The Twins and the Bird of Darkness: A Hero Tale from the Caribbean

When a benevolent king and his daughter, Princess Marie, find their peaceful kingdom threatened by an enormous, evil, seven-headed bird, the brave princess offers herself as the bird’s hostage in order to prevent the entire kingdom from being thrust into eternal darkness. As soon as Soliday, a kindhearted, hardworking, and generous youth hears about the princess’s sacrifice, he vows to kill the Bird of Darkness and save Marie. His identical twin brother — the jealous, lazy, and dishonest Salacotta — accompanies Soliday on the dangerous journey, but doesn’t lift a finger in order to rescue the princess or slay the monstrous bird. And the second Salacotta sees his chance to claim that he was the one who freed the princess, he does just that. Will Soliday be able to convince everyone that he is indeed who he says? Will his brother admit his treachery? Will Soliday ever be able to trust his twin again? This timeless and resonant folktale about the forces of good and evil and the redemptive power of brotherly love is the perfect story for the ages.

Morning Girl

Morning Girl, who loves the day, and her younger brother Star Boy, who loves the night, take turns describing their life on an island in pre-Columbian America; in Morning Girl’s last narrative, she witnesses the arrival of the first Europeans to her world.

World History Biographies: Mao Zedong: The Rebel Who Led A Revolution (Ng World History Biographies)

Born in Southern China in 1893, this farmer’s son would rule the world’s most populous country. The young Mao Zedong grew up in a world desperate to break with the ancient rules of the Qing dynasty. Mao challenged convention early in life, and was expelled from school. He joined China’s new Communist Party, and led China’s historic revolution. Hailed by many as a truly liberating hero, others demonized him as a brutal monster. This biography outlines the revolutionary life of the first leader of the People’s Republic of China and sets his march to power in the context of world history.

The Children of China

Before coming to Canada, while he was still an art teacher in Beijing, Song Nan Zhang traveled from Inner Mongolia east, south, and north to find and paint unusual scenes of Chinese family life.Here are the children who grow up in the saddle with their nomadic parents or become as agile as the mountain goats they tend. A boy plays chess on the ground with his shepherd grandfather. A teenager tends her father’s pottery shop. At festivals a child plays hide-and-seek, behind yellow parasols, and stilt dancers wait to compete.

Mao and Me: The Little Red Guard

Chen’s book tells his story of growing up during the Cultural Revolution (between 1966 and 1976) in China.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 2

Shanghai Messenger

A free-verse novel about eleven-year-old Xiao Mei’s visit with her extended family in China, where the Chinese-American girl finds many differences but also the similarities that bind a family together.

My Day from A To Z

Introduces the letters of the Spanish alphabet through the descriptions of a young elephant’s daily activities at home and at school.