The Whole Sky Full of Stars

Barry can punch anyone hard enough to make them see a whole sky full of stars, though that’s not really his style. Barry and Alby have been friends since the first grade. They’ve always protected one another. When Barry’s pop dies, times are tough and the only thing Barry has of value is his dad’s 1964 Ford Galaxie. Meanwhile Alby’s got himself into big trouble with a cardshark. So he hatches a plan to make money. To help out Barry, but also to help himself. The problem is, Barry could get hurt, and it just might cost Alby their friendship. How much can you ask of a friend?

Mama Rocks, Papa Sings

A little Haitian girl describes how her parents’ house fills up with babies as relatives drop off their children on their way to work.

Hue Boy

Everybody talks about little Hue Boy’s size. He gets teased by his friends at school, his mother worries day and night, and his grandma sews up clothes for him to grow into. Buy he does not change at all, even though just about everyone in the village offers advice. Yet in time Hue Boy grows to understand what it really means to stand tall, no matter what his height.

Darkfright

Her island neighbors call her “Darkfright” because she is so afraid of the night. As darkness comes on, Darkfright does anything in her power to keep it away–she turns on all the lights and bustles around the house as if it were day. Then one night a fallen star crashed through her door, a star that needs care and mending, and ultimately to be replaced in the night sky. The broken star helped her see things differently.

Cocoa Ice

A girl in Santo Domingo tells how cocoa is harvested during the late 1800s while at the same time her counterpart in Maine tells about the harvesting of ice.

Hurricane!

One moment the sun is shining on the slopes of El Yunque, the largest mountain in eastern Puerto Rico. The next, everything has changed. The sky has turned deep purple, and you feel as if the air has been sucked from your lungs. That can mean only one thing: A hurricane is coming!