Theme: sense of belonging

Hans My Hedgehog

By Book Importer | Published: February 14, 2012

A classic tale of love and acceptance from the Brothers Grimm is beautifully rendered in this magical retelling.Hans is an unusual boy. Born a hedgehog from the waist up, he knows what it’s like to truly be an outcast. Even his amazing fiddle playing can’t help him fit in. So Hans flees to the forest [...]

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

In the Shade of the Nispero Tree

By Book Importer | Published: February 10, 2012

When her mother wants her to be part of the high society world in their native Puerto Rico, Teresa attends a private school but loses her best friend. All Teresa and her best friend and classmate Ana think about is winning the contest for the Junior Queen and Princess of their town in Ponce, Puerto [...]

Descriptors: Caribbean, Historical Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Puerto Rico » Other Themes: , , , , , » 1 Comment

The Auslander

By Book Importer | Published: December 12, 2011

When Peter’s parents are killed, he is sent to an orphanage in Warsaw, Poland. But Peter is Volksdeutscher-of German blood. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he looks just like the boy on the Hitler Youth poster. The Nazis decide he is racially valuable. Indeed, a prominent German family is pleased to adopt such [...]

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

Nowhere Girl

By Book Importer | Published: December 5, 2011

Luchi Ann only knows a few things about herself: she was born in a prison in Thailand. Her American mother was an inmate there. And now that her mother has died, Luchi must leave the only place she’s ever known and set out into the world. Neither at home as a Thai, because of her [...]

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

Dogtag Summer

By Book Importer | Published: September 26, 2011

Twelve-year-old Tracy–or Tuyet–has always felt different. The villagers in Vietnam called her con-lai, or “half-breed,” because her father was an American GI. And she doesn’t fit in with her adoptive family in California, either. But when Tracy and a friend discover a soldier’s dogtag hidden among her father’s things, it sets her past and her [...]

Descriptors: Asia, Historical Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Viet Nam » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Call Me Maria

By Book Importer | Published: September 7, 2011

Fifteen-year-old Mara leaves her mother and their Puerto Rican home to live in the barrio of New York with her father, feeling torn between the two cultures in which she has been raised.

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

Perry Angel’s Suitcase

By Book Importer | Published: September 7, 2011

It has taken Perry Angel almost seven years to find the place where he belongs. Perry arrives at the Kingdom of Silk one day on the 10.30 express, carrying only a small and shabby suitcase embossed with five golden letters. What do those letters mean? And why won’t Perry let go of his case?

Descriptors: Australia, Fantasy, Intermediate (ages 9-14) » Other Themes: , » Leave a comment

Migrant

By Book Importer | Published: August 15, 2011

Migrant farmers and their families represent an ever-growing body of laborers around the world. They are used as cheap labor but most of them are not allowed to settle down, integrate into their host countries and become citizens with full rights. This is of course devastating to their children. Among these groups are the Mennonites [...]

Descriptors: Americas, Canada, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

The Ugly Duckling

By Book Importer | Published: June 9, 2011

An ugly duckling spends an unhappy year ostracized by the other animals before he grows into a beautiful swan.

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

The Ugly Duckling

By Book Importer | Published: June 9, 2011

An ugly duckling spends an unhappy year ostracized by the other animals before he grows into a beautiful swan.

Descriptors: Denmark, Early Years (ages 2-6), Europe, Fantasy, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , » Leave a comment