Expand Your Horizons: Read Books from Foreign Lands

Books published outside the US

My friend Rachel asked me for some of these because she has to read them for an assignment for her Writing for Children and Young Adults degree she is getting (Go Rachel! Go Rachel!) I came up with a few, then asked around on twitter and facebook as well.  By collecting and organizing responses, I've come up with a book list, an author list, and a link list. Have at it!

Book list:
Harry Potter series* by J. K. Rowling (UK)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (France)

Hilda and the Midnight Giant series* by Luke Pearson (France)
Bad Machinery** series by John Allison (UK)

Hidden* by Loïc Dauvillier (France)
Neurocomic* by Farinella and Ros (UK)
Moonhead and the Music Machine* by Andrew Rae (UK)
Skellig* by David Almond (UK)
Kit's Wilderness by David Almond (UK)
The 13 Story Tree House by Andy Griffiths (Aus)
Saffy's Angel* series by Hilary McKay (UK)
Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman (UK)
When We Wake by Karen Healey (New Zealand)
The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper (Aus)
Happy as Larry by Scot Gardner (Aus)
Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near (Aus)
Kaleidoscope anthology edited by Alisa Kranostein and Julia Rios (Aus)
Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil (Aus)
The Protected by Claire Zorn (Aus)
At the Same Moment Around the World Clotilde Perrin (France)
Monster Blood Tattoo series by D. M. Cornish (Aus)
The Lost Conspiracy by Francis Hardinge (UK)
The Books of Pelinor series by Alison Croggon (Aus)
Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier, translated by Anthea Bell (Germany)
Matilda* by Roald Dahl
The Letter For The King* by Tonke Dragt

Shop the books

(affiliate link)

Author list:
Melina Marchetta
Margo Lanagan
Sally Murphy (her verse novels especially recommended)
Juliet Marillier* (already a favorite of Rachel's, I know)
Ellie Marney
Margret Mahy
Dodie Smith (whose books 101 Dalmations and I Capture the Castle I want to read)
Astrid Lindgren*
Tove Jansson*

and authors listed in the book list, above:
J. K. Rowling*
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Like Pearson*
John Allison*
Loïc Dauvillier*
Andrew Rae*
David Almond**
Andy Griffiths
Hilary McKay**
Neil Gaiman*
Karen Healey
Michelle Cooper
Scot Gardner
Allyse Near
Melissa Keil
Claire Zorn
Clotilde Perrin
D. M. Cornish
Francis Hardinge
Hana Ros*
Matteo Farinella*
Kerstin Gier
Alison Croggon
Roald Dahl* (not all of his books qualify)
Tonke Dragt*

Link list:
At http://en.childrenslibrary.org you can search books by country.
Check cbca.org.au/awards.htm  the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year awards.
More than 800 Australian books listed by Tehani Wessely https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1900754-tehani?shelf=australian
A tag of Canadian books on Laina's blog http://lainahastoomuchsparetime.blogspot.ca/search/label/canadian%20book
The Enchanted Lion publishing house reprints a lot of European books.

Thanks to the following for contributing to this list!

Ashley Bair
Amber Burge

Betsy Bird (@FuseEight)

Eric Davis (@EricinBoston)

Justine Larbalestier (@JustineLavaworm)

Kathryn Flaherty (@KathrynFlaherty)

Kayla Sorenson

Laina (@lainasparetime)

Leila Roy (@bkshlevesofdoom)

Lisa Brown (@lisabrowndraws)
Ransom Smith

Tehani Wessely (@editormum75)

Vlad Verano (@3rdplacepress)

What would YOU add to this list?

I hope this helps you get your degree, Rachel! Because I definitely want to read more of your writing. (I've read bits of Rachel's most excellent fantasy epic about a tattooed girl, and her redemption story about a  heroin addict. Am waiting not-so-patiently for more.)

All photos came from Rachel's breathtaking instagram feed. She's @rachelandcompany on instagram. You will be *shocked* to know that I post @everead on instagram, mostly pictures of my kiddos and my books.

