Global Reads for Little Hands

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of visiting Italy for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair – an annual festival that draws over 30,000 attendees from all over the world. The fair features children’s authors and illustrators from every corner of the Earth, highlighting some of the most recent and exciting books for young people. While not all of this work has been translated into English, the fair still provided an opportunity to learn more about the best of international children’s literature.

The entrance to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

Estonia, this year’s guest of honor.

Each year, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair highlights a specific country as the guest of honor; this year, Estonia was placed in the spotlight – and published a list of the best Estonian children’s books of all time. Some of these titles have been translated into English – and are available to check out from the library!

The Estonian picture book John the Skeleton was also the recipient of this year’s Batchelder Award – given annually by the American Library Association to the year’s best international children’s book that has been translated into English. John the Skeleton and other celebrated Estonian picture books were brought to life in the Estonian Illustration Exhibition, where giant recreations of the illustrations were built into a play area for children to explore.

Artwork from 2025 Batchelder winner John the Skeleton.

Picture book characters come to life.

A large art installation for children (and adults!) to explore.

Translation can be a tricky issue for international books for any age, which is why “silent books” – or wordless stories told only in illustrations – are another hot topic at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Each year, the finalists for the annual Silent Book Contest are announced at the fair – and are then on display (along with past winners) for everyone to read and enjoy. While many of these titles are not easily available in the United States, our library does have a great selection of wordless international picture books. Here are a few of my favorites!

To bring the festivities of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair back home, the Lawrence branch will be celebrating John the Skeleton and other recent Batchelder winners with a series of drop-in children’s crafts themed for each book and country. Stop by to learn more about John the Skeleton and other great picture books from around the world!

- Paula, Lawrence Branch