Translations of manga from Japanese, and picture books from Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea have been plentiful in recent years, but middle-grade and young adult fiction is still relatively hard to find in translation from Asian languages; translations from Kazakhstan, Vietnam, and Indonesia are a rare treat indeed.

September is World Kid Lit Month and the perfect time to expand our reading horizons by discovering books for children and young people from across Asia, from Turkey and Jordan in the west to Indonesia in the southeast. These recommendations are all new publications in English this year, and include a young adult novel alongside middle-grade fiction and graphic novels, and picture books for younger children.

PICTURE BOOKS

The Moon Tonight
Written in Korean by Jung Chang-hoon, illustrated by Jang Ho, translated by Paige Aniyah Morris
Blue Dot Kids Press, 2023
Reviewed by Kelly Zhang

Written by astronomer Jung Chang-hoon, illustrated by international award-winning artist Jang Ho, and deftly translated by Paige Morris from the Korean, The Moon Tonight is a luminous nonfiction picture book explaining the science behind the phases of the moon and the ocean tides to young readers in an entertaining and engaging way.

The deceptively simple, well-crafted lyrical text makes complex physics concepts clear and accessible, and the gorgeously rendered acrylic paintings of the moon and the atmospheric nocturnal cityscape stir up excitement and marvel. Side panels and the back matter offer additional fascinating moon-related facts for knowledge expansion. This picture book is a true feast for the eyes and nourishment for the mind.

The Brave Little Fire Dragon
Written in Chinese by Bing Bo, illustrated by Wu Bo, translation edited by Helen Wang
Sequoia Kids Media, 2023
Reviewed by Kelly Zhang

In this translated Chinese picture book authored by seasoned children’s writer Bing Bo, illustrated by Wu Bo, and thoughtfully edited by Helen Wang, disaster strikes when the sun’s light and warmth wane. As the world tumbles into a dark, endless winter, more and more people die from hunger and cold. Only a fire dragon’s flames can restore the sun’s heat and revive the mortal world.

When mother dragon falls ill, the daunting task of saving the world falls on little dragon’s shoulders. Will he be able to overcome his own fears and doubts and collect enough fire power to save the day?

Replete with vibrant, expressive illustrations, this heartwarming ecological fairy tale encourages children to kindle their inner flames and persevere in the face of adversity.

Memo and the Unexpected Gift
Written in Turkish by Ezgi Keleş and Funda Özlem Şeran, illustrated by Ezgi Keleş, translated by Amy Marie Spangler
Amazon Crossing Kids, 2023
Reviewed by Hongyu Jasmine Zhu

Memo and his grandma make a great pair in cooking, cleaning, playing, and living in a cozy cottage nestled in the hills. But as Grandma’s eyesight worsens, their idyllic life becomes a little less carefree, until one day a guest shows up . . . This is a heartwarming tale of belonging and a simple companionship that holds steady across long distances. Readers can expect to sigh and chuckle at the subtlety of the illustrations, to wonder at friendship’s way of helping the characters grow and become, and to discover that the unexpected gift in the story is not one but many.

MIDDLE-GRADE FICTION AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

Saving H’non: Chang and the Elephant
Written in Vietnamese by Trạng Nguyên, illustrated by Jeet Zdũng, translated by Hoàng Duy and Jeet Zdũng
Kingfisher, 2023
Reviewed by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

Sequel to the Yoto Carnegie Medal-winning Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear, this manga-inspired graphic novel takes us to the Vietnamese Yok Đôn National Park and the struggle to rescue H’non, a working elephant subjected to abuse and overwork by a nearby tourism business. Inspired by a real-life rescue by the charity Animals Asia Foundation, and imbued with closely observed detail of the flora and fauna of the deciduous forest, the story combines a conservationist’s documentary notes with emotive comic-strip action and exquisite full-page watercolor artwork. The passion is palpable on every page: the pain of the elephants, and the determination of Chang and her team in fighting for their release. The violence conveyed is not for the fainthearted; read at the right age, this book stands to empower the next generation of activists.

