Found In Translation, by Saviour Pirotta

Children's books in translation have been notoriously difficult to find in the UK. Lately, however, there's been a move, initiated mostly by small, independent publishers, to introduce English-speaking children to the delights of books from other cultures.

Here are two continental authors I discovered this year at the London Book Fair. The first is Bjarne Reuter who is considered a national treasure in his home country of Denmark. Born in 1950, he has been twice a finalist for the Hans Christian Andersen award. He wrote his first book, Kidnapping, while preparing for his final exams to become a teacher. He taught only for five years before the film version of Kidnapping and the financial success of his subsequent novels allowed him to write full time.

Penguin published an English version of his most famous YA novel, The Ring of the Slave Prince, in 2004 but this soon went out of print and second hand copies are quite difficult to find, even on the net.

This year Wacky Bee Books launched Elise and the Second-hand Dog. Like many of Reuter's books, it's set in his native Copenhagen and mixes a wacky sense of humour with clever storylines and characters full of heart and emphaty.

The second author I'd like to introduce you to is Luize Pastore. She comes from Latvia where her 'Art Detectives' series of picture books aimed at older children has been wildly successful. She was the official author of the Latvian delegation at the LBF this year where Firefly launched Dog Town, a novel aimed at 7 - 11 year olds. Like Reuter's work,  Pastore's books are full of quirky humour, cracking plots and wry observations about society.  Check out both authors. Their work deserves to be on every bookshelf in the country.