Celebrating the best of children’s international books of 2011!
Outstanding International Books is a project of the United States chapter of the International Board on Books for the Young. These books reflect excellence in worldwide writing for young readers.
The 2012 Outstanding International Books List* is now available as a Google Map!
http://g.co/maps/45vyr Cover art and annotations are included. The pins on the map show the locations of the books’ settings. This map was jointly created by Constance Vidor and Ragina Shearer. Please share with your schools, blogs and communities and add your own comments about favorite books.
Two books on this list, LOST AND FOUND by Shaun Tan and BEATRICE’S DREAM, A STORY OF KIBERA SLUM by Karen Lynn Williams, photographs by Wendy Stone, were described here at www.thepiratetree.com
A new favorite of mine is SOLDIER BEAR written by Bibi Dumon Tak, translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson this year. Simple but fanciful illustrations were created by Philip Hopman.
What an incredible and true bear and boy story! During WW II when Germany invaded Poland, two soldiers escaped, heading toward Iran. They then joined the British army to fight against the Nazis as spies. On the way, the soldiers met a boy carrying a bear cub in a bag. A trade was made: a sack of food for a bag of bear. The new owner, Peter, nourished the starving cub back to health. Soldier Bear and Peter become inseparable friends. Together, they saved lives and uncovered secret military information.
The book includes photographs of Soldier Bear and Peter and other soldiers from the troop. This is a page-turning, heart-warming story that shows the long-lasting effects of one act of courage and kindness.
Enjoy a look at the entire book list at Google Maps or peruse descriptions here.
| Ghosts of Gribblesea PierGrades 3-5 Abela, Deborah. Ghosts of Gribblesea Pier. Farrar Straus Giroux. (Australia) Aurelie Bonhoffen, who has grown up in the circus, discovers a remarkable family secret on her twelfth birthday… | |
| When Apples Grew NosesGrades 3-5 Andrews, Jan. When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew: Tales of Ti-Jean. Illus. by Dušan Petričić. Groundwood. (Canada) collection of stories that feature Ti-Jean, Quebec’s tr… | |
| The Rabbit GirlGrades 3-5 Arrigan, Mary. The Rabbit Girl. Frances Lincoln. (UK) What is the secret of Mallie’s picture? The mystery unfolds as evacuees Tony and Alice escape the terrors of London’s Blitz for the… | |
| The Ogre of OglefortGrades 3-5: Ibbotson, Eva. The Ogre of Oglefort. Illus. by Lisa K. Weber. Dutton. (UK) Ivo, an orphan boy, teams up with the Hag of Dribble and a troll called Ulf to rescue a princess from the Ogre o… | |
| A Stranger at HomeGrades 3-5 Jordan-Fenton, Christy & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. A Stranger at Home: A True Story. Illus. by Liz Amini-Holmes. Annick. (Canada) Sequel to: Fatty legs. A memoir in which the author reca… | |
| A Stampede of Stories About AnanseGrades 3-5 Kojo, KP. The Parade: A Stampede of Stories About Ananse, The Trickster Spider. Illus. by Karen Lilje. Frances Lincoln. (UK/set in Ghana) A collection of six illustrated stories set in G… | |
| Aesop’s FablesGrades 3-5 Naidoo, Beverley. Aesop’s Fables. Illus. by Piet Grobler. Frances Lincoln. (UK/set in southern Africa) An illustrated collection of sixteen of Aesop’s fables, portrayed in an African sett… | |
| This Child, Every Child: A Book About the World’s ChildrenGrades 3-5 Smith, David J. This Child, Every Child: A Book About the World’s Children. Illus. by Shelagh Armstrong. Kids Can. (Canada) A groundbreaking book of statistics and stories that compare… | |
| The Garden of Empress CassiaGrades 3-5 Wang, Gabrielle. The Garden of Empress Cassia. Illus. by author. Kane Miller. (Australia) Mimi, a Chinese girl living in Australia, is given a box of pastels by her teacher; and the drawi… | |
| Beatrice’s Dream: A Story of Kibera Slum.Grades 3-5 Williams, Karen Lynn. Beatrice’s Dream: A Story of Kibera Slum. Illus. by Wendy Stone. Frances Lincoln. (UK/set in Kenya) Beatrice, a thirteen-year-old orphan, describes her life in the K… | |
| AftershockGrades 6-8 Ashley, Bernard. Aftershock. Frances Lincoln. (UK) Makis, having quickly adjusted to life in London where he and his mother Sophia have moved after his father’s death i… | |
| Queen of HeartsGrades 6-8 Brooks, Martha. Queen of Hearts. Farrar Straus Giroux. (Canada) Shortly after her first kiss but before her sixteenth birthday in December, 1941, Marie Claire and her younger brother and … | |
| Soldier BearGrades 6-8 Dumon Tak, Bibi. Soldier Bear. Illus. by Philip Hopman. Tr. by Laura Watkinson. Eerdmans. (Netherlands/set in Iran & Italy) An orphaned Syrian brown bear cub is adopted by Polish soldier… | |
| Beyond BulletsGrades 6-8: Gerszak, Rafal & Dawn Hunter. Beyond Bullets: A Photo Journal of Afghanistan. Annick. (Canada) Shares journal entries and photographs that document everyday life in Afghanistan, taken by … | |
