Restless Reading Guides
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers
By Sachiko Kashiwaba
Illustrations by Miho Satake
Translated from the Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa
Shortlisted, 2026 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize
One of Children’s Book Committee’s 2026 Best Children’s Books of the Year
A 2026 USBBY Outstanding International Book
Finalist, 2026 Mythopoeic Society Fantasy Award in Children's Literature
2025 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year
One of NPR's Books We Love 2025
One of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Middle Grade Books of 2025
★ Starred Review, Passport to New Worlds
One of Forbes' 11 Brilliant Art and Culture Books to Curl Up With This Winter
The November/December 2025 Libby & Sora Reads
From the bestselling, Batchelder Award–winning author and translator of Temple Alley Summer and The House of the Lost on the Cape comes the fantastic adventure that first inspired Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved film, Spirited Away.
A mountain town that’s not on any map, a messy bookstore with infinite doors, and a spoiled prince under a forgetful wizard’s curse . . . this summer might hold more than Lina bargained for! When a gust of wind carries off her umbrella, it leads Lina down a secret path between the trees to a strange and incredible world. In the hidden village of Misty Valley, centaurs roam the cobblestone streets and gnomes visit shops stuffed with spellbooks and enchanted desserts. All magic has a dark side, though, and sometimes even sorcerers need a human’s helping hand.
Now, fifty years after its debut in Japan, Sachiko Kashiwaba’s acclaimed novel is available in English and certain to delight readers of all ages.
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers | Ages 5–8
By Jung-min Kwon
Translated from the Korean by Jamie Chang
When a busy mom turns into a clock, her daughter discovers that even grown-ups need rest. A whimsical story about time, love, and self-care.
“You have ten minutes to get ready! Three minutes until lights out! One more minute to read!” Like children everywhere, one young girl is all too familiar with reminders about time—especially from her mother. When she wishes her mom would stop talking about time altogether, it comes true . . . almost. Her mom turns into a big blue clock.
With her clock-mother ticking beside her, the girl sets off on her scooter to find help. The clock hospital is closed for vacation, but the clock spa—a magical place where worn-out clocks can rest, relax, and be repaired—is open. Thanks to a wise woman and a little respite, time begins to make sense again.
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers | Ages 3–6
By Juan Pablo Iglesias Yacher
Illustrations by Alex Peris
Translated from the Spanish by Ilan Stavans
Translated into Hebrew by Eliezer Nowodworski and Frieda Press-Danieli
Translated into Arabic by Randa Sayegh
A one-of-a-kind picture book about an Israeli boy and a Palestinian boy who bond on the soccer field—translated into English, Hebrew, and Arabic.
Daniel and Ismail, one Israeli and the other Palestinian, don’t know each other yet, but they have more in common than they know. They live in the same city and have the same birthday, and this year they get the same presents: a traditional scarf—for Daniel a tallit and for Ismail a keffiyeh—and a soccer ball. Taking their gifts out for a spin, they meet by chance in the park and soon begin to play together and show off the tricks they can do.
They get so absorbed in the fun that they lose track of time and mix up their gifts: Daniel picks up Ismail’s keffiyeh and Ismail takes Daniel’s tallit. When they get home and discover their mistake, their parents are shocked and angry, asking the boys if they realize who wears those things. That night, Daniel and Ismail have nightmares about what they have seen on the news and heard from adults about the other group. But the next day, they find each other in the park and get back to what really matters: having fun and playing the game they both love.
Daniel and Ismail is a remarkable multilingual picture book that confronts the very adult conflicts kids face around the world, and shows us that different cultures, religions, societies, and languages can share the same page.
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers | Ages 4–7
By Chuchu Wang
What begins as a scary almost-accident turns into a road-trip adventure, and then a lasting friendship between a truck driver and the moose who joins him for a ride.
Moose has never left his home in the Maine woods, but when he meets Rus, a long-haul trucker on his way to Florida, the two team up and hit the road together. Moose helps Rus navigate, eats his first slice of pizza, and settles into a bunk bed in the truck’s cab after each day’s work. What new discoveries await these unlikely friends?
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers | Ages 6–12
By Triinu Laan
Illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats
Translated from the Estonian by Adam Cullen
2025 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Winner
2025 USBBY Outstanding International Book
2022 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition winner
2021 Tartu Prize for Children’s Literature
For this newly retired classroom skeleton, life is just beginning. When Gramps and Grams bring John to their farm deep in the woods of South Estonia, each day becomes a new adventure: rescuing snails, making snow angels, even sitting in a closet at an art exhibit. Award-winning author Triinu Laan weaves death and grief into the bright fabric of life, crafting a tender, humorous portrait of what it means to care for one another, grow old together, and appreciate the little things.
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers
By Rivka Galchen
Illustrations by Elena Megalos
From the New Yorker “20 Under 40” author of Atmospheric Disturbances comes a brain-twisting adventure story of a girl named Fred on a quest through a world of fantastical creatures, strange logic, and a powerful prejudice against growing up.
Fred and her math-teacher mom are always on the move, and Fred is getting sick of it. She’s about to have yet another birthday in a new place without friends. On the eve of turning thirteen, Fred sees something strange in the living room: her mother, dressed for a party, standing in front of an enormous paper lantern—which she steps into and disappears.
Fred follows her and finds herself in the Land of Impossibility—a loopily illogical place where time is outlawed, words carry dire consequences, and her unlikely allies are a depressed white elephant and a pugnacious mongoose mother of seventeen. With her new friends, Fred sets off in search of her mom, braving dungeons, Insult Fish, Fearsome Ferlings, and a mad Rat Queen. To succeed, the trio must find the solution to an ageless riddle.
