The House Before Falling into the Sea

Every day, more and more people fleeing war in the north show up at Kyung Tak and her family’s house on the southeastern shore of Korea. With nowhere else to go, the Taks’ home is these migrants’ last chance of refuge “before falling into the sea,” and the household quickly becomes crowded, hot, and noisy. Then war sirens cry out over Kyung’s city too, and her family and their guests take shelter underground. When the sirens stop, Kyung is upset—she wishes everything could go back to the way it was before: before the sirens, before strangers started coming into their home. But after an important talk with her parents, her new friend Sunhee, and Sunhee’s father, Kyung realizes something important: We’re stronger when we have each other, and the kindness we show one another in the darkest of times is a gift we’ll never regret.

The House Before Falling into the Sea is the WOW Recommends Book of the Month for September 2024.

The Heart Never Forgets

A young girl participates in a West African masquerade with a special plan to honor her grandfather who has passed away.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

Snowglobe

Given the opportunity to enter Snowglobe, the last place on Earth that’s warm, where its residents, in exchange for fame, fortune and safety, broadcast their lives 24/7 to the less fortunate outside, Chobahm discovers reality is a lie–and the truth is out of reach.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

The Spice Box

Because his grandmother is arriving from India, Rishi wants to cook curry alongside his dad using the flavors from his family’s special spice box, but when he drops the box that holds the family’s heart and history, he draws courage and meaning from their treasured past to set things right.

Mango Memories

Every summer, the branches of a little girl’s favorite tree droops heavy with mangoes. And this year, she is finally old enough to help her family harvest them. Her brother shares a memory about his first time mango picking: his father holding him steady as he reached high above for the fruit. But when the girl climbs the tree, she becomes too dizzy. Then her grandma shares a mango memory: learning, many years ago, to toss a stone that knocked the fruit from the branches. But when the girl throws her stone, she keeps missing. How can this little heroine create her own mango memory if she can’t even pick a mango?

As The Seas Rise: Nicole Hernández Hammer And The Fight For Climate Justice

A picturebook biography of environmental scientist and activist Nicole Hernandez Hammer, who was recognized by former First Lady Michelle Obama at the 2015 State of the Union address for her efforts to educate people about climate change and its disproportionate impact on communities of color.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

Daughter Of the Light-Footed People: The Story Of Indigenous Marathon Champion Lorena Ramírez

From the copper canyons of Mexico her swift footsteps echo. Clip clap, clip clap. Experience a 60-mile run with Indigenous athlete Lorena Ramirez, who captured the world’s attention when she won an ultramarathon in Mexico wearing a skirt and rubber sandals — the traditional clothes of the Rarámuri, the light-footed people.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

Where the Dark Stands Still

When attempting to rid herself of magic, 17-year-old Liska is captured by the demon warden of the spirit wood who offers her one year of servitude in exchange for any wish, but she soon discovers the sinister truth at the heart of their deal.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

The Kingdom Over The Sea

When twelve-year-old Yara finds a strange set of instructions left behind by her deceased mother, she starts on a journey to discover the truth about her mother’s past and her true identity.

The Kingdom Over the Sea is the WOW Recommends Book of the Month for January 2024.

The Hare-Shaped Hole

Hertle and Bertle were always a pair, though one was a turtle and one was a hare.

They were utterly buddies, and best friends forever, and whenever you looked, you would find them together… until quite unexpectedly… the end came. When Hertle disappears for good, Bertle can only see a Hertle-shaped hole where his friend should be. He pleads with it, get angry with it, but the hole still won’t bring his Hertle back. It seems like hope is lost… until Gerda the kindly bear finds him.

She explains that he must fill the hole with his memories of Hertle. And slowly… Bertle begins to feel a little bit better.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.