Author: Book Importer

Book Importer

Taming Papa

Mélie doesn’t know how to relate to her father, a political prisoner in another country whom she has never met, when he is released and immigrates to join her family in Montreal.“Where I come from, you have to say the same things as everyone else or keep quiet,” Mélie’s mother tells her. “And your father is not someone who knows how to keep quiet. Or say the same thing as everyone else. So that got him in trouble.”However, ever since he came into Mélie’s life, keeping quiet is the only thing her father has done. Partly because Sami doesn’t speak the same language as his daughter, and partly because he doesn’t know how to live as a free man anymore. Mélie has to tame him, like the kitten that she just found, and like Mr. Xavier and his partner seem to be doing with Mei-Li, the little girl they recently adopted. Things that are worthwhile aren’t always easy.Key Text Featureschapters;dialogueCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone

Mishka

Winner of the national book award for children’s literature in the Netherlands — a sweet and tender story of a girl refugee finding a new home! Roya, her three brothers, and their parents have a new family member — Mishka, a bunny rabbit. He soon becomes a beloved part of their new home and gradually, the rabbit — and also Roya — get to hear the story of the family’s journey from Afghanistan to the Netherlands. Told from different perspectives every time: big Bashir, gentle Hamayun, tough Navid, and sometimes Mom and Dad. Mishka and Roya listen. Anoush Elman and Edward van de Vendel became friends upon Elman’s arrival in the Netherlands, and fifteen years later, they decided to write a story for younger readers about his family’s experience. This gorgeous chapter book — illustrated throughout in full color — is a tender, lyrical story of a young girl processing a new country, new school, and new friends — and a bunny escape! — in a story readers and parents will treasure.

Featured in WOW Review Volume XVII, Issue 2.

The Duel: A Story About Peace

An international award-winning picture book with increasingly detailed water-color art begins as a story about quarrels and conflicts, but is, above all, about making and finding peace. Loosely based on the duel scene from War & Peace, this story will help spark conversations about what can happen when you turn away from violence. Two men argue in a distant and cold country. Words pierce and injure their hearts. In order to resolve the problem once and for all, two men decide to fight a duel. They start back to back, each one counting a hundred paces before turning to shoot.1, 2, 3, 4 . . . There they go, walking away. So many steps separating them. 5, 6, 7, 8. . . .

One keeps walking, and walking, and walking some more, and his surroundings become more animated and vibrant, each page burgeoning with color and activity, circuses and marching bands and more. But what, he wonders, is the other one thinking? What lies ahead for them both? How far do you go before your anger dissipates and you crave the company of a friend? A story with a suprising turn of events, The Duel will help young readers see what can happen when you choose to turn away from violence and in the direction of curiosity and friendship and an open heart.

The Duel is featured in WOW Review Volume XVII, Issue 3.

Amu Nowruz And His Violets

A FOLKLORIC CELEBRATION OF THE SEASONS AND NEW BEGINNINGSAn enchanting story of the Persian New Year and moment when winter turns to spring, based on the Iranian folktale of Naneh Sarma and Amu NowruzIn the land of Winter, queenly Naneh Sarma coats the mountains and valleys in ice and snow and when she is tired she rests in her spiky snow castle. But with no one to talk to, Naneh Sarma gets lonely. In this gentle story based on a household Iranian folktale, Naneh Sarma journeys to the far off land of Spring to seek Amu Nowruz, Spring’s herald, who sows the meadows with the seeds and flowers that fill his enormous knapsack. At the border between Winter and Spring, Naneh Sarma waits patiently for Amu Nowruz but by the time he arrives, she has fallen fast asleep. Gently, in her outstretched hands, Amu Nowruz plants violets.In the land of Winter, wide expanses of white snow and craggy mountains rise against backdrops of pale pink, blue, and gray while in the land of Spring, a profusion of green leaves and intricate flowers climb across the pages. Illustrated with Nooshin Safakhoo’s precisely inked lines and enchanting colors, this tale of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, rejoices in each pale wintersweet flower, icy gust of snow, and fresh tulip blossom alike.

John The Skeleton

“From award-winning author Triinu Laan comes the heartwarming story of a beloved skeleton and all the lives he touches. Everyone deserves a quiet, restful retirement. But for John, a newly retired classroom skeleton, life is just beginning. When John is adopted by Grams and Gramps and leaves the classroom to live on their farm, every day is an exciting new adventure: John rides in the car for the first time, makes a snow angel, scares away crooks, and becomes a source of comfort for Grams, Gramps, and their grandkids. With delightful illustrations and a charming cast of characters, John the Skeleton is a quirky, touching, and unforgettable book. Triinu Laan thoughtfully weaves aging and death into the fabric of life, crafting a tender portrait of what it means to care for one another, grow old together, and appreciate the little things”–

Noodles On A Bicycle

A vibrant historical picture book about Tokyo’s bicycle food deliverers, or demae, who balanced towering trays of steaming hot noodles on their shoulders while navigating crowded city streets. When the deliverymen set off in the morning, the children wait for the flicker of pedal and wheel. It’s the demae– delivery men– setting off to deliver steaming trays of noodles to hungry customers all over the city. They are acrobats: whizzing past other bicycles, soaring around curves, avoiding the black smoke of motorcycles. When the children see them, they want to be them. And so they practice with bowls of wobbling water stacked on trays. The day passes, and, finally, exhausted, the demae return home, to their families, and, yes, to steaming bowls of noodles.This beautifully crafted, visually exciting story by a powerhouse author and illustrator team is sure to be adored by food lovers, young and old.

Canto Contigo: A Novel

When a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group’s lead vocalist spot―what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face.In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional; and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met.Now eight months later, Rafie’s ready for one final win. What he didn’t plan for is his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life―his beloved abuelo. Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist, Rey Chavez―the boy Rafie made out with―who now stands between him winning and being the great Mariachi Rafie’s abuelo always believed him to be. Despite their newfound rivalry for center stage, Rafie can’t squash his feelings for Rey. Now he must decide between the people he’s known his entire life or the one just starting to get to know the real him.Canto Contigo is a love letter to Mexican culture, family and legacy, the people who shape us, and allowing ourselves to forge our own path. At its heart, this is one of the most glorious rivals-to-lovers romance about finding the one who challenges you in the most extraordinary ways.

The Yellow Handkerchief (El Pañuelo Amarillo)

My abuela wears an old yellow handkerchief that her grandmother gave to her. I don’t like the yellow handkerchief. When a young girl feels ashamed of her family for being different and subconsciously blames her abuela, she gradually grows to not only accept but also love the yellow handkerchief that represents a language and culture that once brought embarrassment.

Everything We Never Had

Watsonville, 1930. Francisco Maghabol barely ekes out a living in the fields of California. As he spends what little money he earns at dance halls and faces increasing violence from white men in town, Francisco wonders if he should’ve never left the Philippines. Stockton, 1965. Between school days full of prejudice from white students and teachers and night shifts working at his aunt’s restaurant, Emil refuses to follow in the footsteps of his labor organizer father, Francisco. He’s going to make it in this country no matter what or who he has to leave behind. Denver, 1983. Chris is determined to prove that his overbearing father, Emil, can’t control him. However, when a missed assignment on ancestral history sends Chris off the football team and into the library, he discovers a desire to know more about Filipino history even if his father dismisses his interest as unamerican and unimportant. Philadelphia, 2020. Enzo struggles to keep his anxiety in check as a global pandemic breaks out and his abrasive grandfather moves in. While tensions are high between his dad and his lolo, Enzo’s daily walks with Lolo Emil have him wondering if maybe he can help bridge their decades long rift.