Theme: education

The Queen of Water

By Book Importer | Published: May 10, 2011

Born in an Andean village in Ecuador, Virginia lives with her large family in a small, earthen-walled dwelling. In her village of indígenas, it is not uncommon to work in the fields all day, even as a child, or to be called a longa tonta—stupid Indian—by members of the ruling class of mestizos, or Spanish [...]

Descriptors: Americas, Ecudor, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Kindergarten Day USA and China

By Book Importer | Published: May 5, 2011

Readers spend a school day with two kindergarten classes in this flip-me-over book. One side tells the story of a class from Schenectady, New York, and the other side tells of a class from Beijing, China. As the day progresses, clocks show the time in the USA and in China, noting that its daytime on [...]

Descriptors: Asia, China, Nonfiction, Primary (ages 6-9), United States of America » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

This Thing Called the Future

By Book Importer | Published: May 3, 2011

Khosi lives with her beloved grandmother Gogo, her little sister Zi, and her weekend mother in a matchbox house on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. In that shantytown, it seems like somebody is dying all the time. Billboards everywhere warn of the disease of the day. Her Gogo goes to a traditional healer when [...]

Descriptors: Africa, Realistic Fiction, South Africa, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Saraswati’s Way

By Book Importer | Published: February 14, 2011

Leaving his village in rural India to find a better education, mathematically gifted, twelve-year-old Akash ends up at the New Delhi train station, where he relies on Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, to guide him as he negotiates life on the street, resists the temptations of easy money, and learns whom he can trust.
See [...]

Descriptors: Asia, India, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk

By Book Importer | Published: February 2, 2011

In the little village of Duk Padiet in southern Sudan, a boy named Jacob Deng thrives on the love of his mother, the companionship of his sisters, the excitement of learning how to look after his uncle’s herds of cattle. The year is 1987, and suddenly in the night soldiers from the north invade the [...]

Descriptors: Africa, Awards, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction, Sudan » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , , » 1 Comment

Knightley Academy

By Book Importer | Published: December 17, 2010

In Violet Haberdasher’s Knightley Academy, the first commoner accepted at a prestigous boarding school uncovers a conspiracy that could lead to war.

Descriptors: England (UK), Fantasy, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Yasmin’s Hammer

By Book Importer | Published: July 23, 2010

A young Bangladeshi girl who helps support her family by working in a brickyard finds a way to make her dream of going to school and learning to read a reality.

Click here to read the Worlds of Words review.

Descriptors: Bangladesh, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Picture Book, Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Wanting Mor

By Book Importer | Published: May 24, 2010

Jameela and her family live in a poor, war-torn village in Afghanistan. Even with her cleft lip and lack of educational opportunities, Jameela feels relatively secure, sustained by her Muslim faith and the love of her mother, Mor. But when Mor dies, Jameela’s father impulsively decides to start a new life in Kabul. Jameela is [...]

Descriptors: Afghanistan, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , » 4 Comments

Ruby’s Wish

By Rebecca Ballenger | Published: November 1, 2009

Ruby is unlike most little girls in old China. Instead of aspiring to get married, Ruby is determined to attend university when she grows up, just like the boys in her family. Based upon the inspirational story of the author’s grandmother and accompanied by richly detailed illustrations, Ruby’s Wish is an engaging portrait of a [...]

Descriptors: China, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: » Leave a comment

My School in the Rain Forest: How Children Attend School around the World

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

Ruurs set out to discover the many different, and sometimes unusual, ways that children around the world attend school. In this essay, readers get to know students who are pursuing their dreams of a brighter future, and of teachers who are devoted to improving people’s lives.

Descriptors: Intermediate (ages 9-14), International, Nonfiction, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment