The Hopi

Provides a brief description of the territorial homeland of the Hopi people. The chapters describe society, homes, food, clothing, crafts, family, children, myths, war, and contact with Europeans. Readers meet Yokiuma, whose personal mission was to preserve the Hopi culture.

The Navajo

Presents a brief introduction to the Navajo Indians including information on their society, homes, food, clothing, crafts, and life today.

His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg

An amazing and inspirational World War II story about how one man saved the lives of many.

Son of a Gun

Eight-year-old Liberian Lucky, his ten-year-old sister Nopi, and their schoolmates are kidnapped and forced to become child soldiers, but even after they escape along with some other children and are reunited with their parents, their lives will never be the same. Includes chapter about Liberia.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 5, Issue 2

War Brothers

Jacob, the son of a wealthy landowner, attends a Catholic school and expects to go to university. A good boy, he believes that his father and God will keep him safe from harm.

Oteka lost his parents to AIDS and lives in one of the many displacement camps that circle the city of Gulu. Alone in the world, upon the advice of a medicine man, he sets out for an unknown future.

Jacob and Oteka’s lives become entwined as they find themselves in the clutches of the Lord’s Resistance Army, forced to obey the strange and brutal rules of Joseph Kony’s henchmen. Marching endlessly through rough terrain with little food or water, the boys form a plan to make their escape. Will hope, friendship, courage, and resilience be enough to save them?

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 5, Issue 2

Taking Flight

When his mother tries to commit suicide, 15-year old Declan Kelly is forced to move from a Belfast housing estate to the glamorous home of his aunt Colette and cousin Vicky. Declan is a troubled young man and terrible student who responds to his problems with violence. Vicky is a spoiled young woman, hard-working student and accomplished rider who loves horses. She is having trouble dealing with her parents divorce, and her father’s new family.

Aya

The original volume of Aya debuted to much critical acclaim, receiving a Quill Award nomination and praise for its accessibility and for the rare portrait of a warm and vibrant Africa it presented. This continuation of the story returns to Africa’s Ivory Coast in the late 1970s, where life in Yop City is as dramatic as ever. The original cast of characters is back in full force, with a case of questionable paternity fanning the flames of activity in the community. The new mother Adjoua has her friends to help with the baby, perhaps employing Aya a bit too frequently, while a new romance leaves Bintou with little time for her friends, let alone their responsibilities. The young women aren’t the only residents of Yopougon involved in the excitement, however; Aya’s father is caught in the midst of his own trysts and his employer’s declining Solibra beer sales, and Adjoua’s brother finds his share of the city’s nightlife.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 5, Issue 2

The Table That Ran Away to the Woods

The Table That Ran Away to the Woods tells the story of a writing desk that one day “grabbed two pairs of shoes / ran downstairs, and took flight,” escaping into the countryside with its owners in barefoot pursuit. This is the first time the tale—first published in a Polish newspaper in 1940 and re-created in this exquisite collaged version in 1963—has been made available to an English-speaking audience.