Author: Book Importer

Book Importer

My Name is Celia/Me Llamo Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/La Vida de Celia Cruz

An exuberant picture-book biography of the Cuban-born salsa singer. From its rhythmic opening, the first-person narrative dances readers through Cruz’s youth in Havana, a childhood bounded by scents of nature and home, the sweet taste of sugar, and the sound of music. A singer from an early age, Cruz sang so continually that one of her teachers finally urged her to share her voice with the world. Thus encouraged, she entered competitions, undeterred when her racial heritage prevented her from competing – undeterred, even, when the advent of Castro’s communist regime forced her to leave Cuba as a refugee. Positive even in exile, Cruz made New York City her own and took Miami by storm. The salsa-influenced prose presented in English and in Spanish is followed by a straightforward vita of the singer, noting her death in July 2003. Lopez’s distinguished, luminous acrylic paintings are alive with motion, lush with brilliantly layered colors, and informed with verve and symbolism. This is a brilliant introduction to a significant woman and her music. The only enhancement required is the music itself.

A Good Long Way

“Stop it. The two of you, stop it!” Roelito howls at his father and older brother as their heated argument turns into a shoving match. Beto has again come home way past curfew, smelling like a cantina.When Beto Sr. tells his son that he either needs to follow the rules or leave, the boyza senior in high schoolzdecides to leave, right then, in the middle of the night. Once he has walked away, though, he realizes he has nowhere to go. Maybe his best friend Jessy can help.The story of Betozs decision to run away and drop out of school is told from shifting perspectives in which the conflicted lives of Roel, Beto, and Jessy are revealed in short scenes that reflect teen-age life along the Texas-Mexico border. Each one has a good long way to go in growing up. Roel fights the teachersz assumptions that hezs like Beto. Unlike his brother, Roel actually enjoys school. Jessy is smart too, but most of her teachers canzt see beyond her tough-girl façade. Her parents are so busy fighting with each other that they donzt notice her, even if shezs packing a suitcase to leave. And Beto z somewhere along the way he quit caring about school. And his teachers have noticed and given up too.René Saldana, Jr. once again writes a fast-paced, thought-provoking novel that will engage young adults in questions about their own lives and responsibilities to family, friends, and most of all, to themselves.

Beautiful Signs/Ayat Jamilah

Drawing from not only the Qur’an and the traditions of Islamic spirituality, but also from mystical verse and folk tales, this collection of stories gathers traditional stories from the farthest reaches of the Muslim world. Includes explanatory notes. Illustrations.

The Carpet Boy’s Gift

Yearning for freedom and schooling for himself and the other children who toil in a carpet factory in Pakistan to repay loans from the factory owner to their parents, Nadeem is inspired by a former carpet boy named Iqbal Masih to lead the way.

This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Apricots Tomorrow

To understand a people, acquaint yourself with their proverbs’ runs an Arab adage, and here are the books that do just that. The popular Apricots Tomorrow, a selection of sayings from the Gulf region, is joined by sister titles The Son of a Duck is a Floater and Unload your own Donkey which draws on sayings from the Maghreb and Levant. Paralleling age-old Arabic sayings with English equivalents, the proverbs highlight the uncanny similarity of inherited wisdom in both East and West.

This book has been featured in our Middle East and South Asia Arabic Language and Culture Kit.

Sami and the Time of the Troubles

A ten-year-old Lebanese boy balances his life in a war-torn city.

This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.