The Children’s Booker prize will include works of translation – here are five expert recommendations to get your kids excited
The buzz around the newly-announced Children’s Booker has focused on its potential to ‘tell kids they matter’, as they get their own version of this prestigious literary institution. With children at the heart of its judging process, the prize has the power to bring thousands more children ‘into the wonderful world of reading’, in the words of children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce.
However, there is a second reason to get excited about the Children’s Booker prize: it explicitly includes translated fiction. While not the first award to do so – the Carnegie Medals for Writing and Illustration officially made translations into English eligible for nomination in 2015 – this decision represents a big step towards recognising the contribution translation makes to children’s literature: who could deny the importance of Pippi Longstocking or Cinderella? Or the role of Japanese manga in encouraging young people to read? Welcoming translations gives the prize the potential to show a much wider section of children in the UK and Ireland that they matter – that books from different cultures and written in languages other than English are a valuable part of the British children’s literary firmament.
The UK is rightfully known as a global powerhouse of children’s literature, but the place of translations in this success story is often sidelined, which makes the Booker’s stance all the more encouraging. To highlight this decision, and the work of campaigners who have helped raise the profile of children’s books from across the globe, we asked experts from Outside In World and World Kid Lit to help us put together a list of outstanding children’s books published in English translation in the UK and Ireland since 2020.
Our top 5 ‘dream list’ of translated literature for the Children’s Booker:
Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp (World Kid Lit) recommends Kiki's Delivery Service (Puffin, 2020). This Japanese classic by Eiko Kadano (first published in 1985) inspired the irresistible Studio Ghibli anime film of the same name. English readers couldn't enjoy the original stories until 2020, when it was published by Puffin in a brilliant, bewitching and often very funny translation by Emily Balistrieri. Ghibli fans will find much to love in this story of a young witch setting out into the world with her cat, Jiji.
Ruth also recommends The Táin: the Great Irish Battle Epic, translated from Irish by Alan Titley (Little Island 2023). This historical adventure, beautifully illustrated by Eoin Coveney, is an action-packed retelling of ‘Ireland’s most important myth’, the story of the hero Cúchulainn and the Warrior Queen Maeve. Nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing in 2024, this exciting tale is an example of how translations offer young English readers access to the other great literary languages of Great Britain and Ireland.
Emma Page chose Sword of Fire by Federico Ivanier, translated from the Spanish by Claire Storey (Puffin, 2025). This lively fantasy adventure from Uruguay follows the journey of young heroine Martina Valiente as she battles the forces of Darkness in the fantastical world of Novrogod. The first title from Latin America to be included in Puffin’s prestigious modern classics list, this work is a great introduction to the world of acclaimed Uruguayan children’s author Federico Ivanier.
Na Willa and the House in the Alley (Emma Press, 2023) by Reda Gaudiamo, translated by poets Ikhda Ayuning Maharsi Degoul and Kate Wakeling, and illustrated by Cecillia Hidayat, is Deborah Hallford’s (Outside in World) choice. This collection of mini-stories is based on Gaudiamo’s memories of her childhood in Indonesia, and centres on the charismatic and inquisitive heroine Na Willa. The book gives a real insight into the everyday things of Na Willa’s life, and its eye for fun details interests even reluctant readers, as this review detailing a nine-year old’s amused response to the story about eating milkfish eyes suggests. Deborah’s full review is here.
Sophie Heywood voted for Akissi: Even More Tales of Mischief (Flying Eye, 2020), as the brightly-coloured mayhem of the Akissi series is a strong favourite on her university course in children’s books, and anyone with young readers at home will know how wildly popular gross-out, laugh-out-loud graphic novels are with 8-12s. Marguerite Abouet’s stories are inspired by her own childhood in the Ivory Coast. Accompanied by Mathieu Sapin’s frenetic drawings, they offer a joyful, messy, real vision of African life. As one student put it: ‘I loved this book – it reminded me of my family’s stories of life in Mauritius’.
We are sure that these books would have been strong contenders for the Children’s Booker, if the prize had existed at the time of their publication. We hope that books originating from around the world will regularly feature on the longlist, the shortlist and perhaps even take the top spot in the Children’s Booker Prize competition in 2027 and beyond.
