Outstanding International Children's Books for Grades 3-5

The Outstanding International Books list recognizes outstanding books published or distributed in the United States that originated or were first published in a country other than the United States. Titles are selected annually by the United States Board on Books for Young People, the U.S. national section of the International Board on Books for Young People.

Updated December 18, 2024
C
CU Catalog Champaign Children's Team
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The invisible elephant
Anisimova, Anna
Paper Book
A 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Book From beloved Finland-based children's author Anna Anisimova comes a heartwarming, beautifully illustrated chapter book about a blind girl who joyfully explores her environment using her senses and vivid imagination, inviting young readers to...
Too small Tola makes it count
Atinuke
Paper Book
In the fourth book of this irresistibly charming series, Tola finds creative solutions to her neighbors' difficulties--but can Tola solve her own problem when her friends call her a liar? Lockdown is over and Too Small Tola is happy to be home with her family again in their...
Three tasks for a dragon
Colfer, Eoin
Paper Book
With wit and gorgeous art, New York Times best-selling author Eoin Colfer and multi-award-winning illustrator P.J. Lynch team up again for a quest story of knights, dark magic, and a maiden with powers of her own. Studious Prince Lir is next in line to become the Wolfhound...
On the edge of the world
Desnitskaya, Anna
Paper Book
The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Outstanding International Books List - Grades 3-5 (2024) A uniquely formatted book about dreams, loneliness, and the universal longing for connection.  Vera and her family live on Russia's...
Water : discovering the precious resource all around us
Fadeeva, Olʹga
Paper Book
USBBY Outstanding International Books List (2025) "Wonderful . . . engaging detail . . . a beautiful addition to nonfiction collections looking for books on the subject, and those seeking more translated works." -- School Library Journal ...
Vigdi?s : a book about the world's first female president
Flygenring, Ra?n
Paper Book
★ "In this winningly informal introduction, a budding young writer sits with Vigdís to enjoy her famous Bessastaðir cookies and chat about her early years..." - Booklist (STARRED review) A 2025 USBBY Outstanding International Book (OIB) A CCBC (...
The walking school bus
Friedland, Aaron
Paper Book
A "moving tale of two enterprising siblings determined to find a safe way to get to school" (New York Times), this singular picture book celebrates the creativity, ingenuity, and passion of children all over the world. Features an afterword from Julian Lennon,...
Taming papa
Goupil, Myle?ne
Paper Book
Mélie doesn't know how to relate to her father, a political prisoner in another country whom she has never met, when he is released and immigrates to join her family in Montreal. "Where I come from, you have to say the same things as everyone else or keep quiet," Mélie's mother tells her....
The art and life of Hilma af Klint
Hillström, Ylva
Paper Book
The first children's picture book on Hilma af Klint and her pioneering work. Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) began painting her abstract and highly symbolic images as early as 1906, long before Kandinsky and Malevich arrived at what is generally regarded as the birth of modern...
Loose threads
Isol
Paper Book
An intrepid girl discovers the value of the tangled, knotty side of life in Loose Threads, a picture book inspired by a Palestinian scarf, from Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Isol. Translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel<...
The moon tonight : our moon's journey around earth
Jung, Chang-hoon
Paper Book
"Exquisite." -- New York Times Follow our moon as it waxes and wanes across the night sky in this informative and stunning nonfiction picture book by an astronomer and award-winning illustrator. Everyone on Earth can look up and marvel at our...
The house of the lost on the cape
Kashiwaba, Sachiko
Paper Book
A 2024 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Honoree A 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Book One of Kirkus Reviews' 10 Essential Middle-Grade Books for Fall 2023 -- Starred Review One of Kirkus Reviews' Best Middle-Grade Family Stories of 2023 A 2023 Cybils Awards Finalist...
Birds on the Brain
Krishnaswami, Uma
Paper Book
The sequel to the award-winning Book Uncle and Me features bird lover Reeni and her quest to save her city's bird count event when the mayor tries to shut it down. Reeni is wild about birds! So when she and her best friend, Yasmin, have to pick a survey topic for a school project, asking...
John the skeleton
Laan, Triinu
Paper Book
2025 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Winner 2025 USBBY Outstanding International Book 2022 Bologna Children's Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition Winner 2021 The White Ravens Catalog 2021 Tartu Prize for Children's Literature Everyone deserves a quiet, restful...
The pebble
Marcinkevicius, Marius
Paper Book
A deeply moving story about hope and friendship in one of the darkest times in history. Eitan and his best friend Rivka live in a place where children laugh, dogs bark, and neighbours chat. But no one can leave, and once you go through the gates, you never come back......
Griso : the one and only
Mello, Roger
Paper Book
The last of his kind, Griso travels the world searching for unicorn companions. He asks beetles, chameleons, and buffalos if they've seen any mythical creatures like him, and all send him on his way saying, 'Neither here nor at the edge of the world.' Griso gallops across plains, marshes, and...
Saving H'non : Chang and the elephant
Nguyễn, Trang
Paper Book
From the creators behind the Eisner-nominated Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear comes another gorgeously-illustrated graphic novel adventure based on a true story, in which young conservationist Chang overcomes the odds to save and return an elephant to its natural habitat. ...
The duel : a story about peace
Oliveira, Ins? Viegas
Paper Book
An international award-winning picture book with increasingly detailed water-color art begins as a story about quarrels and conflicts, but is, above all, about making and finding peace. Loosely based on the duel scene from War & Peace, this storywill help spark conversations...
Who will make the snow?
Prokhasʹko, Mar'i︠a︡na
Paper Book
Twin moles, Purr and Craw, are born on the first day of spring. The newest members of their woodland world, they're curious about everything. What is swimming? Why does mother speak French as she makes pancakes? What does father scrawl in his notebook? Do animals live in the sea? Why do grownups eat...
Letters in charcoal
Vasco, Irene
Paper Book
In the pueblo of Palenque in Colombia, hardly anybody knows how to read. Curious about the letters her older sister Gina receives from a young doctor each month--letters that she is sure contain promises of love--one young girl makes a decision that will change her life, and the lives of every...
Mishka
Vendel, Edward van de
Paper Book
Best of the Year: Publishers Weekly - NYPL - Booklist Winner of the national book award for children's literature in the Netherlands -- a sweet and tender story of a girl refugee finding a new home! Roya, her three brothers, and their...
The wildcat behind glass
Zeē, Alkē
Paper Book
A USBBY 2025 Outstanding International Book 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...
Dounia and the magic seeds
Zarif, Marya
Paper Book
When fleeing her war-ravaged home, a young girl brings four magic seeds to help her family on their difficult journey Dounia loves her home in Aleppo, Syria, and all of its wonderful smells, sights, and traditions. But when war breaks out, Dounia and her grandparents must flee their home...
Corner
Zo-O
Paper Book
A quirky and relatable story about balancing creativity and connection A crow finds itself in an empty corner and begins to make the space its own. First, it furnishes the corner with a bed, a bookshelf, a rug, even a potted plant. In the newly decorated space, the crow reads and eats,...

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