Ano Hi no Koto (The Things That Happened on That Day): Remember March 11, 2011 (2012), is a Japanese-English bilingual picture book. Through a boy’s perspective, the story invites readers to see the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that happened on March 11, 2011 in the northeastern region of Japan. The central theme of this story is loss of family, linking with the motifs of separation, social isolation, survival, and hope.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
A young motherless girl becomes friends with a teacher/writer who weaves the story of their friendship into her novel. A moving book about promises and the nature of stories.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
Eight-year-old Bernie is thrust into the terror, starvation and daily atrocities of World War II when the Japanese bomb and capture her native island of Guam. Live Bernie’s story as she and thousands of Guamanians are captured and placed in concentration camps for nearly three years.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
A boy named Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighborhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust and completely abandoned. What’s going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, that this might not be the hell he fears it to be, that there might be more than just this.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
‘A’ama Nui is the first book in a new architectural book series for children published by Mo’o Studios. ‘A’ama Nui is the tale of a legendary crab who protects the ponds of Lalakea. However, there is more to this tale…alongside the story of ‘A’ama Nui, the book’s author (WCIT Architecture) describes how the tale inspires the architectural design of an actual home – one that will reside along the shores of Lalakea, watching over it, like the legend of ‘A’ama Nui.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
17 year old, Tara McClusky’s life is hard. She shares the care of her paralysed father with her domineering, difficult mother, forced to cut down on her hours at school to help support the family with a part-time rest home job. She’s very much alone, still grieving the loss of her older sister Van, who died five years before. Her only source of consolation is her obsession with art and painting in particular. Most especially she is enamoured with Vincent Van Gogh: she has read all his letters and finds many parallels between the tragic story of his life and her own. Luckily she meets the intelligent, kindly Professor Max Stockhamer (a Jewish refugee and philosopher) and his grandson Johannes, and their support is crucial to her ability to survive this turbulent time. The book tackles the difficult topic of suicide fearlessly, with a novel that’s not afraid to go to the dark places but which resolves its story beautifully.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
Being noticed is what all the members of the Shrimpton family lived for – all except, that is, for Maude. She prefers to blend into the background rather than stand out in a crowd.
Jazzy the lemur and Mama JoJo love to play hide-and-seek in the jungle. As little readers help search for Jazzy – lured by die-cut windows showing glimpses of what’s to come-they also explore a bold new world full of vivid tropical colors and lively jungle creatures. Featuring an all-new format, this innovative, thirty-two-page picture book boasts three sections – each with shaped, die-cut pages – and offers a double gatefold at the end to encompass all the animals of the jungle. Behind a final flap, Mama JoJo says to Jazzy, “Found you, Baby Jazzy,” and Jazzy answers back, “I love you, Mama JoJo.” Bravo to Lucy Cousins!
Explores the mysterious monument of Stonehenge and reveals some of its secrets and history.
Studying dinosaurs is dangerous work. After all, their sharp teeth and monstrously large appetites would make easy work of anyone within jaw’s reach.
But our fearless investigator remains undaunted. Alan Snow, known for his previous explorations into the lives of both Santa Claus and dogs, has turned his clever attention to these ancient reptiles. And thanks to his inside look at what makes dinosaurs tick, you’ll get the answers to all your prehistoric questions: What color were the dinosaurs? Where did they all go? And just how sharp were their teeth?