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*I have personally read this book or a work by this author.

**Link to an Everead post: Bad Machinery (John Allison) . My Dad's a Birdman (David Almond), Hidden (Loic Dauvillier), The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman), Hilary McKay (who has enough posts on Everead to warrant her own tag), Shadowfell (Juliet Marillier), Moomin (Tove Jansson).

Giveaway! and thoughts on eyeglasses, by Hilary McKay

One of my favorite authors these days is Hilary McKay. I simply adore the Casson family and all the books that Ms. McKay has written about them. Also, her sequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess did not disappoint. That one is titled Wishing for Tomorrow.

So. You can imagine I was thrilled to hear that she has a new series (coming to the US from across the pond) about a girl named Lulu. I put Lulu and the Duck in the Park on hold at my local library, but didn't get over there in time to pick it up! Alas. Thankfully, there is a review at Madigan Reads, if you're interested. Madigan says, "The reading level is just a skoche easier than Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House, but a nice step up from Amelia Bedelia or Jean Van Leeuwen's Amanda Pig series."

Book 2 in the Lulu series
available in print and ebook

Book 3, available Fall 2013.

While arranging to participate in the Lulu Blog tour, I got thinking: what would I like to hear Ms. McKay's thoughts about? And the answer was definitely eyeglasses. Both Ashley and I have worn glasses since childhood, and Ashley's adorable kids are already getting glasses of their own. I just loved in Wishing for Tomorrow and in the Casson Series when some of my favorite characters got glasses. Ms. McKay's descriptions of the event were right on. I said to myself, "this is a woman who knows about getting glasses!" and I wondered what her story was. In Hilary McKay's own words:

Eyeglasses! 

I must say, I was a bit surprised to be given that as a blog post, but then when I thought about it, I realised that I had used eyeglasses twice in books that matter very much to me. 

So, eyeglasses and my little sister. 

When my little sister was eight years old it finally dawned on her friends and relations that the reason she never seemed to know quite where she was, was simple. She was living her life in a lovely blur. 

I seem to remember that my sister liked her lovely blur. She was content with her impressionist painting of a world and was quite happy to keep it that way. She did not take kindly to the idea of glasses, and when she finally got them she saw no advantage at all in all the sudden edges and outlines and corners that appeared. She didn’t like the world in focus.

And then it became night. Dark. And why was she out in the garden? I can’t remember. All I can remember is her outraged indignation when she looked up. 

And saw stars. 

All her life she had known about stars. She had seen pointy shapes drawn on Christmas cards. She had been given gold and silver sticky backed ones for extra good work at school.  But she had never seen stars in the sky. 

The stars in the sky that night nearly blew my little sister  away. She stared and stared, and nearly fell over backwards staring, and as she stared and saw more and more she got crosser and crosser. She yelled at all us star-familiar people  standing around her, ‘Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THEY WERE THERE?’ 

So that, I suppose, is why eyeglasses appear in my books. That night of revelation when several thousand new suns shone down on my sister all at once, and made her so astonished and indignant, and we all laughed... 

But at the same time were not too far from tears.

Mystery solved! I, too remember seeing the stars through my new lenses. I would have been about nine years old. Seeing stars, the real stars, was an awe-inspiring experience.

And speaking of awesome things, I have a giveaway for you! One of you lucky people (in the US or Canada) can win a signed copy of Lulu and the Duck in the Park, which is the first in the Lulu series.

Doesn't it look great? More info on the publisher's website.

To enter, please leave a comment on this post before midnight on April 1, 2013. What is your experience with glasses? Do you have them? Do you wish you did? My little sister wanted glasses so bad that she fibbed like a fisherman to get them and ended up with bifocals. I'm curious to hear your story.

The winner of the book will be announced right here! For more details, check out Everead's full giveaway policy.

The **NEW** Winner is KATE! Congratulations! Send your contact info to everead@gmail.com within the next two days to claim your prize.