| The Midnight ZooGrades 6-8: Hartnett, Sonja. The Midnight Zoo. Illus. by Andrea Offermann. Candlewick. (Australia/set in eastern Europe) Twelve-year-old Andrej, nine-year-old Tomas, and their baby sister Wilma flee… | |
| Wild WingsGrades 6-8: Lewis, Gill. Wild Wings. Illus. by Yuta Onoda. Atheneum. (UK–set in Scotland and Gambia) A boy from Scotland and a girl from West Africa join together to save a migrating Osprey and end… | |
| Wild WingsGrades 6-8: Lewis, Gill. Wild Wings. Illus. by Yuta Onoda. Atheneum. (UK) A boy from Scotland and a girl from West Africa join together to save a migrating Osprey and end up saving each other. | |
| The Elephant in the GardenGrades 6-8: Morpurgo, Michael. An Elephant in the Garden. Feiwel & Friends. (UK/set in Germany) Lizzie and Karl’s mother, Mutti, working at a local zoo in Dresden, Germany, during World War II while… | |
| A Season of SecretsGrades 6-8: Nicholls, Sally. Season of Secrets. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. (UK) Sent by their father to live in the country with their grandparents after the sudden death of their mother, Molly’… | |
| A Web of AirGrades 6-8: Reeve, Philip. A Web of Air. Scholastic. (UK) Sequel to: Fever Crumb. In Mayda, a post-apocalyptic city off the coast of Portugal, a brilliant young engineer and a mysterious recluse ra… | |
| Lost and FoundGrades 6-8: Tan, Shaun. Lost and Found. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. (Australia) Collects three stories by Shaun Tan that explore how people lose and find what matters most to them, as a girl finds… | |
| The ConductorGrades K-2 Devernay, Laëtitia. The Conductor. Chronicle. (France) Translated from the French. A wordless picture book in which an orchestra conductor prompts the leaves in a grove of trees to rustle,… | |
| Dog in BootsGrades K-2 Gormley, Greg. Dog in Boots. Illus. by Roberta Angaramo. Holiday House. (UK) After reading “Puss in Boots,” an adventurous dog sets out to find the perfect pair of shoes to suit his ever… | |
| Anton Can Do MagicGrades K-2 Konnecke, Ole. Anton Can Do Magic. Tr. by Catherine Chidgey. Gecko. (Germany) Anton uses his red hat to perform magic tricks for his friends. | |
| MeenaGrades K-2 Mol, Sine van. Meena. Illus. by Carianne Wijffels. Eerdmans. (Belgium) The children of Fly Street fear and taunt their neighbor Meena, thinking she is a witch, but when they meet her gran… | |
| I Am Different! Can You Find Me?Grades K-2 Padmanabhan, Manjula. I Am Different! Can You Find Me? Charlesbridge. (India) Padmanabhan’s concept book about diversity features the prompt “Can you find me?” written in a different lang… | |
| The UmbrellaGrades K-2 Schubert, Ingrid and Dieter. The Umbrella. Lemniscaat. (Netherlands) A dog picks up an umbrella and gets swept up by the wind and carried on a journey into the sky and around the world. | |
| MigrantGrades K-2 Trottier, Maxine. Migrant. Illus. by Isabelle Arsenault. Groundwood. (Canada) Anna, the child of Mennonites from Mexico who travel north to harvest fruit and vegetables, compares herself … | |
| Press HereGrades K-2 Tullet, Hervé. Press Here. Tr. by Chris Franceschelli. Chronicle. (France) Instructs the reader on how to interact with the illustrations to manipulate yellow, blue, and red dots. | |
| Ten BirdsGrades K-2 Young, Cybele. Ten Birds. Kids Can. (Canada) Ten birds each come up with a different way to cross a river, and the bird known as “Needs Improvement” figures out the easiest method. | |
| Sita’s RamayanaGrades 9-12 Arni, Samhita. Sita’s Ramayana. Illus. by Moyna Chitrakar. Groundwood. (Canada/set in India) Sita, imprisoned in a garden with demons for guards, hears reports of the battles between he… | |
| iBoyGrades 9-12 Brooks, Kevin. iBoy. Chicken House/Scholastic. (UK) Sixteen-year-old Tom Harvey was an ordinary Londoner until an attack that caused fragments of an iPhone to be embedded in his brain… | |
| FlyawayGrades 9-12 Christopher, Lucy. Flyaway. Chicken House/Scholastic. (UK) While her father is in the hospital, thirteen-year-old Isla befriends Harry, the first boy to understand her love of the outdo… | |
| High Riders, Saints and Death Cars: A Life Saved by ArtGrades 9-12 Herrera, Nicholas. High Riders, Saints and Death Cars: A Life Saved by Art. Illus. by John T. Denne. Tr. by Elisa Amato. Groundwood. (Canada/set in New Mexico) The subtitle of New Mexic… | |
| Out of ShadowsGrades 9-12 Wallace, Jason. Out of Shadows. Holiday House. (UK/set in Zimbabwe) In 1983, at an elite boys’ boarding school in Zimbabwe, thirteen-year-old English lad Robert Jacklin finds himself to… | |
| The Midnight PalaceGrades 9-12 Zafon, Carlos Ruiz. The Midnight Palace. Tr. by Lucia Graves. Little, Brown. (Spain/set in India) When a mysterious threat reenters the lives of twins Ben and Sheere, separated as ba… |
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