The Kampung Boy

Lat recounts the life of Mat, a Muslim boy growing up in rural Malaysia in the 1950s: his adventures and mischief-making, fishing trips, religious study, and work on his family’s rubber plantation. Meanwhile, the traditional way of life in his village (or kampung>) is steadily disappearing, with tin mines and factory jobs gradually replacing family farms and rubber small-holders. When Mat leaves for boarding school, he can only hope that his familiar kampung will still be there when he returns.

What Are You Doing?

It’s the first day of school, but before he goes Chepito runs outside to play. He comes across all kinds of people in his neighborhood — a man reading a newspaper, a young girl enjoying a comic, a couple of tourists consulting a guidebook, an archeologist studying hieroglyphics. “Why, why, why?” he sings, and they each have an answer for him. Later that day Chepito discovers for himself that reading is catching, and he even brings home a book to “read” to his younger sister.

Good Night, World

Good night sun and other stars, good night Saturn, Venus, Mars. Elsewhere in the world it’s light, it’s morning there, but here it’s night. As the sun sets from east to west, this book takes children on a magical round-the-world journey to bid good night to the world’s natural wonders, from plants and animals to mountains, oceans, and wide desert plains.

A Little Bitty Man: And Other Poems for the Very Young

Translated from the original works of beloved Danish poet Halfdan Rasmussen, this delightful collection of poems for young children will enthrall little ones with captivating rhyme, rhythm, humor, and charm.

 

Goha: The Wise Fool

A collection of fourteen tales about the folk hero Nasreddin Hoca, also known as Goha, a man with a reputation for being able to answer difficult questions in a clever way.

The Stone: A Persian Legend of the Magi

A retelling of the story told to Marco Polo about the Magi of Saveh, three wise men from a town in Persia, who followed a strange star and find a special child.

This Baby

Kate Banks’s lyrical poetry pairs with Gabi Swiatkowska’s playful dreamlike images to create this must-have book for all children who are about to be new siblings. While Mama’s busy knitting a wardrobe for her unborn baby, big sister is preparing in her own way: imagining, asking, wondering what this baby will like. As the seasons pass, this baby grows, too–and soon big sister will have the answers to all of her questions.