For more from Hilary McKay, and more chances to win the book, visit the next stop on her blog tour, http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com tomorrow.
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Everead reviews of Hilary McKay books:
Saffy's Angel
Indigo's Star
Permanent Rose
Caddy Ever After
Caddy's World
Wishing for Tomorrow

Micro-reviews: one of everything!

I'm so excited and overwhelmed! Tomorrow I leave for New York City (my first time there as an adult) and KidLitCon (the conference for children's literature bloggers)!

But. Before I go, I have to tell you about some of the books I've been reading lately. Great stuff!

Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale -- This is the much anticipated (by me) sequel to Princess Academy. Miri and friends are headed for Asland and going to stay in the ...(dun dun dun) Palace of Stone! (That stone being Linder, the stone their village quarries, of course). It is set over the course of 6 months, and I confess the gaps in the timeline threw me at first. Once the action became more closely spaced in time, probably the last quarter of the book, it really hooked me. I don't know if that says more about the writing or about me as a reader, but there you have it. Loved the themes, loved the characters (well, the lovable ones), and the story overall.

Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip Volume 1 by Tove Jansson -- Charming! I read this one a while ago, and then started seeing references to Moomin everywhere. Moomin is loveable and silly and has friends and family of all types. Most memorable for me: Moomin on the Riviera, which was such a spot on story about vacations! The strip originally ran in London in the 1950's.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente -- I'd heard so many good things about this book, and I could tell from the title that I was either going to love it or hate it. Loved it! It reminded me of The Neverending Story, except that one dragged for me a bit, and this one didn't. Also I liked September much better than Bastian. I think there's a sequel coming out sometime, but it's not a cliffhanger.

Caddy's World by Hilary McKay -- As far as I'm concerned, the only problem with the Casson family books is that they make me forget that the Cassons aren't real, so I have to burst my own bubble when I imagine going to England to visit them. Hilary McKay is my absolute favorite realistic fiction author. For fans of the series (which started with Saffy's Angel) this one is actually a prequel, set in the year Rose was born and focusing on Caddy's experiences. My biggest problem with this one: too much grouchy Bill and not enough lovely Eve. :-)

Library Wars: Love & War Volume 6 by Kiiro Yumi -- These books just make me laugh so much. I read this volume in one sitting at the end of a rather rotten day and it says something that by the end I was in the mood to belly-laugh at Dojo and Kasahara's antics. It's manga, and reads R to L (backwards to us native English speakers).

B is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABC by June Sobel and Melissa Iwai -- This one is the most recent winner for beloved picture book at our house. I grabbed it from the library and a couple of days later I said to Jacob, "This book has a nice flow. I appreciate that, since I have to read it over and over and over." Sobel's lovely poem takes us through the construction of an amusement park from beginning to end. Iwai's bold illustrations are our first clues that it is a park being built. The text and illustration work together seamlessly, and it was an immense hit with my two year old.

How about you? Read anything good lately?
...And now I must pack....

Alysa

Girly books

I've just finished two decidedly girly books: one, a new fairy tale by Lois Lowry, and the other, a belated sequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic The Little Princess. My opinion of both books: cute. Not deep, not profound, not moving, not something you'll remember much about in a month, but still each a fun light read.

So first up, The Birthday Ball. Like I said, cute, but the whole time, I kept expecting ... more. I mean, it's Lois Lowry! Author of The Giver and The Willoughbys and Number the Stars! This was just a fluffy little fairy tale. I thought it'd be a fairy tale but funny, or profound, or, well mostly funny, given the cover. There definitely were funny things about it, don't get me wrong. Her word play is often amusing, and the three suitors for the princess Patricia couldn't be more horrifyingly atrocious if they tried. But still. I expected some twist or surprise. Sorry if I'm spoiling it, but there isn't one. It's quite predictable from start to finish. But still cute. I'd say that tween girls and probably older ones too would enjoy it. I guess every book can't be The Giver ... :) Fun to see Lowry experimenting with so many different styles.





