Introduction and Editor’s Note:

An awareness of what is acknowledged as significant literature in a country provides insight into its cultures, values, and life experiences for readers in the global community, WOW Review Volume VI, Issue 2, called for reviews of “Global Award Winning Titles.” As a result, this issue is an interesting array of reviews that represent seven countries, include both young adult novels and children’s picture books, and reflect historical fiction, realistic fiction, and fantasy genre.

Among these titles are the rich traditions of historical fiction as seen in My Brother’s War and The Hangman in the Mirror. Realities of contemporary issues in the lives of young adults are the focus of A Straight Line to My Heart, Liar and Spy, and Shigeru no Kachan (Shigeru’s Mom); the realistic life experiences that help younger readers realize the commonalities they share with children in other countries can be found in When You Were Small, There, and Rahui. Fantasy continues to win awards across the global community and is represented here through picture books that reveal the universal delight of a tale well told through images and text, as in Oh, No George, Mister Whistler, and The Circus in the Box, as well as reflections of more complex dystopian works with their roots in history as in Calling the Gods and Maggot Moon.

Perspective, social issues, humor, imagination, and universality are threads that run throughout the well created and highly recognized international books. We hope these titles will inspire further reading into the award winning children’s and young adult literature from other countries.

Janelle Mathis, University of North Texas, Denton, TX