Theme: Generosity

Even Higher

Young Reuven has a problem. Every year, on the day before Rosh Hashanah, the beloved rabbi of the village of Nemirov disappears until nightfall and no one knows where he goes. The villagers suspect that he ascends to heaven to beg forgiveness for their sins, but Reuven’s friends want the truth. They appoint him to [...]

Descriptors: Early Years (ages 2-6), Folklore, Israel, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment

One Potato, Two Potato

Mr. and Mrs. O’Grady are so poor they have just one of everything to share – one potato a day, one chair, one blanket full of holes, and one gold coin for a rainy day. After digging up the last potato in their patch, Mr. O’Grady comes upon a big black object. It’s a pot [...]

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

14 Cows for America

In June of 2002, a very unusual ceremony begins in a far-flung village in western Kenya.An American diplomat is surrounded by hundreds of Maasai people. A gift is about to be bestowed on the American men, women, and children, and he is there to accept it. The gift is as unsought and unexpected as it [...]

Descriptors: Africa, Kenya, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » 1 Comment

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters

Mufaro was a happy man. Everyone agreed that his two daughters were very beautiful. Nyasha was kind and considerate as well as beautiful, but everyone — except Mufaro — knew that Manyara was selfish, badtempered, and spoiled. When the king decided to take a wife and invited “The Most Worthy and Beautiful Daughters in the [...]

Descriptors: Africa, Early Years (ages 2-6), Folklore, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Zimbabwe » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

My Rows and Piles of Coins

The market is full of wonderful things, but Saruni is saving his precious coins for a red and blue bicycle. How happy he will be when he can help his mother carry heavy loads to market on his very own bicycle–and how disappointed he is to discover that he hasn’t saved nearly enough! See the [...]

Descriptors: Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction, Tanzania » Other Themes: , , , , » 1 Comment

The Queen’s Necklace: A Swedish Folktale

A cruel and greedy king prizes a pearl necklace above all, but the kind-hearted young woman who becomes his wife gives the pearls away one by one to help the poor.

Descriptors: Europe, Fantasy, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Picture Book, Scandinavia, Sweden » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

The Nightingale

The hero of this story is a little bird with a very sweet song-so sweet it brings tears to the eyes of the Chinese Emperor and charms Death right back into the graveyard.

Descriptors: Denmark, Fantasy, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Scandinavia » Other Themes: , , » Comments closed

Brother Juniper

Worried about having left the overly-generous Brother Juniper in charge of their chapel when they went out to preach, the other friars are not prepared for what they find upon their return.

Descriptors: Europe, Fiction, Italy, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: , , , , » Comments closed