley Black. Dorling Kindersley, 2024. 
• Side note: I'm a little disappointed that they have used a gendered pronoun for the T. Rex Sue. 
• My encyclopedia of very important dinosaurs. Senior editor: Kritika Gupta. Dorling Kindersley, 2024. 
• Note: this is a very thick book that is obviously aimed at younger readers. I'm not sure how many of them would pick it up, because the size is daunting. 
• We went to find a T. rex by Catherine Cawthorne and Aysha Awwad. Hodder, 2024. 
• Stegosaurus makes its way home by Elizabeth Gilbert Bedia and Marie Bollmann. Dorling Kindersley, 2024. 
• Horridus and the hidden valley by Chris Flynn and Aaron Cushley. Museums Victoria, 2022. 
• One day on our prehistoric planet: with a diplodocus by Ella Bailey. Flying Eye Books, 2024. 

        

A double dose of Margaret Mahy! 

•  17 kings and 42 elephants by Margaret Mahy and Alba Gil Celdrán. Little Moa, 2024. 
• Footsteps through the fog by Margaret Mahy and Gavin Bishop. Penguin, 2012. 

 

Books that made me cry: 

• The garden of broken things by Freya Blackwood. Angus & Robertson, 2024. 
• Everywhere with you by Carlie Sorosiak and Devon Holzwarth. Walker, 2022. 

        

Other picture books: 

• Little Owl's new friend by Debi Gliori and Alison Brown. Bloomsbury, 2022. 
• Paul the peacock by Tilly Matthews. Happy Yak, 2024. 
• Hunt for the whistle: a cleft adventure illustrated by Scott Pearson. Huia, 2024. NZ title.  
• "This story was developed with the generous assistance of Allison Brown (Cleft New Zealand Te Manatōpū Ngutu Riwha o Aotearoa), Genevieve Boyer (Cleft New Zealand Te Manatōpū Ngutu Riwha o Aotearoa) and the Youth Advisory Group." 
• And, alas, it reads like a story by committee, and one trying desperately to share their message. 
• In the words of a panel I was on: worthy, but not notable. 
• Jibber-jabber by Randall Enos. Creative Editions, 2018. 
• I've been asked by a couple of my local day cares / early childhood centres, for stories / rhymes that would help with speech therapy exercises. This might be on the list. I have to think about encouraging audience participation with it. 
• Ada, are you ready? by Daishu Ma. Walker Books, 2024. 
• Lali's feather by Farhana Zia and Stephanie Fizer Coleman. Peachtree, 2020. Vox book read by Farhana Zia. 
• I like how the non-English words are incorporated into the story, without explanation. 
• The bread pet: a sourdough story by Kate DePalma and Nelleke Verhoeff. Barefoot Books, 2020. 
• When Glitter met Glue by Karen Kilpatrick and Germán Blanco. Henry Holt, 2022. 
• Hello Horse by Vivan French and Catherine Rayner. Walker Books, 2018. 
• The dictionary story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. Walker Books, 2024. 
• My big fantastic family by Adam & Charlotte Guillain, and Ali Pye. Nosy Crow, 2021. 
• What do you wish for by Jaen Godwin and Anna Walker. Penguin / Viking, 2018. 
• Godfrey is a frog by Alex Latimer. Oxford University Press, 2024. 
• The crossodile by Rachel Morrisroe and Ella Okstad. Puffin, 2024. 
• Bee you by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Clare Fennell. Andersen Press, 2024. 
• Fart Zoo by Leigh Hodgkinson. Walker Books, 2024. 
• The Daily Sniff by Jane Cabrera. Holiday House, 2023. 
• Witch's cat wanted: apply within by Joy H. Davidson and Nikki Slade Robinson. Scholastic NZ, 2016. NZ title. 
• I liked this when I first read it. And, I still like it. Especially now I am co-human to two black rescue cats. 

    

    

    

    

What is there to say about this? 

The remarkables: the most incredible children I have met - so far! 

Written and illustrated by Clotilde Perrin. 

Translated from the French by Daniel Hahn.

Gecko Press, 2024. 

Original title: Les incroyables.