#RivetingReviews: World Kid Lit Month
This September is the tenth anniversary of World Kid Lit Month: the month to discover international and translated children’s and YA books. Our latest picks span the full age range of childhood and the whole spectrum of what children’s books can do: a board book about an intrepid, endlessly curious giraffe, a non-fiction picture book for middle-grade readers curious about death, and a teen verse novel about misogynist violence and finding your inner strength to fight back.
JOSEPHINE
Written in French and illustrated by Chloé Alméras, translated by Daniel Hahn
Published by Gecko Press (2026)
Reviewed by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp
In this simple but visually arresting board book, we follow Josephine the giraffe on her explorations of her savanna landscape, and some more surprising watery and snowy ones, too. Josephine pokes her nose high up into trees, and even deep under the ground to see what’s down there. Forming visual couplets between one page and the next, elements of each illustration are echoed in a second, mirroring the shapes and patterns in nature: from choppy waves to rippling bushes. One minute Josephine is playing with the ringlet clouds around her neck, the next she’s making ringlet ripples in the water. White dots against blue are winter’s confetti – the snow to build a snow-giraffe friend – and the merry bubbles of summer, diving deep with the fish. Every page conveys wonder at the majesty of nature, and the surprises there are to uncover when you poke your nose somewhere new.
THE MYSTERY OF DEATH: WHAT WE KNOW AND DON’T KNOW
Written in Spanish by Soledad Romero Mariño, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa, translated by Lawrence Schimel
Published by Orca Book Publishers (2026)
Reviewed by Lori Sieling
The Mystery of Death helps take the mystery out of death for curious kids. A blend of science, history, culture and psychology, the bookexplores how death is part of the life cycle of every living thing, and even some inanimate objects, such as stars and galaxies.
Using eye-catching, brightly coloured illustrations and frank, neutral language, The Mystery of Death takes a subject that is taboo in many societies and brings it out into the open. Beginning with an explanation of how stars and galaxies are born and die, each spread showcases a different topic related to death, ending with human death, how funerals vary depending on historical period and place, and the mythology surrounding human death, its symbols and celebrations.
SHORELINES
Written in English by Ruth Ennis
Published by Little Island (2026)
Reviewed by Chris Baker
Shorelines offers older readers a reimagined version of The Little Mermaid with a distinctly Irish setting and a focus on themes of body-shaming and environmental injustice. Told in verse, this is a refreshing, but at times difficult, read.
Muireann is proud of her oversized body and lives happily in the ocean until her beloved twin goes missing. Readers will then recognise plot points from Hans Christian Andersen’s well-known story, but after Muireann arrives on land the narrative darkens. Instead of being noble, the prince is cruel; his horrific treatment of Muireann drives the second half of the story.
Shorelines could not be further from Disney’s saccharine, fantasy romance. It is a rich and lyrical examination of one girl’s fight against coercion and control.
Chris Baker is a teacher and librarian based in Oxford. He promotes children’s books from around the world. You can find more of his reviews on Instagram @broadeningthebookshelf
Lori Sieling of Kids Read the World has been reading stories from around the world for the last four years with her two young daughters and the students in her classes. They have explored translation and learned a lot about the world. So far, between 2021 and 2025, they have read books from 115+ countries, and are excited for all the countries they have left.
Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp is an Arabic, German and Russian teacher, and a literary translator working from these languages into English. She is a passionate advocate of diversity and representation in education and in children’s publishing, and is managing director of World Kid Lit, a non-profit that aims to improve access to inclusive, global literature for young people.
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