Intermediate (ages 9-14)

Material appropriate for intermediate age groups

We The Sea Turtles: A Collection Of Island Stories

Nine beautifully evocative short stories from the pen of Governor General’s Award finalist Michelle Kadarusman On islands around the world from Manhattan to Phillip Island, Australia, to Komodo Island and beyond nine children face life changing moments: escaping a flood; embracing their identity; discovering that the adults in their lives can ease the burden of their eco anxiety. And although each child couldn’t be more different, one thing connects them all: a turtle swam into each of their lives at a critical moment, and left them changed.

The Cricket War

A gripping story of a boy’s escape from Communist Vietnam by boat, based on the author’s own experience. It’s 1980, and 12-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his friends, but life is slowly changing under the Communists. His parents are worried, and Tho knows the Communist army will soon knock on their door to make his brother, and then him, join them. Still, it shocks him when his father says that arrangements have been made for him to leave Vietnam by boat, immediately. Thọ tries to be brave as he sets out on a harrowing journey toward the unknown.

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

Global: One Fragile World. An Epic Fight For Survival.

Time is running out for Sami and Yuki. Sami and his grandfather live in a village along the Indian Ocean. They earn their living by fishing. But the ocean is rising and each day they bring back fewer and fewer fish. Yuki lives in the far north of Canada where warming temperature are melting the ice. Polar bears have less food to hunt and are wandering into town looking for something to eat. Yuki is determined to do something to help the bears.

Flora La Fresca & The Art Of Friendship

Ten year old larger than life Flora Violeta LeFevre uses humor and a little mischief to navigate her best friend moving away, her sister’s overbearing and all-consuming quince preparations, and a surprising new friendship.

Dawn of the Jaguar

After negotiating with the queen of the underworld for ten days aboveground, teenage bruja Ren sets out to save her friends and put the Lords of Night back to sleep forever, all without the help of her shadow magic and time rope.

Yellow Butterfly: A Story From Ukraine

A wordless picture book portrayal of war seen through the eyes of a young girl who finds hope in the symbolism of yellow butterflies against the background of a pure blue sky. Using the colors of his national flag, Oleksandr Shatokhin has created a deeply emotional response to the conflict in Ukraine and provided a narrative full of powerful visual metaphors for readers to consider as they travel from the devastating effects of war to a place of hope for peace and the future.

Yellow Butterfly is featured in WOW Review Volume XVII, Issue 3.

The White Deer And Other Stories Told By The Lenape

This rich compendium combines Lenape (Delaware) history, an introduction to several storytellers, and storytelling beliefs with a diverse collection of tales. The tales presented here are twentieth-century renderings from many locations, demonstrating the durability of the storytelling traditions.