Book briefs: Is Scandinavian children's literature more risque than others?

Welcome to your weekly roundup of book news and literary highlights from The Thread.

This week, we look at the difference in children's lit around the world, and celebrate the first ever Chinese author to win science-fiction's most prestigious award.

In Scandinavian children's books, no topics are off limits

In the U.S., swearing or mentions of sex in children's literature can quickly land a book on the Frequently Challenged Books list. But in Scandinavia, Ingelin Røssland argues, "there are no taboos when it comes to writing, even for children and young people."

Rossland's opinion piece for The Guardian highlights a few popular Scandinavian books that would have parents in other countries up in arms. The title of one such award-winning book, when translated into English, would likely never even make it to publication.

Rossland herself is an author of young adult books. When she went on tour in France, some teachers objected to her writing and stopped students from attending her presentation.

In Scandinavia, she argues, children's books have never shied away from dark topics or honest discussions of sex. Even "Pippi Longstocking," by Astrid Lindgren, got dark on occasion.

The genre divide, Rossland said, is also less distinct there: Many Scandinavian writers with successful franchises for adults also write for children. Jo Nesbo is one of those. He made a name for himself writing dark and often gruesome crime novels, but also now has a popular series for children (with fewer death scenes).

Rossland's latest, "Minus Me," will be her first book translated for English audiences. She says it's her least provocative book to date, though it tackles issues of love and death.

Hugo Award, the Oscars of sci-fi writing, given to a Chinese author for the first time

This year's Hugo Awards were marred by controversy, due to some fans' disagreements about what qualifies as sci-fi and what does not. In several categories, voters opted to select "No Award" instead of choosing from the contested slate of candidates.

Voters did pick a winner, though, for Best Novel. Chinese writer Cixin Liu won for "The Three Body Problem." Liu is the first Chinese author to take home the coveted sci-fi prize, and his book is the first winning work not originally written in English.

"The Three Body Problem" trilogy is a sensation in China. It tells the story of an alien invasion that polarizes humanity: One camp wants to welcome the aliens; the other wants to fight against the invaders. Ken Liu, the American author who translated the book into English, said it's on par with "Harry Potter" in popularity.

According to PRI's The World, Cixin Liu is part of the third wave of sci-fi writers in China. The first wave started the genre in the country around 1902. By 1912, sci-fi had fallen out of popularity, and it remained rare until the 1970s, when it had a brief resurgence. By the mid-1980s, however, sci-fi disappeared when the Chinese government began censoring the futuristic books. (The censorship started in 1984, to be precise, if you want to bring George Orwell into this.)

The latest wave — the third — has captured the country's imagination once again. Mingwei Song, who studies modern Chinese literature, told The World that the latest Chinese sci-fi is "about broadening people's views" and "pushing for new possibilities."

Delivering books by bike to "book deserts"

Sociologists have long talked about "food deserts" — areas without easy access to grocery stores or fresh food. Now librarians are working to combat "book deserts" — places where children don't have a library nearby.

A feature by GOOD Magazine highlighted the two-wheeled librarians around the country who are making deliveries by bike. GOOD called the bookish bikes "a scaled-down version of the book mobiles that were once a fixture of many middle- and upper-class childhoods in America."

The Seattle Public Library owns three book trailers that librarians pedal out to community events. The trailers are wi-fi enabled so people can sign up for a library card on the spot, and go home with an armful of books.

In San Francisco, a private school's librarian launched a donation-based bicycle library — think of it as a Little Free Library on wheels. The notoriously hilly city does limit her range, Alicia Tapia admitted: "I want to go to other places, but the hills of San Francisco don't make it safe to do that with the weight I'm carrying."

Bikes, of course, are only one of the creative solutions librarians have adopted to deliver books. In Mongolia, some librarians travel by camel, while in rural Colombia, there's the Biblioburro — a donkey that shoulders the load.