This year’s Batchelder Award for children’s literature in translation went to Croco, a picture book by Mexican author and illustrator Azul López, translated from Spanish by Kit Maude and published by Tapioca Stories. This success was compounded for Tapioca’s publishing director Yael Berstein when she realized it was the first Latin American title to win the award in its 58-year history.

This long-awaited recognition bears no reflection on the quality of the books being produced in Latin America —13 titles from the region have been winners in the Bologna Ragazzi Awards, established the same year as the Batchelder; four Latin Americans have won the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award; and there have been two Latin American laureates in the 24 years since the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was launched. All of which shows that, internationally, the region is recognized as producing world-class children’s literature.

Winning the Batchelder is a big deal for the independent publishers who are more likely to publish translated children’s books as well as the librarians and educators searching for diverse titles for their children’s collections. As school librarian and SLJ reviewer Rachel Zuffa and 2026 Batchelder Award committee member puts it, “I am quite cognizant that what I write may determine what is seen or not seen by children.” Dr. Sujei Lugo, another member of this year’s Batchelder committee and a children’s librarian at the Boston Public Library, is also realistic about the obstacles books like Croco face in reaching child readers. As she explains, even getting these books in front of awards committees is difficult, as smaller publishers don’t have the budget to send multiple copies of titles to committee members for consideration. Committee members like Lugo must go the extra mile to make sure hard-to-find and eligible books get considered for the award: “I bought a lot of books on my own because I wanted to have options . . .  and I know the power of awards in getting these books into libraries and schools.”

Lugo, who is Puerto Rican, is all too aware of how important it is for children of Latin American heritage to see books from their own culture represented in school and public libraries. “My library is in a neighborhood that has a lot of Spanish speakers, and a lot of community members are asking specifically for books from Latin America.” With this in mind, Lugo sought out Latin American titles to nominate for this year’s Batchelder. “I was specifically looking for Latin American titles, and from the African continent too, because there’s also a huge gap there.”

Zuffa is also clear about how her role as a librarian can help these books reach children: “I’ve spent the past eight years working in a high school where about 11 percent of the population identify as English Language Learners and 30 percent identify as Latino, with many speaking Spanish in their home. They were desperate for these [Latin American] books and comfortable asking me for them. One of my students even brought me books her uncle wrote in Spanish (he lives in Mexico), for our shelves.” Like other librarians, she relies on both USBBY’s Outstanding International Books and the Batchelder lists to find these titles. Zuffa shared her students’ excitement at seeing books in translation, even picture books, from their home countries: “There was a sincere joy, knowing these books existed and they were seen.”

And it isn’t just Latine children who can benefit from these books. Reading stories from other cultures has value for everyone, as it helps us to see the world differently. Beyond the stories themselves, the illustrations give children access to different artistic traditions. Librarian and “Fuse 8” blogger Betsy Bird, a big fan of translated books for kids, says, “Until you start looking at international picture books on a wider scale, you have no idea how many other ways there are of creating books for kids. I was already interested in translations and imports before my first trip to the Bologna Children's Book Fair . . . but being there and seeing what was going on in other countries was eye-opening beyond belief. It was as if I'd never really realized how limited my viewpoint was.” She adds, “Now imagine what happens when you expose kids to books from other cultures and viewpoints. Imagine how you can expand their minds with art styles that look like nothing on the shelves of Target. Do you see how important that can be in forming their growing brains and artistic appreciation?”

Diversity is essential, however; if US children only ever see one kind of book from Latin America—the kind that depicts impoverished children living in huts in the rainforest, for example—they are getting a very restricted view of what life in the region is like. And, as translator and editor Gabriela Adamo from Argentina reminds, “childhoods in large modern cities like São Paulo or Buenos Aires are marked by very current problems. The overwhelming presence of technology and the deep changes in family structures, to name just two, are issues that concern our children as much as those of any city in the United States.”

Thankfully, independent publishers around the world are beginning to fly the flag for diverse translated children’s books from Latin America and beyond, with books like Croco demonstrating the rich pickings the region has to offer. And librarians can play an important role in getting these books into children’s hands, potentially helping to shape their future. Zuffa explains: “How people from other cultures write about grief, death, celebration, self-identity, family, joy, authority, and love is priceless. By providing access to different ways of thinking and feeling, these books encourage a growth mindset and shape early emotional development.”

As Berstein explained in her Batchelder acceptance speech: “Latin American creators have been telling powerful stories for generations. What’s changed is not the stories themselves, but the space made for them—and the care with which we choose to listen.”