Before he was the first Black president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) was a boy with a traditional Thembu upbringing. He went on to study law and become involved with African nationalist politics. The government had established an apartheid (a system of segregation that privileged white people), and Mandela worked to overthrow this system. He was arrested, accused of treason, and thrown in jail. When he was released, Mandela negotiated an end to the apartheid and was elected president. Though he was a controversial figure at the time, he is now seen as an iconic advocate for democracy and social justice. Inspiring and informational, Nelson Mandela tells the story of one of the greatest politicians and revolutionaries. It includes a timeline, glossary, and index.
Intermediate (ages 9-14)
Material appropriate for intermediate age groups
The Curse Of The Mummy: Uncovering Tutankhamun’s Tomb
During the reign of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun ruled and died tragically young. In order to send him on his way into the afterlife, his tomb was filled with every treasure he would need after death. And then, it was lost to time, buried in the sands of the Valley of the Kings.
His tomb was also said to be cursed.
Centuries later, as Egypt-mania gripped Europe, two Brits — a rich earl with a habit for gambling and a disreputable, determined archeologist — worked for years to rediscover and open Tutankhamun’s tomb. But once it was uncovered, would ancient powers take their revenge for disturbing and even looting the pharaoh’s resting place? What else could explain the mysterious illnesses, accidents, and deaths that began once it was found?
The Prince Of The Skies
A gripping narrative of friendship and exploration, and an homage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, an unforgettable writer who touched the lives of millions of readers, and who was able to see the world through the eyes of a child. In the 1920s, long before he wrote The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was an accomplished pilot. Along with Jean Mermoz and Henri Guillaumet, he was chosen to pioneer new mail routes across the globe. No distance was too far and no mountain too high—each letter had to reach its destination. The three friends soared through the air, while back on solid ground, they dealt with a world torn apart by wars and political factions.
A Man Called Horse: John Horse and the Black Seminole Underground Railroad
A Man Called Horse focuses on the little-known life of Horse while also putting into historical perspective the larger story of Native Americans and especially Black Seminoles, helping to connect the missing “dots” in this period. After fighting during the Second Seminole War (1835–1842), one of the longest and most costly Native American conflicts in US history, Horse negotiated terms with the federal government and later became a guide and interpreter. Forced to relocate, he led a group of Black Seminoles to find a new home, first heading westward to Texas and later to Mexico.
Aquí Era El Paraíso / Here Was Paradise: Selección De Poemas De Humberto Ak’abal / Selected Poems Of Humberto Ak’abal
Aquí era el paraíso / Here Was Paradise is a selection of poems written by the great Maya poet Humberto Ak’abal. They evoke his childhood in and around the Maya K’iche’ village of Momostenango, Guatemala, and also describe his own role as a poet of the place.
When The World Was Ours
Three young friends—Leo, Elsa, and Max—spend a perfect day together, unaware that around them Europe is descending into a growing darkness and that they will soon be cruelly ripped apart from one another. With their lives taking them across Europe—to Germany, England, Prague, and Poland—will they ever find their way back to one another? Will they want to?
Inspired by a true story, When the World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking and that shows how the bonds of love, family, and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times.
Arab Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook
Award-winning writer and storyteller, Karim Alrawi, draws on his deep knowledge of Arab culture to create original stories that are a feast for young imaginations. Told with intriguing details, the tales take young readers on a delicious cultural journey and invite them to consider an Arab perspective. Each tale symbolically incorporates food and concludes with a traditional recipe, lovingly flavored with colorful folkloric illustrations, making this a literary banquet to savor with family and friends across generations time and again.
Horse Power: How Horses Changed The World
For thousands of years, horses and humans lived, worked, and played together, side by side. From the time they were first domesticated to the invention of the wheel, saddle, bit, and bridle; horses brought far-flung lands closer together at the speed of a gallop. Trade, agriculture, transportation, and more were expanded in new ways—all made possible by the power of the horse.
In dazzling spreads packed with maps, sidebars, and other hidden gems, explore the special connection between horses and humans. Discover how horses evolved and track their migration as they come to live on six continents. See the everyday jobs done by horses for centuries. And consider the profound changes that came about when gasoline-powered engines arrived on the scene.
Canciones: Of Federico Garcia Lorca (Spanish Edition)
Federico GarcÍa Lorca is one of Spain’s foremost cultural and literary figures. In 1927, he published his masterpiece Canciones, a volume of lyrical poetry. Tobias Tak transformed twenty of these poems into a series of richly detailed and inventive comics. This collection will appeal to lovers of visual art, graphic novels, and poetry, and aims to bring the colorful and atmospheric landscape of Lorca’s work to a new audience.
Stealing Home
When a boy struggles after moving to a Japanese internment camp during WWII, baseball shows him another way to approach life. Sandy Saito is a happy boy who reads comic books and is obsessed with baseball — especially the Asahi team, the pride of his Japanese Canadian community. But when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, his life, like that of every other North American of Japanese descent, changes forever. His family is forced to move to a remote internment camp, and his father must spend months away from them. Sandy, his mother and his brother cope as best they can with the difficulties at the camp. Over time, Sandy comes to realize that life is a lot like baseball. It’s about dealing with whatever is thrown at you, however you can.