A Daisy Is a Daisy Is a Daisy (Except When It’s a Girl’s Name)

Many girls are named after flowers (or even forms of the word “flower,” such as Flora). Girls’ names in different languages accompany her imaginative illustrations of flowers, so that the reader discovers, for example, that Gul means rose in Turkish, but that it is Rosa in Spanish and Rodanthe in Greek. Flowers named in the book include rose, heather, buttercup, sunflower, lily of the valley, daisy, bluebell, snowdrop, hyacinth, myrtle, camomile, cherry blossom, jasmine, violet, tulip, poppy. This can be used in the classroom to talk about culture, language and botany.

Benedict

Benedict, also known as Benny, is tired of living in such a hot place. And so he cleverly springs on his coiled tail from one habitat to another. He visits the North Pole, the desert, the jungle and finally the ocean in search of perfection.

Olympians Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory

The story of Hera, Queen of the Gods, and the heroes who won her favor. Volume 3 of Olympians, Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory, introduces readers to the Queen of the Gods and Goddesses in the Pantheon. This volume tells the tales of the many heroes who sought and won Hera’s patronage, most notably Hercules. In Olympians, O’Connor draws from primary documents to reconstruct and retell classic Greek myths. But these stories aren’t sedate, scholarly works. They’re action-packed, fast-paced, high-drama adventures with monsters, romance, and not a few huge explosions. O’Connor’s vibrant, kinetic art brings ancient tales to undeniable life, in a perfect fusion of super-hero aesthetics and ancient Greek mythology.

Hound and Hare

Hounds and hares are like cats and mice. At least, that’s the way it is in Great Bone, a little village beside the river. Harley Hare and Hugo Hound see each other at school every day, and they’re interested in the same things. But they never talk to each other because the Hare and Hound families can’t stand one another. When the annual Big Race takes place on the meadow, Harley and Hugo find themselves racing neck to neck, until a terrible thunderstorm breaks out. Hugo is terrified of the storm and the lightning. Harley panics when they discover they are lost. It turns out that between them, they know just what to do. And, working together, they not only save themselves, but become heroes of the day as well.

I Will Make Miracles

Their little boy wants to make miracles: He would cure the sick, feed the hungry, jail the bad guys, and fill the world up with people who care and share. The story ends with a twist, bringing a very ambitious group of wishes back down to earth.

My Tattooed Dad

A young boy describes what life is like when his dad comes home — how he fries up chicken samosas for dinner, how he makes jokes and fools around, and how he carries him off to bed when he is sleepy. His dad also tells wonderful stories of his adventures in far-off lands, often inspired by his many, many exotic tattoos. His letters to his son are also full of great stories about the past — what the first date with his mother was like (it included a visit to a fortune teller and a bizarre circus) and about how the boy’s life was saved twice by this very same dad — once when he was stolen from his baby basket by a dog and once when he flew out the car window. But as his mother says, his dad has ants in his pants, which means he’s often not around.Still, life rolls along with one fantastical tale after another, in good times and bad. And this is this extraordinary father’s gift to his child — the life of the imagination — which is always with him, even when his father is not.The illustrations have a nostalgic, underground graphic-novel style feel to them that perfectly complements the very original text.

Orani: My Father’s Village

As a child, Claire Nivola loved summers in Orani, the village where her father grew up and where her many aunts, uncles, and 50 cousins still lived. She ran freely through the town’s cobbled streets with packs of cousins, who quizzed her about America while she took in all the simple joys and pleasures of daily life in a village where surprises met them at every turn.