Age

Catalog sorted by age group

Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People’s Ears: A West African Tale

In this astonishingly beautiful and imaginatively illustrated picture book, Mosquito tells Iguana a tall tale that sets off a chain reaction that ends in jungle disaster. Iguana is so upset at being told such nonsense that he plugs his ears. So, of course, when Python says good morning, Iguana doesn’t hear and ignores him altogether. Python suspects Iguana is plotting mischief against him, so he hides in a rabbit hole – which terrifies Rabbit. And so this amusing African legend goes, until finally the chain of mishaps reaches Mother Owl, who reacts by refusing to hoot and wake in the sun.

Emmanuel’s Dream

Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people—but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability.

Storm

The rain starts suddenly, hard and fast. After days of downpour, her family lost, Sebah takes shelter in a tree, eating pine cones and the raw meat of animals that float by. With each passing day, her companion, a boy named Aban, grows weaker. When their tree is struck by lightning, Sebah is tempted just to die in the flames rather than succumb to a slow, watery death. Instead, she and Aban build a raft. What they find on the stormy seas is beyond imagining: a gigantic ark. But Sebah does not know what she’ll find on board, and Aban is too weak to leave their raft.

Mystery of the Giant Masks of Sanxingdui

Young Min, her brother Wei, and Father Ping, the chief, face a flood then help their fellow villagers decide what to do about invaders who are approaching their Bronze Age village in China during an important festival. Includes facts about bronze-making and the archaeological finds at Sanxingdui and Jinsha, as well as archival photographs.

Everybody Says Shalom

A spirited picture-book tour of Israel takes readers to the Old City of Jerusalem and modern Tel Aviv, the desert and the sea, Roman ruins, the Biblical Zoo, a kibbutz, and much more. Lively, rhyming text and vibrant, colorful illustrations offer young readers a trip through this old-new land of many contrasts, cultures, and customs.

House of Purple Cedar

“The hour has come to speak of troubled times. It is time we spoke of Skullyville.” Thus begins Rose Goode’s story of her growing up in Indian Territory in pre-statehood Oklahoma. Skullyville, a once-thriving Choctaw community, was destroyed by land-grabbers, culminating in the arson on New Year’s Eve, 1896, of New Hope Academy for Girls. Twenty Choctaw girls died, but Rose escaped. She is blessed by the presence of her grandmother Pokoni and her grandfather Amafo, both respected elders who understand the old ways. Soon after the fire, the white sheriff beats Amafo in front of the town’s people, humiliating him. Instead of asking the Choctaw community to avenge the beating, her grandfather decides to follow the path of forgiveness. And so unwinds this tale of mystery, Indian-style magical realism, and deep wisdom.

The Book Of Jonah

Two-time Caldecott illustrator Peter Spier’s visual retelling of a favorite Bible story is back in print! In a tale full of action, adventure, and strife, Jonah is asked by God to tell the people of Nineveh to mend their wicked ways. Fleeing from this enormous task, Jonah sets sail and is thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish. What follows is Jonah’s journey to acceptance of God’s love and grace. A reference section at the end of the book shares historical and geographical notes about the story, including details about the ship Jonah might have sailed on and a fascinating discussion of the ancient city of Nineveh and the location of its ruins in present-day Iraq.

Dragons at Crumbling Castle

An illustrated collection of fourteen short stories featuring “dragons and wizards, councilors and mayors, an adventurous tortoise and a monster in a lake, along with plenty of pointy hats and a few magic spells” written when the author was a teenaged newspaper reporter.