Publisher Preview: Tapioca Stories (Spring & Fall 2026)

You know what? Ignore the title of this post. Yes, we’re going to do a publisher preview of three titles coming out from Tapioca Stories, but before we get to that we have some topics that warrant discussion.

Look. The American children’s publishing world is a well-meaning conglomerate of different organizations. Between the publishers, the librarians, the booksellers, the educators, and the influencers (however you define them) we all have the best interests of kids in mind. And to a very great extent, a lot of us want to promote multi-lingual children’s books. Books for kids in Spanish are, in particular, important to us. But when it comes to books written in Spanish, the reality of the situation is that when you see a children’s book in the Spanish language, most of the time it’s either a translation of an American book or it’s from Spain. Anything from Mexico or South America is, as strange as this sounds, a rarity in the American children’s book market.

In my own library (Evanston Public Library) we’ve tried to combat this problem in a number of ways. Each year, for example, we send our Latino Outreach Librarian to the Guadalajara Book Fair to get us titles that would be difficult to obtain in the States. But wouldn’t it be so much easier if there was a publisher dedicated to bringing children’s book titles from South American nations to the States?

If you would be so good, please meet Tapioca Stories. This is a self-described, “New York-based publishing house with Latin American soul, introducing young English readers to the finest Latin American children’s books, originally written in Spanish and Portuguese.” Sort of what I was looking for, yes? So yesterday I sat down with Yael Berstein to talk about the state of Spanish literature in America. And in the course of our conversation, Yael brought up two points that I thought were particularly interesting. To my mind, you cannot discuss Spanish books in American publishing in 2026 without addressing the following:

1. Why does the Batchelder Award (the American Library Association literary award that recognizes the publisher of the year’s “most outstanding” children’s book translated into English and published in the U.S) fail to celebrate authors that translate their own books? I should explain that they certainly don’t intend to neglect anyone. Recently the Batchelder changed its rules so that the only books they will consider are the ones that state the names of their translators on their covers. Considering how often translators are forgotten or completely passed over, this was a great win. However, if the Batchelder is for the best translated book, what is to be done when sometimes (as in the case of today’s The Green Otter by Eduardo Halfon) the author IS the translator? Are we expecting the publisher to then write something like “Written by Eduardo Halfon, translated by Eduardo Halfon” on the cover? We could but… isn’t that a touch odd?
2. Which brings us to the other point that Yael mentioned to me. When a book is translated into Spanish (or even released in the original Spanish) the Spanish text is never reviewed. All reviews in America are for English editions. No review journal at this time dedicates a section to the Spanish editions of books. And yet, as Spanish versions of titles become more common, it would behoove these review journals to determine which editions contain above par writing and which, in fact, do not. Personally, I feel that out of all the review journals, School Library Journal is the one best suited to this task. Which, I suppose, is something I’ll be discussing with them at the upcoming American Library Association conference later this month.

In the meantime, let’s celebrate the eclectic and interesting titles coming out from Tapioca Stories! Today you’re going to observe books from Brazilian, Guatemalan, and Argentinian (SO many Argentinian) creators. If ever you sought Spanish titles beyond Spain, today’s list should fulfill that need. AND, quick note, Tapioca Stories will be at the upcoming ALA Conference in Chicago. So if you’d like to see any of these books firsthand, you’ll have your chance!

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Dive by Volnei Canônica and Mariana Massarani, translated by Bruna Dantas Lobato

ISBN: 979-8988749998

Publication Date: March 24, 2026

This Brazilian book marks its author’s debut. And not just any author either. According to Yael, Volnei Canônica is hugely invested in the future of Brazilian children’s literature. So much so that he’s gone so far as to open an institute in Brazil, created with the sole intention of creating more great Brazilian books for kids. This particular title was inspired by his godson, who is on the spectrum. Having been paired with Mariana Massarani (a HUGE illustrator in Brazil) this tale begins when a mother brings her son to the doctor. He’s been wetting the bed at night and she’s concerned. In the course of the telling, the doctor and mother literally dive into the boy’s world. Note that the book never labels the boy, but rather just describes how he feels. Set under the sea, it’s a beautiful, metaphorical way to explain his situation so that other kids on the spectrum might be able to relate. By the end of the book, when the mom asks for a diagnosis, the doctor simply says of the boy that, “He misses the sea.” A beautiful book printed tall due to the depth of the dive inside.

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The Green Otter / La nutria verde by Eduardo Halfon, ill. María José de Tellería

English ISBN: 9798993082004

Spanish ISBN: 9798993082011

Publication Date: May 19, 2026

There’s a bit of a backstory to this title that amuses me. So Eduardo Halfon (whose book Tarantula is currently sitting on display in my library’s New Adult Fiction section as we speak) once wrote a series of short stories that were all about his relationships with his kids. Illustrator María José de Tellería met with Yael and happened to mention that she was reading this work. Now Eduardo is Guatamalan and María is Argentinian, and together they’ve brought to life this truly original tale. In this story, the p.o.v comes from a father who travels for work. Heading out for another trip, his son asks him to bring him back “a blue horse”. That confuses dad a bit (where do you find such a thing??) but he’s a good father and he goes above and beyond the call of duty. He returns to his son with the requested blue horse toy… but he also brings along a tiny green otter. As a quick sidenote, Halfon did an event at the Brooklyn Public Library in conjunction with this book and he really did bring with him one such tiny green otter (about an inch long) from this tale. Naturally, in the story, it doesn’t take long before the boy starts to play exclusively with the otter, the horse now completely forgotten. And what’s particularly delightful about this is that the boy’s attachment to the otter is so palpable that in the art, the otter becomes real. Of course, with favorite toys, when you lose that toy, the results can be devastating. Fortunately, all turns out well in the end. Note that if you look in the book, the colors go from blue to green in the course of the storytelling. For the record, Eduardo is fluent in English and wanted to do the English translation himself. He did so, but since he’s not credited as such on the cover, the book has no chance of winning a Batchelder Award.

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A Dog Feels like Sitting / Se siente un perro sentado by David Wapner, ill. Isol, translated by Kit Maude

English ISBN: 9798993082028

Spanish ISBN: 9798993082035

Publication Date: September 1, 2026

Ah! Dog owners alert! This one’s for you! Released simultaneously in both English and Spanish, this is a story about the wordless communication that passes between canine and owner. In this tale, a dog only wants to sit. Sorta. You know when you have a dog, and it’s just waiting for you to take it for a walk but it doesn’t want to be too obvious about it? Yeah. That’s what this book is kind of about. Interestingly, this title was originally released as a board book. I’m afraid that I have to agree that, as simple as it is, it works better in the picture book format. And once more, the Spanish edition (in the States) will come out simultaneously. Beautiful!

That’s all for today! Huge thanks gain to Yael Berstein for taking the time to show us these titles. Remember, you can always stop by the Tapioca Stories booth at the ALA Conference (and 10 will get you 1 that Yael will have some future books to show you that aren’t even in this preview). Food for thought!

Filed under: Publisher Previews