ICCAL » Realistic Fiction

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.

Trafficked

Book Importer — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:19:56 +0000

A seventeen-year-old Moldovan girl whose parents have been killed is brought to the United States to work as a slave for a family in Los Angeles.

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.

Welcome To Silver Street Farm

Book Importer — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:10:56 +0000

What are three city friends to do when a couple of newly adopted baby poodles turn out to be rotten hatch into ducklings? For Gemma, Meera, and Karl, the answer’s easy– turn the abandoned train station into a city farm! Throw in a friendly policeman, a chicken-herding dog, and a pair of runaway goats, and you’ve got yourself the start of Silver Street Farm– the little farm in the big city.

The Great Wall Of Lucy Wu

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

Eleven-year-old aspiring basketball star and interior designer Lucy Wu is excited about finally having her own bedroom, until she learns that her great-aunt is coming to visit and Lucy will have to share a room with her for several months, shattering her plans for a perfect sixth-grade year.

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

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

Inside Out And Back Again

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

No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama. For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family. This is the moving story of one girl’s year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.

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

Martha, No!

Book Importer — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:37:53 +0000

Martha Felicity Molly-Anne May has a habit of losing her nannies. She’s so naughty that even Mary Poppins wouldn’t know what to do!

Can the newest nanny, Miss Harrington-Chive, keep track of the little angel during their day out on the town? Or will Martha’s behavior have the nanny screaming “Martha, no!” until her voice goes hoarse?

And if Martha loses this nanny, what’s her mommy to do?

Tashi and the Tibetan Flower Cure

Book Importer — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:36:26 +0000

A young Tibetan American girl helps her grandfather recover from an illness through the use of a traditional cure that focuses on spiritual as well as physical recovery and brings together a caring community.

Duck for a Day

Book Importer — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:07:07 +0000

When Abby’s class gets a pet duck named Max, she is eager to take it home overnight, especially since her parents will not let her have a pet.