ICCAL » Intermediate (ages 9-14)

Now Is The Time For Running

Book Importer — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:25:58 +0000

Just down the road from their families, Deo and his friends play soccer in the dusty fields of Zimbabwe, cheered on by Deo’s older brother, Innocent. It is a day like any other . . . until the soldiers arrive and Deo and Innocent are forced to run for their lives, fleeing the wreckage of their village for the distant promise of safe haven. Along the way, they face the prejudice and poverty that await refugees everywhere, and must rely on the kindness of people they meet to make it through. But when tragedy strikes, Deo’s love of soccer is all he has left. Can he use that gift to find hope once more?Relevant, timely, and accesibly written, Now Is the Time For Running is a staggering story of survival that follows Deo and his mentally handicapped older brother on a transformative journey that will stick with readers long after the last page.

The Plant Hunters

Book Importer — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:00:23 +0000

Driven by an all-consuming passion, the plant hunters traveled around the world, facing challenges at every turn: tropical illnesses, extreme terrain, and dangerous animals. They battled piranhas, tigers, and vampire bats. Even the plants themselves could be lethal! But these intrepid eighteenth and nineteenth century explorers were determined to find and collect new and unusual specimens, no matter what the cost. Then they tried to transport the plants- and themselves- home alive. Creating an important legacy in science, medicine, and agriculture, the plant hunters still inspire the scientific and environmental work of contemporary plant enthusiasts.

Working from primary sources–journals, letters and notes from the field– Anita Silvey introduces us to these daring adventures and scientists. She takes readers into the heart of their expeditions to then-uncharted places such as the Amazon basin, China and India. As she brings a colorful cast of characters to life, she shows what motivated these Indiana Jones-type heroes. In The Plant Hunters, science, history, and adventure have been interwoven to tell a largely forgotten- yet fascinating- story.

My First Soccer Book

Book Importer — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:00:07 +0000

This lively and information packed book is superb introduction to soccer and will excite readers hungry to develop their skills and knowledge.

Perfect for any child who is a soccer enthusiast
Covers all the information a young player needs, including basic skills such as passing, heading and shooting; tactics and techniques; rules and referees; and world players and tournaments.
Clear, accessible text written by Clive Gifford–author, former coach and lifelong fan
Spectacular photography by Michael Wicks

The Hero Of Little Street

Book Importer — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:00:07 +0000

When a boy being chased through present-day London seeks refuge in the National Gallery, a dog escapes from the painting of one Dutch master and together they leap into the painting of another, where their adventures in seventeenth-century Delft are a prelude to returning to London and continuing the chase.

The Crossing

Book Importer — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:59:55 +0000

This young, lyrical picture book reveals the adventure and natural wonders that Lewis & Clark encountered on their Western expedition in the early 1800s. Told from the point of view of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the baby on Sacagawea’s back, this story offers a fresh perspective of a young country and gives voice to a character readers will already be familiar with–at least visually (the baby is shown on the golden Sacagawea dollar).

Sardine in Outer Space 2

Book Importer — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:42:11 +0000

The red-headed space heroine is back! This time, the evil Supermuscleman has developed a device for controlling children-a brainwashing machine! It’s up to Sardine, Little Louie, and Captain Yellow Shoulder to keep him from using it. This installment of twelve more stories is filled with even more strange creatures-including a space Santa Claus, pesky flies that plant annoying music in their victims’ ears, intergalactic yogurt thieves, and little monster carpet salesmen who live on a fully-carpeted comet.

Teens in Russia

Book Importer — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:41:24 +0000

The Russian Federation has been an independent country since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. For Russian teenagers, this change has presented many opportunities. At school, teens are learning about a history that the communist government tried to hide. In their free time, they are learning to express themselves in ways their parents were not allowed. Teens in Russia is part of Global Connections, a series that uncovers the challenges, pastimes, and customs of teens around the world.

Puppet

Book Importer — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:41:12 +0000

A heartbreaking episode in history, explained through the story of a young servant girl in the late 1800s.

The year is 1882. A young servant girl named Esther disappears from a small Hungarian village. Several Jewish men from the village of Tisza Eszvar face the ‘blood libel’ — the centuries-old calumny that Jews murder Christian children for their blood. A fourteen-year-old Jewish boy named Morris Scharf becomes the star witness of corrupt authorities who coerce him into testifying against his fellow Jews, including his own father, at the trial.

This powerful fictionalized account of one of the last blood libel trial in Europe is told through the eyes of Julie, a friend of the murdered Esther, and a servant at the jail where Morris is imprisoned. Julie is no stranger to suffering herself. An abused child, when her mother dies her alcoholic father separates her from her beloved baby sister. Julie and Morris, bound by the tragedy of the times, become unlikely allies. Although Puppet is a novel, it is based upon a real court case that took place in Hungary in 1883. In Hungary today, the name Morris Scharf has become synonymous with “traitor.”

Once again, Eva Wiseman illuminates a heartbreaking episode in history for young readers.

Beneath A Meth Moon

Book Importer — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:59:11 +0000

Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she’s still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel’s new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T-Boom, co-captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past.

When T-Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again. With help from an artist named Moses and her friend Kaylee, she’s able to begin to rewrite her story and start to move on from her addiction.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 3

The Wild Book

Book Importer — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:59:11 +0000

Fefa struggles with words. She has word blindness, or dyslexia, and the doctor says she will never read or write. Every time she tries, the letters jumble and spill off the page, leaping and hopping away like bullfrogs. How will she ever understand them? But her mother has an idea. She gives Fefa a blank book filled with clean white pages. “Think of it as a garden,” she says. Soon Fefa starts to sprinkle words across the pages of her wild book. She lets her words sprout like seedlings, shaky at first, then growing stronger and surer with each new day. And when her family is threatened, it is what Fefa has learned from her wild book that saves them.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 3