Material appropriate for intermediate age groups
Razia dreams of getting an education, but in her small village in Afghanistan, girls haven’t been allowed to attend school for many years. When a new girls’ school opens in the village, a determined Razia must convince her father and oldest brother that educating her would be best for her, their family and their community.
Eight tales about heroes and sacrifice, love and family — all rooted in a land that is both challenging and abundant. Some of the stories strike a familiar chord. There is the tiny child, no bigger than a thumb, who outwits a giant; the poor farmer who cannot feed his children and leaves them abandoned in the forest; the princess who breaks an enchantment and releases a prince. Yet the tales are filled with the unexpected, too, as humans, monsters and the natural world transform and intersect.
A princess who is pursued by two kings from neighboring kingdoms sacrifices herself to keep peace in the land, and is transformed into a sea creature that will provide nourishment for all her people. A crying baby, ignored by his mother, turns into a bird, teaching villagers a valuable lesson. A jealous concubine poisons the king’s son so her own child can inherit the kingdom, only to find her son going off to search for his half-brother, never to return. A man traps the sun to stop it from setting, so that his family and fellow villagers will have enough time to gather food.
The stories are exceptionally relevant today, as they draw our attention to the value of the odd and the small, the preciousness of children and our natural resources, the need to not take our food for granted.
Gathered from oral sources and old collections written in Dutch and indigenous languages, these folktales are simply and evocatively told, accompanied by startling and vibrant images by Indonesian artist Hardiyono.
Azzi and her parents are in danger. They have to leave their home and escape to another country on a frightening journey by car and boat. In the new country they must learn to speak a new language, find a new home and Azzi must start a new school. With a kind helper at the school, Azzi begins to learn English and understand that she is not the only one who has had to flee her home. She makes a new friend, and with courage and resourcefulness, begins to adapt to her new life. But Grandma has been left behind and Azzi misses her more than anything. Will Azzi ever see her grandma again? Drawing on her own experience of working among refugee families, renowned author and illustrator Sarah Garland tells, with tenderness and humour, an exciting adventure story to be enjoyed by readers of all ages.Endorsed by Amnesty International.
A collection of sketches, drafts, and scanned ephemera from the artist who created The Arrival (2007) and Tales from Outer Suburbia (2009).
Twelve-year-old Mira comes from a chaotic, artistic, and outspoken family in which it’s not always easy to be heard. As her beloved Nana Josie’s health declines, Mira begins to discover the secrets of those around her and also starts to keep some of her own. She is drawn to mysterious Jide, a boy who is clearly hiding a troubled past. As Mira is experiencing grief for the first time, she is also discovering the wondrous and often mystical world around her.
This book is originally published in the UK as Artichoke Hearts.
Two travelers discover the secrets of sleep from the Sandman himself. Includes a book-within-a-book with helpful hints for both sleepyheads and insomniacs.
When sailors aboard a Dutch ship in 1663 capture a creature, half man and half fish, the superstitious crewmen want to kill it, except for a young cabin boy who believes that the creature deserves to live.
It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry — and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format — a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by up-and-coming artist K. G. Campbell.
Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.
It is the summer of 1869, and trains, crews, and family are traveling together, riding America’s brand-new transcontinental railroad. These pages come alive with the details of the trip and the sounds, speed, and strength of the mighty locomotives; the work that keeps them moving; and the thrill of travel from plains to mountain to ocean.
Come hear the hiss of the steam, feel the heat of the engine, watch the landscape race by. Come ride the rails, come cross the young country!