I’ve rarely met characters as remarkable as those in Yorick Goldewijk’s The Tree That Was a World, illustrated by Jeska Verstegen and translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson (Eerdmans, 2025). Aimed at middle graders, these interconnected tales concern the wildlife that resides in or near an ancient tree—including a sweet-natured aphid battling the urge to devour her own siblings, a dimwitted owl undergoing an existential crisis, and a soulful ant who, while attempting to realize her dreams of wild adventure, is eaten by a hungry swallow.

That description might elicit an “Are you sure that’s for children?” from adults. After all, most American kid lit about animals features cherubic creatures forging loving if improbable cross-species friendships. But that’s why I adore international stories. European authors like Goldewijk enter what may seem like uncharted territory to U.S. readers; The Tree That Was a World is philosophical, melancholy, and achingly tender—in short, unlike almost anything originating in the States.

Reading books in translation offers young people much-needed glimpses into different worlds. First published in 1975, Sachiko Kashiwaba’s The Village Beyond the Mist, illustrated by Miho Satake, has long been beloved in Japan (it inspired Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away). Both bewitching and utterly cozy, the novel follows a young girl who visits a magical town where she finds meaning in helping the local shopkeepers with conflicts ranging from a cantankerous pet parrot to sadness over a parent’s absence. Newly translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa and published by Yonder last year, it’s now available to an English-speaking audience, who will be entranced.

Thousands of miles away, another small community is plagued by problems of a different sort. People are disappearing on Runmarö Island, located in the Stockholm archipelago, and 12-year-old Tuva is one of the few bold enough to seek the truth. In Camilla and Viveca Sten’sThe Secrets Below, translated from Swedish by A.A. Prime(Amazon Crossing Kids, Feb. 1), fantasy and mystery artfully blend for an eerie and atmospheric coming-of-age tale.

Plenty of international gems await picture-book readers, too. In Karthika Naïr’s Electric Birds of Pothakudi, illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet (Tate Publishing, 2025), the residents of a South Indian village wonder what to do when two magpie-robins begin nesting in the streetlight switchboard box. Do they oust the birds so the villagers, many lacking electricity at home, can light their way? Or make sacrifices for this fragile little family? First published in French (French Indian author Naïr rewrote her story in English) and inspired by actual events in Tamil Nadu, this thought-provoking tale is a rich meditation on communal living.

For an entirely different take on the bedtime book, try Rafael Sica’s No One Slept, originally published in Brazil and translated from Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato (Tapioca Stories, 2025). Fears of a ghost prevent an entire household from sleeping—until a young girl picks up a book and reads to each of her family members in turn. Rife with slyly funny details, Sica’s black-and-white images evoke the artwork of Edward Gorey or Charles Addams; this ode to the power of reading sets a slightly unnerving tone even as it soothes.

Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.