And Wishing for Tomorrow. It's been a while since I last read A Little Princess, and I'm sure that many of my memories of it are a bit mixed up with the '90s movie rendering that I adored as a girl. But I do remember the major points of the story and the characters involved. I quite enjoyed this furthering of the story. It happily ties up the loose ends left over when Sara flew the boarding-school coop. The author stays true to the characters as they were in the original but still develops them further to their own happy endings. I agree that more than just Sara deserved their happiness. Ironically, it is the tidiness of it all that feels a little silly, though in reality, that's the kind of ending that such a book, had it been written by Frances herself, probably would have had. That was the way of things, way back when. So the book was fun. And Lavinia was my favorite character, this time 'round. Hilary McKay's understated humor is quite amusing.

Caddy Ever After

The fourth book in the series about the Cassons by Hilary McKay.

Seriously. Read these, or something. Start with Saffy's Angel. I won't say much about the plot, since it's the fourth book. Although I suppose I could tell you that Indigo uses his mad skills to great advantage. Also, when you're all done reading them, the fun doesn't have to end! No, no! Cuz Rose has a blog. Yessss!

In all honesty this one was pretty anticlimactic to me. But I'm sure (positive) that is only because I read the last one (Forever Rose) first. And this one is next to last. So.

Link to my previous Casson reviews.

Permanent Rose

The third installment in the series by Hilary McKay about the hilarious Casson family. There is a great part about a chocolate cake/swamp. So that's why you really don't want to miss this one.

It moved the Casson's story right along, and I'm looking forward to Caddy Ever After -- I think it will be more fun and less . . . disturbing (though the Cassons are charming as ever in this one and you get to know blundering David).

Previously:
Saffy's Angel
Indigo's Star

Quick Takes

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith -- Ah. Now I see why the Marquis made our Princes in Print list. He's like a combination of Legolas (read: Orlando Bloom as Legolas) and Mr. Darcy. But different. That said I did find Meliara a tad bit uptight.

Coraline by Niel Gaiman -- I'm glad the cat was in this one. He was the closest thing to comic relief in a pretty tense little tale. Thumbs up for this one, though I liked Graveyard Book better.

Indigo's Star by Hilary McKay -- 10 for 10 as usual. Writing, character development, plot... I just can't say enough good about these books. Start with Saffy's Angel of course. Also I'm kicking myself for not buying Caddy Ever After when I saw it on sale back before I had read any of them, cuz now I want to read it.

Jellaby by Kean Soo -- I love the review haiku of this one over at emilyreads. A Cybils finalist in the younger graphic novel set, this one has potential, and a very open ending. It's definitely not as complete as a single volume of Babymouse or Rapunzel's Revenge, which kinda bugs me since the sequel(s?) aren't out yet.

Kin (The Good Neighbors Book 1) by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh -- Definitely squarely in the YA category of graphic novels. I'll be interested to see where the series goes. I didn't finish Tithe by her, but I have high hopes for this one. I like murder mysteries.

Happy New Reads!

Since the New Year, or, at least since the official Cybils reading ended, I've been reading some good books:

Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay gets two thumbs up. It's the first book about the Casson family, those crazy Brits! I love the characters in this one (and Forever Rose, which I read for the Cybils), but the awesomest part of the books is not them. The part that had me laughing and shaking my head and muttering "genius" was McKay's description of the house. As I can attest, the whole clutter is divided into geological ages metaphor is very apt. And you know if McKay can make the boring parts awesome and funny then the rest of it is great too.

[There are, like, 5 different covers for Saffy's Angel. The above is my personal fave, but it's probably only available in the UK.]



The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde. Reading it was a good break from all of the middle grade fiction I've been absorbing. I love everything that I've ever read/seen from Wilde, and this one is no exception. However the story is about the corruption of vanity -- so know it won't make you smile as much as The Importance of Being Earnest. Anyway, Wilde is great at evoking emotion. My jaw literally dropped open at one point in this book. It's a classic (no, really, it is). I think I might rent the movie version now. . .