The Great Snake: Stories From The Amazon

As the Rio Afuá ferry wends its way along the Amazon, Sean Taylor takes in not only the sights and sounds of this extraordinary landscape but also the stories of the people he meets. From sly jaguars and the slowest of sloths to spine-tingling giant serpents and white-suited strangers, his retellings teem with legendary beings, vivid color, earthy comedy, and the mysteries of the rainforest. Together, with Fernando Vilela’s dramatic, color-saturated illustrations, they reveal the Amazon peoples’ beliefs and way of life. Notes and a glossary provide additional information about the region.

Garmann’s Summer

This picturebook delves into the mind of a young boy who is afraid of starting school. Summer is nearly over. The old aunts have come to visit, and autumn is in the air. Everything is ready for Garmann’s first day of school, but he is till nervous. And he can’t believe that he hasn’t lost a single tooth yet, despite his best efforts! Stian Hole has created a memorable and endearing character in Garmann, whose musings about fear and courage, life and death, beginnings and endings, help him understand that everyone is scared of something. Published in ten languages, Garmann’s Summer was the recipient of the 2007 BolognaRagazzi Award, one of the most prestigious international prizes for excellence in children’s book publishing, awarded each year in conjunction with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights In Pictures

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. Compiled after the horrors of World War II, its purpose was to state and protect the rights of all people. This beautiful commemorative edition celebrates each declaration with an illustration by an internationally renowned artist or illustrator, including Jackie Morris, Satoshi Kitamura, Catherine Anholt and Laurence Anholt, Marie-Louise Gay, Jessica Souhami, Peter Sis, Mick Manning and Brita Granström, Hong Song-Dam, and many others. A testament to freedom and the human spirit, it is a thoughtful gift for children and adults alike. With a foreword by John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Doctor Who’s David Tennant, We Are All Born Free is published in association with Amnesty International, and all royalties will be donated to the organization.

How To Heal A Broken Wing

In a spare urban fable, Bob Graham brings us one small boy, one loving family, and one miraculous story of hope and healing.”No one saw the bird fall.”In a city full of hurried people, only young Will notices the bird lying hurt on the ground. With the help of his sympathetic mother, he gently wraps the injured bird and takes it home. In classic Bob Graham style, the beauty is in the details: the careful ministrations with an eyedropper, the bedroom filled with animal memorabilia, the saving of the single feather as a good-luck charm for the bird’s return to the sky. Wistful and uplifting, here is a tale of possibility – and of the souls who never doubt its power.

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.

My Two Grannies

An appealing story about a mixed-race family learning to accept different traditions and customs. Alvina has two grannies: Grannie Vero from Trinidad and Grannie Rose from England. When Alvina’s parents go on vacation, both grannies arrive to look after Alvina. But the two grannies have two very different ideas about what to eat, what to play, even what stories to tell. The grannies get angrier and angrier with each other, but Alvina devises a plan so that each granny can have her own way — or so she hopes! This sweet, funny story about tolerance and understanding reminds children that no matter how great the differences may seem, there’s always room for common ground.

Gervelie’s Journey

When Gervelie was born in 1995 in the Republic of Congo, her mother and father had a nice house in a suburb of Brazzaville. When fighting broke out two years later, her father’s political connections put the family in grave danger and they were forced to flee. Gervelie’s Journey follows the family from Congo to the Ivory Coast, and then to Ghana, across Europe, and finally to England. Told in Gervelie’s own voice and using her own photographs, it depicts with grace and sensitivity their long journey, their life in a new country, and their hopes for the future.

Days Of Jubilee (Days Of Jubilee)

Uses slave narratives, letters, diaries, military orders, and other documents to chronicle the various stages leading to the emancipation of slaves in the United States.

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales Of The Supernatural: (Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Author Award, Ala Notable Children’s Book) (Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner)

A collection of ghost stories with African American themes, designed to be told during the Dark Thirty–the half hour before sunset–when ghosts seem all too believable. With an extraordinary gift for suspense, McKissack brings us ten original spine-tingling tales inspired by African-American history and the mystery of that eerie half-hour before nightfall–the dark thirty. “The atmosphere of each selection is skillfully developed and sustained to the very end. Pinkney’s stark scratchboard illustrations evoke an eerie mood, which heightens the suspense of each tale. This is a stellar collection for both public and school libraries looking for absorbing books to hook young readers. Storytellers will also find it a goldmine.”

The Trumpeter Of Krakow

A Polish family in the Middle Ages guards a great secret treasure and a boy’s memory of an earlier trumpeter of Krakow makes it possible for him to save his father.