Seven Fathers

In the midst of a fearsome blizzard, a weary traveler seeks refuge from the cold “Good evening, Father, I’m so glad I found you. Would you, by any chance, have a room where I could spend the night?” “Oh,” said the old man. “I’m not the father of the house, You’ll have to ask my father. He’s around back, in the kitchen.” And so the travler is sent on a journey within his journey, arriving at a surprising destination.

Meat Eating Vegetarian

Tasneem is so happy at her new school and with her new friends, Lisa and Yvonne. Suddenly her friends start avoiding her and calling her names. What could possibly have happened and what has it to do with vegetarian dinners and wearing a scarf?

How Tía Lola Saved the Summer

Miguel Guzman isn’t exactly looking forward to the summer now that his mother has agreed to let the Sword family—a father, his three daughters, and their dog—live with them while they decide whether or not to move to Vermont. Little does Miguel know his aunt has something up her sleeve that just may make this the best summer ever. With her usual flair for creativity and fun, Tía Lola decides to start a summer camp for Miguel, his little sister, and the three Sword girls, complete with magical swords, nighttime treasure hunts, campfires, barbecues, and an end-of-summer surprise! The warm and funny third book in the Tía Lola Stories is sure to delight young readers and leave them looking forward to their own summer fun!

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 5, Issue 3.

I Kick The Ball / Pateo El Balon

Young Tonito thinks and dreams of soccer all the time, even as he does homework, eats dinner, and spends time with his family.

Pepita and the Bully / Pepita Y La Peleonera

After a mean-spirited girl bullies her for three days in a row, Pepita no longer wants to go to her new school.

 

Books For Children of the World

Presents the life of the founder of the International Youth Library in Munich, Jella Lepman, describing how she was sent by the United States Army to Germany in 1945 to assist German children and decided to build a children’s library.

Hummingbirds: Fact and Folklore from the Americas

Hummingbirds have fascinated people since ancient times and have inspired native peoples to weave them into folklore. Jeanette larson and Adrienne Yorinks combine hummingbird facts with retellings of hummingbird tales from various peoples of the Americas to give readers an informative and cultural look at these amazing birds. Each folklore story offers a cultural explanation for a specific characteristic of these unique birds.

Eight Days

In Edwidge’s story, Junior is trapped under his pancaked house for 8 whole days. After he is saved, people ask him repeatedly: “What did you do all this time? Were you scared? Did you cry?””I played,” he answers. And so with each page, we see how he played in his mind every day he was trapped–how he played marbles with his friends, won the best solo part in the choir, biked through St. Marc with his little sister, and ate the sweetest mango.Hope, love, and warmth dance across each page, reminding us that sometimes it is the simplest beauties that help us find our strength.Niki, the real boy whom this story is loosely based on, was pulled from the rubble after being trapped for 8 days. He was rescued by New York Task Force 1, a search-and-rescue team made up of New York City police- and firemen. They had to cut through three slabs of concrete and countless other pieces of debris before his mother could crawl in to coax Niki and his sister out. When he finally made it out of the wreckage, Niki did so with a beaming smile and wide-open arms–the image of hope.** The photograph taken of Niki by Mathew McDermott as they pulled him from the wreckage is being called “the iconic image” of this disaster. We are embracing its visibililty by using an illustration echoing the photograph for the cover of the book and printing the photograph in the back matter.** In addition, this project is charity driven. Both Edwidge and Alix are donating a portion of their advances to Haitian aid organizations. Scholastic and their vendors are contributing portions of their costs for the production of this book.

Capturing Joy

Maud Lewis was born into a loving Nova Scotia family who accepted her physical limitations. When her parents died and she was forced to find her own way in the world, she married and set up a modest household in a small cabin. Despite the hardships she faced, she was able to find joy in her life, a joy that she expressed through her art. She painted canvases of animals, children, and her surroundings. Her art spilled over into everything from dust pans to the walls of her house. Maud Lewis died in 1970, but her wonderful, life-affirming art lives on and is treasured by people who understand and appreciate folk art all over the world.