Gorgeously illustrated and reminiscent of The Phantom Tollbooth and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Rivka Galchen’s Rat Rule 79 is an instant classic for curious readers of all ages.
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers | Ages 10 and up
By Andri Snær Magnason
Translated from the Icelandic by Björg Arnadóttir and Andrew Cauthery
A 2020 Green Earth Book Awards Honor Book
Winner of The Icelandic Literary Prize for Children and Young People’s Books
Winner of The Icelandic Booksellers Prize for Best Teenage Book of the Year
Nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize
Nominated for The West Nordic Literature Prize
Nominated for the Reykjavik Children’s Literature Prize
An entrancing adventure for today’s troubled planet, The Casket of Time is a fantastical tale of time travel and environmental calamity from celebrated Icelandic author Andri Snær Magnason.
Teenage Sigrun is sick of all the apocalyptic news about the "situation" and, worse, her parents' obsession with it. Sigrun's family-along with everyone else-decides to hibernate in their TimeBoxes(R), hoping for someone else to fix the world's problems. But when Sigrun's TimeBox(R) opens too early, she discovers an abandoned city overrun by wilderness and joins a band of kids who are helping a researcher named Grace solve the "situation."
The world, according to Grace, is under an ancient curse. There once was a princess named Obsidiana, who was trapped in time by the greedy king of Pangea. To protect Obsidiana from dark and gloomy days, the king put her in a crystal casket made of spider silk woven so tightly that time itself couldn't penetrate. The king's greed for power doomed his kingdom and the trapped princess. Sigrun sees eerie parallels between the tale of Obsidiana and the present-day crisis, and realizes it's up to her and her friends to break the ancient curse and fix the world.
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers | Ages 4–7
By Linda Bondestam
Translated from the Swedish by A. A. Prime
Wake up, Mommy and Daddy! The sun is rising, the stars are shining, and friends all over the universe are jumping out of bed to greet the day.
Snoring aliens, parties on rocket ships, and interstellar bath time—it’s a brand-new day in outer space! When Sweetie peers through a toilet paper tube at the early morning sky, a spectacular world appears through the makeshift telescope—many worlds, in fact. With abundant humor, interactive cutouts, and plenty of Easter eggs for those with a curious eye, Good Morning, Space is a delightful new story from Linda Bondestam, creator of My Life at the Bottom: The Story of a Lonesome Axolotl.
By Arshia Sattar
Illustrations by Sonali Zohra
YONDER: Restless Books for Young Readers
One of the world’s oldest and best-loved tales, now retold and illustrated in thrilling detail for readers of all ages.
Rama pulled the splendid arrow out of his quiver. It had been given to him long ago by the sage Agastya who had told him that he could use it only once and only for a great enemy. The incomparable arrow held the wind in its feathers, the sun and the moon in its shining tip, the earth in its shaft and the power of the doomsday fire in its flight.
Ramayana—an unforgettable tale of love, adventure, flying monkeys and god acting in the world of humans—has been treasured by readers around the world for thousands of years. Now in an authoritative, gripping retelling by the renowned Ramayana scholar Arshia Sattar, readers have a new chance to explore this classic’s riches.
Rama is a brave young prince who is forced into exile. His brother Lakshmana and his wife, the beautiful princess Sita, loyally follow him into the depths of the mysterious forest, where they encounter strange and dangerous creatures. None is as terrifying as Ravana, the ten-headed demon king who kidnaps Sita and takes her to a fortified city in the middle of the ocean. To rescue her, Rama enlists the help of hundreds of thousands of magical monkeys and bears to fight the demon army and win her back. Even the gods gather to witness the harrowing battle. Will Rama and his friends prevail, and will Sita return to him? Only these captivating pages will tell….
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers
By Alki Zei
Translated by Karen Emmerich
A USBBY 2025 Outstanding International Book
Finalist, 2025 GLLI Translated Young Adult Book Prize
Melia is spellbound by the stuffed wildcat in her family’s living room—her cousin swears that it comes to life and roams the streets at night. When she finds a signed note from the animal with secret instructions, a thrilling and dangerous adventure begins.
For Melia and her sister Myrto, summer means a break from Grandfather’s history lessons and weeks of running free at the seaside with their ragtag group of friends. Best of all, cousin Nikos will visit and tell his fabulous stories about the taxidermied wildcat, which opens its blue glass eye when it wants to do good deeds and its black one when it makes trouble. The black eye must be open lately because all the adults have been acting strangely, arguing about politics and fearful of the police. Soon even the children are divided—who can Melia trust? And can the wildcat help keep her family safe?
Set in Greece during the 1930s, when the nation was torn apart by fascism, The Wildcat Behind Glass is an unforgettable tale of family, humanity, and what it means to be free. From its 1963 release to the dozens of international editions and honors that followed including a Mildred L. Batchelder Award, the novel has enchanted generations of young readers. Now, a fresh English translation—the first in over 50 years—breathes new life into the timeless story.
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers (Ages 5–8)
By Constantin Satüpo
I miss my home; if only I could shrink him with a magic spell and carry him with me! Or what if he was big and strong enough to protect us on our long journey?
Did you know that every year, millions of children have to leave their homes behind? Sometimes a flood or a drought makes their homes unsafe. Sometimes a war breaks out and forces whole communities to flee.
When two small children set out to find a safer place to live, they decide to do the impossible: they carry their homes with them. One child uses a magic spell to shrink their house; the other’s house becomes so big and strong it can protect them and everyone else who needs help, too.