Theme: struggling

Safe Return

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

After struggling with the death of her mother and father, Ursula worries about her beloved Aunt Dana who boarded a ship during very rough seas weeks ago and has not returned home, and finds herself faithfully waiting with fear and hope.

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

The Book of Jude

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

In 1989, when fifteen-year-old Jude’s mother wins a Fulbright fellowship to study art in Czechoslovakia, the family postpones a planned move to Utah to join her, but the political situation and the move itself are too much for Jude, who is overwhelmed by a previously undiagnosed psychological disorder.

Descriptors: Czech Republic, Historical Fiction, United States of America, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

And What Comes after a Thousand?

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

Otto and Lisa are special friends. otto may be old, but he can still spit cherry pits, make slingshots and grow delicious raspberries. He and Lisa share a fascination with numbers, tell stories of brave Native Americans, and gaze at the stars.
But when Otto gets ill and dies, Lisa struggles to understand. her rage, confusion [...]

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

Hans Brinker

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

The story of Hans Brinker is a true classic, but few still read the novel, which was written in the 1860s. This is a tale of a family sticking together through hardship, and of wishes granted just in the nick of time. The race to win the silver skates is well-known, but the mystery of the [...]

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

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of [...]

Descriptors: Austria, Biography, Graphic Novel, Iran, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Malka

By Kathy G. Short | Published: March 14, 2007

In the winter of 1943, a Polish physician and her older daughter make a dangerous and arduous trek to Hungary while seven-year-old Malka, who they were forced to leave behind when she became ill, fends for herself in a ghetto.

Descriptors: Historical Fiction, Hungary, Poland, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , » Comments closed

The Roses in My Carpets

By Kathy G. Short | Published: March 14, 2007

When a young boy and his mother and sister come to a refugee camp to escape the war in Afghanistan, he finds some comfort in the beauty of the carpets he is learning weave.

Descriptors: Afghanistan, Asia, Fiction, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , » 2 Comments