Follows young Mai and her mother’s perilous journey from Vietnam to America to find Papa–who left ahead of them to start a better life for their family.
Author: Book Importer
Buffalo Dreamer
When 12-year-old Summer visits her family on a reservation in Alberta, Canada, she begins experiencing vivid dreams of running away from a residential school like the one her grandfather attended as a child and learns about unmarked children’s graves, prompting her to seek answers about her community’s painful past.
This book is featured in Season 3, Episode 2 of the WOW Reads podcast.
This book is the WOW Recommends: Book of the Month for April 2025.
It’s Powwow Time!
Bineshii learns to dance at his first powwow.
The Rez Doctor
Young Ryan Fox gets good grades, but he’s not sure what he wants to be when he grows up. It isn’t until he meets a Blackfoot doctor during a school assembly that he starts to dream big. However, becoming a doctor isn’t easy. University takes Ryan away from his family and the Siksikaitsitapi community, and without their support, he begins to struggle. Faced with more stress than he’s ever experienced, he turns to partying. Distracted from his responsibilities, his grades start to slip. His bills pile up. Getting into med school feels impossible. And now his beloved uncle is in jail. Can Ryan regain his footing to walk the path he saw so clearly as a boy?
Behind My Doors: The Story Of The World’s Oldest Library
Come learn about the oldest operating library in existence that was originally founded by a Muslim woman in 859!Merhaba! Welcome! Meet Al-Qarawiyyin Library–the oldest library in the world. Do you want to see what magical treasures are behind its doors? You’ll find special reading rooms where young and old gathered to discuss, debate, and discover the world. And, most important, the collection of books that hold knowledge more valuable than any jewels! Open its doors, unlock its story, and discover an adventure that only a library can share. Told from the unique perspective of the library, award-winning author Hena Khan, along with luminous illustrations by Nabila Adani, bring to readers Behind My Doors, a charming ode to the magical wonders of each and every library.
The Partition Project
“When her grandmother comes off the airplane in Houston from Pakistan, Mahnoor knows that having Dadi move in is going to disrupt everything about her life. She doesn’t have time to be Dadi’s unofficial babysitter-her journalism teacher has announced that their big assignment will be to film a documentary, which feels more like storytelling than what Maha would call “journalism.” As Dadi starts to settle into life in Houston and Maha scrambles for a subject for her documentary, the two of them start talking. About Dadi’s childhood in northern India-and about the Partition that forced her to leave her home and relocate to the newly created Pakistan. As details of Dadi’s life are revealed, Dadi’s personal story feels a lot more like the breaking news that Maha loves so much. And before she knows it, she has the subject of her documentary”–
Wisdom Weavers
“Wisdom Weavers follows a day in the life of an Ojibwe child as they teach you 72 phrases and words. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations, each word and phrase is easy to learn. International speaker, author, and creator of Ojibwe Word of the Day, James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw, introduces young readers to the Ojibwe language using phrases that span throughout a day such as welcoming the morning, being grateful, and saying good night to the moon. Learn an ancient language and have fun doing it with Wisdom Weavers”–
Sugar In Milk
“A young immigrant girl joins her aunt and uncle in a new country that is unfamiliar to her. She struggles with loneliness, with a fierce longing for the culture and familiarity of home, until one day, her aunt takes her on a walk. As the duo strolls through their city park, the girl’s aunt begins to tell her an old myth, and a story within the story begins. A long time ago, a group of refugees arrived on a foreign shore. The local king met them, determined to refuse their request for refuge. But there was a language barrier, so the king filled a glass with milk and pointed to it as a way of saying that the land was full and couldn’t accommodate the strangers. Then, the leader of the refugees dissolved sugar in the glass of milk. His message was clear: Like sugar in milk, our presence in your country will sweeten your lives. The king embraced the refugee, welcoming him and his people. The folktale depicted in this book was a part of author Thrity Umrigar’s Zoroastrian upbringing as a Parsi child in India, but resonates for children of all backgrounds, especially those coming to a new homeland” –Amazon.com.
Flooded
In The Winter Woods
“In the winter woods Fox, Mouse, and Crow are hungry; Squirrel knows he has a stockpile of food, but he cannot remember where he stashed it–so he enlists the help of the others in the search”–