The Wildcat Behind Glass

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 adventure begins.

For Melia and her sister Myrto, summer means a break from Grandfather's history lessons and weeks of running free at the seaside with their ragtag group of friends. Best of all, cousin Nikos will visit and tell his fabulous stories about the taxidermied wildcat, which opens its blue glass eye when it wants to do good deeds and its black one when it makes trouble. The black eye must be open lately because all the adults have been acting strangely, arguing about politics and fearful of the police. Soon even the children are divided--who can Melia trust? And can the wildcat help keep her family safe?

Set in Greece during the 1930s, when the nation was torn apart by fascism, The Wildcat Behind Glass is an unforgettable tale of family, humanity, and what it means to be free. From its 1963 release to the dozens of international editions and honors that followed including a Mildred L. Batchelder Award, the novel has enchanted generations of young readers. Now, a fresh English translation--the first in over 50 years--breathes new life into the timeless story.

Alki Zei, born in Athens in 1923, studied philosophy at the University of Athens, drama at the Athens Conservatory, and screenwriting at the Moscow Cinema Institute. She got her start in publishing by writing YA short stories for the Greek magazine Neaniki Foni.

During the Second World War, she was actively involved in the struggle for freedom and democracy and against the German occupation of Greece. Because of it, she became a political refugee in the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1964. Three years later, she was exiled once again, but this time to Paris, France. From 1974 until her death in 2020, she lived in Athens.

Zei penned books for mostly children and YA audiences, but her unassuming and straightforward method of writing, along with her narrative skills, has allowed her work to be enjoyed by all ages. Her books Achille's Fiancée, Wildcat Under Glass, and Petros' War are among the best-sold titles in contemporary Greek literature.

Besides being a prolific writer, she was also a translator of children's books from French, Italian, and Russian, and was the Greek translator of authors Gianni Rodari and Vera Panova.

Karen Emmerich is a translator of Greek poetry, prose, and drama, and an associate professor of comparative literature at Princeton University. She received the National Translation Award in 2019 for Ersi Sotiropoulos's What's Left of the Night, the Best Translated Book Award in 2017 for Eleni Vakalo's Before Lyricism, and the PEN America Poetry in Translation Award in 2014 for Yannis Ritsos's Diaries of Exile. She has translated books by Miltos Sachtouris, Margarita Karapanou, Christos Ikonomou, Kallia Papadaki, and others.