Which brilliant books have never been translated into English? Join the discussion

Frank Cottrell Boyce has discovered some new literary heroes at the most beguiling library in the world, The International Jugendbibliothek. It was set up after the second world war by a Jewish refugee after Nazi book burning and banning. Here Frank tells us all about it – and kicks off a discussion on the missing classics in our livesWe also share a first chapter of Pushkin Press’s The Secrets of Blue Glass, (AKA the Japanese Borrowers) by Tomiko Inui, published this month for the first time in English, but beloved in Japan since 1967)I found myself some new heroes this week. When Germany was rebuilding itself after the war, a Jewish refugee who had made it to Britain in 1936 decided to give up her comfortable job at the BBC and go back to Germany and help. Her name was Jella Lepman and her speciality was children’s books. The Nazis had burnt and banned children’s books. They had destroyed the infrastructure of the Imagination just as surely as the Allies had destroyed the road network. Jella Lepman wanted to rebuild that infrastructure. With no budget, she blagged and begged books from foreign publishers, laying down the foundations of a library of international children’s books. Related: The best British children's illustrators in the Bratislava awards – in pictures Related: The 10 best Pippi Longstocking quotes Related: Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt - review Related: What are your favourite books in translation? Related: 'Oh, what happiness!' - 10 best... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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