Author: wowstudent

wowstudent

Butterfly Yellow

The day after Hằng arrives in Texas from a refugee camp, she goes in search of her younger brother who was mistakenly taken from her arms to a plane during the fall of Saigon six years earlier. She has carried the heavy guilt of his separation ever since. When she finally finds him, her brother wants nothing to do with her, insisting he does not remember Vietnam. Hằng takes a job on a nearby ranch, determined to find a way into her brother’s memories and life. LeeRoy, an aspiring cowboy, becomes entangled in Hằng’s search for redemption and in the gradual revelation of her deep and painful secret.

Butterfly Yellow is a WOW Recommends: Book of the Month for October 2020.

Featured in WOW Review Volume XIII, Issue 2.

Dreamland Burning


Rowan Chase is a biracial black 17-year-old from a wealthy family whose life changes when the skeleton of a murdered man is discovered underneath the home that her family has owned for nearly a century. The mystery of the dead man connects Rowan to William Tillman, born to a white father and an Osage Indian mother and 17 years old in 1921. Dreamland Burning juxtaposes Rowan and Will’s narratives, revealing parallels between the past with the Tulsa Race Riots and the present with modern day racism.

Dreamland Burning is a WOW Recommends: Book of the Month for May 2017.

Ann’s Seed

This is the story of three little monks, each given a very old lotus seed to care for. The first one planted his seed in winter, the second planted his seed in a pot of good soil and kept it in his house, the third one waited for warm weather and planted his seed near a pond. Only Ann’s seed grows because he was patient and followed the laws of nature. A “character formation” book about waiting. Written in Mandarin.

Zaki’s Ramadan Fast

This story looks at a day in the life of a Muslim boy who is fasting for the first time. Though he is still not required to fast every day for the month of Ramadan, his family gives him their support to achieve his goal of fasting one day. Even with that support, Zaki quickly learns that it takes effort.

Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit

Sugar Comes From Arabic: A Beginner’s Guide to Arabic Letters and Words

This book presents clear directions for learning and writing Arabic letters, in large, bright red shapes with step-by-step instruction on how to draw each one. The Arabic letters are introduced in the order of the English alphabet, the script goes from right to left, and illustrations show how to connect the letters in a word. In addition, there are colorful illustrations and stories about products that have origins in the Arab World.

Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit

Party in Ramadan

Although too young to fast each day, Leena decides to fast on Fridays during Ramadan. When she receives an invitation to a party held on a Friday, she makes the decision to attend, but also decides not to break her fast, even though the food looks very tempting. This book shows the observance and meaning of Ramadan from the viewpoint of a Muslim child.

Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit

Lion, King, and Coin

Laos enjoys his life in ancient Turkey. His father and grandfather are blacksmiths, famous for melting gold into beautiful objects. Laos helps by working in his grandfather’s market stall, bartering their gold for food and livestock. But exchanging such different goods and quantities is complicated. What they need is something to represent the value of their goods, something durable and lightweight. After presenting this idea to the king, he comes to Laos’s family with a very important task: to create something that will make the market accessible to everyone. A story about the invention of currency in ancient Turkey around 600 BCE.

Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit

Hodhod’s Arabic Alphabet

Hodhod’s Arabic Alphabet is a fun and colorful book to teach Arabic ABCs as well as 28 animals to children. In this book you will find: 58 pages of artwork, colorful pages with the letters of the Arabic alphabet, and 28 unique animals that are colorful and cute. This book is a companion to the iOS application Hood’s Arabic Alphabet.

Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit

IQRA’ Arabic Reader Textbook Level 1

This book is designed as a beginning program for teaching Arabic as a second language. Included are lessons dealing with basic conversational Arabic, reading, vocabulary, linguistic structures, spelling, and diction. Dual-language: English and Arabic. There are several books in this series.

Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit

Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World

The Muslim world has often been a bridge between East and West, but many of Islam’s crucial innovations are hidden within the folds of history.

Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit