Theme: Hope

Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert

By Book Importer | Published: September 26, 2011

In early August 2010, the unthinkable happened when a mine collapsed in CopiapÓ, Chile, and 33 miners were trapped 2,000 feet below the surface. For sixty-nine days they lived on meager resources and increasingly poor air quality. When they were finally rescued, the world watched with rapt attention and rejoiced in the amazing spirit and [...]

Descriptors: Chile, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Latin America, Nonfiction » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Prayer for the Twenty-first Century

By Book Importer | Published: September 7, 2011

A compelling text speaks to both young and old, expressing the deeply held hopes and fears that everyone recognizes. Illustrated with paintings, photographs, and collages, this call from the heart contains a message we all wish for our loved ones.

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

The Fire-Eaters

By Book Importer | Published: August 24, 2011

Despite observing his father’s illness, the suffering of the fire-eating Mr. McNulty, and the stress of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bobby Burns and his family and friends still find reasons to rejoice in their lives and to have hope for the future.

Descriptors: England (UK), Europe, Historical Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14) » Other Themes: , » Leave a comment

Bloodline Rising

By Book Importer | Published: May 12, 2011

A story of loyalties tested, secrets exposed, and one boy’s search for identity amid the tangled political intrigue and deception of the Dark Ages. A young thief known as “the Ghost” roams seventh-century Constantinople, tangling in political feuds and petty theft, using his eerie gifts of persuasion and stealth. With his father away at war [...]

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

The Bite of the Mango

By Book Importer | Published: May 10, 2011

The astounding story of one girl’s journey from war victim to UNICEF Special Representative.As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry.But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never [...]

Descriptors: Africa, Nonfiction, Sierra Leone, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , , , » 6 Comments

Out of Shadows

By Book Importer | Published: May 10, 2011

A debut novel set in the early 1980s at a boy’s boarding school in the newly formed country of Zimbabwe.

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

Pablo Neruda

By Book Importer | Published: May 3, 2011

Once there was a little boy named Neftalí who loved wild things wildly and quiet things quietly. From the moment he could talk, he surrounded himself with words. Neftalí discovered the magic between the pages of books. When he was sixteen, he began publishing his poems as Pablo Neruda. Pablo wrote poems about the things [...]

Descriptors: Americas, Biography, Chile, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Lost Boy, Lost Girl

By Book Importer | Published: May 3, 2011

One of thousands of children who fled strife in southern Sudan, John Bul Dau survived hunger, exhaustion, and violence. His wife, Martha, endured similar hardships. In this memorable book, the two convey the best of African values while relating searing accounts of famine and war. There’s warmth as well, in their humorous tales of adapting [...]

Descriptors: Africa, Nonfiction, Sudan, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment

The Earth Shook

By Book Importer | Published: April 4, 2011

Little Parisa-Farsi, left alone after an earthquake demolishes her home of Bam, Iran. She doesn’t despair. She does what any little girl would do. She dances. She laughs. She shares. She reveals our common humanity.
 
 

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

The Never Weres

By Book Importer | Published: March 17, 2011

Late in the next century, the human race is on the verge of extinction. A mysterious virus has resulted in no births in almost a generation. Despite the impending doom, three urban teenagers try to live their lives with hope.
Mia strives to preserve humanity’s compassion through her art and her volunteer work with Mrs. C [...]

Descriptors: Americas, Canada, Graphic Novel, Intermediate (ages 9-14) » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment