Maiko has left his village in Tanzania far behind, moving to Canada with his aunt and uncle. When he thinks of home, he thinks of the beautiful big baobab tree at the center of the village. In his new home, Maiko feels a connection to the small spruce tree in the front yard—it’s seven years old, the same age as he is. The tree sings to him and shares his secrets. When he learns that the roots of the tree are growing too close to the house, putting the little spruce in danger of being cut down, Maiko tries to save it. He knows all too well what it’s like to be small and planted in the wrong place.
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Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa
A collection of twelve folktales from different parts of Africa.
From Angola to Zanzibar, Verna Aardema retells 12 tales of justice and revenge, greed and generosity, sly trickery, and off-the-wall silliness.
Cleopatra (Time-Traveling Twins)
Cleopatra’s name still glitters across history, evoking opulence, ambition, and tragedy. Raised in the shadow of the mighty Roman Empire, she dared to dream of a world united under Egyptian rule. She almost succeeded, and if she had, we would live in a far different world today. Cleopatra was not the renowned beauty of legend–her strength lay in her intelligence, courage, and charm, and she would need all three in her short and perilous reign. She became Queen of Egypt at eighteen and by twenty had been driven from her throne. But she raised an army and won the support of the great Julius Caesar, who helped her return to rule. We will never know what these two brilliant and ambitious people might have accomplished together, for Caesar soon fell to Roman assassins. Instead, it was Mark Antony, another famous Roman, who risked everything with Cleopatra in pursuit Of world power. In this latest of their “distinguished storybook biographies” (New York Times), the authors’ meticulous text and Ms. Stanley’s majestic illustrations capture the brilliance of Cleopatra’s life. From the enchantments of the royal court at Alexandria to luxurious cruises up the legendary Nile, from the intrigues of the Roman marketplace to a desperate sea battle with a shocking end, these award-winning biographers tell the tragic story of one of the most fascinating women of all time.
Hyena And The Moon: Stories To Tell From Kenya
Gathered from 7 of the more than 40 ethnic groups of Kenya, these stores are brought to you both as original translations and as lively, ready-to-use retellings. Ethnic groups respresented are the Kikuyu, Turkana, Akamba, Kipsigis, Taita, Luhya, and Samburu. Cultural and historical background information on the groups, notes on the stories, lists of further resources, and tips for retelling make this collection useful to librarians, storytellers, public speakers, teachers, and parents. The fascinating account of McNeils’s own experiences and observations in collecting the tales is woven throughout the book. Beautiful color photos of Kenyan storytellers and the animals portrayed in the stories illustrate her journey and the tales.
Kamakwie: Finding Peace, Love, and Injustice in Sierra Leone
Kathleen Martin spent several weeks in the tiny village of Kamakwie in the interior of Sierra Leone, where she worked with a Canadian medical team. Staying in the grounds of the community hospital, Kathleen had the opportunity to meet with the people of the village. The experience was a revelation. Her mission was to talk to people about their lives, aspirations and their memories of the civil war. She also had a camera though which she developed a visual chronicle. Above all, she was struck by the children. Their resilience, their hopes, their enjoyment of the moments when they could gather and sing and play soccer.
Initially, the writer is an observer, but it is not long before the observer is passionately involved.
In this vivid and moving account of her time in Kamakwie, Kathleen Martin provides a window into a world far from the comfortable lives of most Americans – a world that through this book will become a colorful, sometimes horrifying, sometimes beautiful reality.
The Cow-Tail Switch: and Other West African Stories
Seventeen stories from West Africa including Cow-tail switch Kaddo’s wall, Talk, and others.
Vietnamerica
A superb new graphic memoir in which an inspired artist/storyteller reveals the road that brought his family to where they are today: Vietnamerica GB Tran is a young Vietnamese American artist who grew up distant from (and largely indifferent to) his familyrs”s history. Born and raised in South Carolina as a son of immigrants, he knew that his parents had fled Vietnam during the fall of Saigon. But even as they struggled to adapt to life in America, they preferred to forget the past-and to focus on their childrenrs”s future. It was only in his late twenties that GB began to learn their extraordinary story. When his last surviving grandparents die within months of each other, GB visits Vietnam for the first time and begins to learn the tragic history of his family, and of the homeland they left behind. In this family saga played out in the shadow of history, GB uncovers the root of his fatherrs”s remoteness and why his mother had remained in an often fractious marriage; why his grandfather had abandoned his own family to fight for the Viet Cong; why his grandmother had had an affair with a French soldier. GB learns that his parents had taken harrowing flight from Saigon during the final hours of the war not because they thought America was better but because they were afraid of what would happen if they stayed. They entered America-a foreign land they couldnrs”t even imagine-where family connections dissolved and shared history was lost within a span of a single generation. In telling his familyrs”s story, GB finds his own place in this saga of hardship and heroism.Vietnamericais a visually stunning portrait of survival, escape, and reinvention-and of the gift of the American immigrantsrs” dream, passed on to their children.Vietnamericais an unforgettable story of family revelation and reconnection-and a new graphic-memoir classic.
Now Is the Time for Running
Just down the road from their families, Deo and his friends play soccer in the dusty fields of Zimbabwe, cheered on by Deo’s older brother, Innocent. It is a day like any other . . . until the soldiers arrive and Deo and Innocent are forced to run for their lives, fleeing the wreckage of their village for the distant promise of safe haven. Along the way, they face the prejudice and poverty that await refugees everywhere, and must rely on the kindness of people they meet to make it through. But when tragedy strikes, Deo’s love of soccer is all he has left. Can he use that gift to find hope once more? Relevant, timely, and accesibly written, Now Is the Time For Running is a staggering story of survival that follows Deo and his mentally handicapped older brother on a transformative journey that will stick with readers long after the last page.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume IV, Issue 4
Meena
The children of Fly Street fear and taunt their neighbor Meena, thinking she is a witch, but when they meet her granddaughter and taste her cherry pie, they learn the truth.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume IV, Issue 4
In the Small, Small Night
Kofi can’t sleep in his new home in the United States, so his older sister Abena soothes his fears about life in a different country by telling him two folktales from their native Ghana about the nature of wisdom and perseverance.