Suee and the Strange White Light
Written in Korean by Ginger Ly, illustrated by Molly Park, translated by Paige Aniyah Morris
Amulet Books, 2023
Reviewed by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

Drawn in a simple but expressive manga style, this comic-strip adventure draws us into the mystery of Newtown’s missing stray cats and, even more alarmingly, missing children. But their parents hardly seem to notice, distracted as they are by their new subscription to Keepwatching TV. And what’s going on with the strange white light installed in new homes across the neighborhood? Will fiercely independent Suee have to accept help from her friends—and even her former rival—to solve the puzzle?

As with the other sequels reviewed here, Suee and the Strange White Light works well as a standalone, though the backstory of Suee’s troubled relationships and how the Zero Detective Club came into being might make you want to read Book 1, too. Not to mention references to Suee’s rebellious shadow, who makes an intriguing appearance toward the end, hinting at another adventure to come . . .

Batu and the Search for the Golden Cup
Written in Russian by Zira Nauryzbai & Lilya Kalaus, translated by Shelley Fairweather-Vega
Amazon Crossing Kids, 2023
Reviewed by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

A treasured family dombyra—a Central Asian stringed instrument—becomes the portal out of downtown Almaty and into Kazakhstan’s legendary past, in this page-turning adventure of justice and the quest for the Golden Cup, an archaeological relic lost for generations but still sought by villains thirsting for power. Rich with Kazakh culture and vocabulary, this is a familiar story of a boy struggling with bullies and to find his own voice, but with new fantastical dimensions and an unlikely mentor in the form of Aspara, the legendary teenage warrior hero of the ancient Saka civilization, a Central Asian culture that flourished from around the eighth to the third century BCE.

The House of the Lost on the Cape
Written in Japanese by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Yukiko Saito, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa
Yonder/Restless Books, September 2023
Reviewed by Kelly Zhang

Three Japanese women’s lives become inextricably intertwined in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami as they dwell together in a mayoiga—a legendary “lost house”—on the cape of the seaside town of Kitsunezaki. With help from various mythical creatures of the local lore, they defend the kind townsfolk from a pair of sinister monsters that have long lurked on the beaches, and help the disaster-stricken town to rebuild. Most importantly, they find family, connection, and healing in one another.

Kashiwaba has a knack for world-building that seamlessly fuses the real with the fantastical. She gently guides readers through difficult subjects like trauma, death, and grief while offering a healthy dose of humor and hope. Avery Fischer Udagawa’s lucid English translation and Yukiko Saito’s charming black and white illustrations all help to make this beautiful, moving tale accessible to a global readership.

Na Willa and the House in the Alley
Written in Indonesian by Reda Gaudiamo, illustrated by Cecillia Hidayat, translated by Ikhda Ayuning Maharsi Degoul and Kate Wakeling
The Emma Press, 2023
Reviewed by Hongyu Jasmine Zhu

Little Willa loves listening to the radio with Mak, poking at Pak’s typewriter, and asking questions: Why can’t I do acrobatics on my bed? Why can’t I use a clothes peg to pull at my nose to make it pointier? Brimming with Indonesian cultural references preserved in the original tongue, this follow-up to The Adventures of Na Willa evokes a young girl’s diary, looking at life and its occasional struggles through an innocently unfiltered lens. As we ride along with Willa’s questions and delights, we might well find that the House in the Alley has made a home in our hearts.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

Wild Poppies
Written in Arabic by Haya Saleh, translated by Marcia Lynx Qualey
Levine Querido, 2023
Reviewed by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

A well-paced, action-packed, and emotionally gripping YA novel about two brothers separated by war and extremism, and their perilous journey to safety. Struggling with day-to-day survival in a makeshift refugee camp in rural Syria, fifteen-year-old Omar is filled with worry about how to support his ailing mother and younger siblings, while his defiant twelve-year-old brother, Sufyan, rebels against what he sees as his domineering brother’s inaction. Desperate to find his own way to earn some money to help his family, Sufyan falls in with a religious group that turns out to be an Islamic extremist militia cell grooming young boys and coercing them into military action. Alternating between the brothers’ perspectives, this is an irresistible story of young people’s quest for safety and hope in a world turned upside down by conflict.