“WHO’S THAT TRIPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?” The three Billy Goats Gruff are hungry and want to go over the bridge and up the hillside to a fine meadow full of grass and daisies where they can eat and eat and eat, and get fat. But under the bridge lives a troll who’s as mean as he is ugly…With humorous, onomatopoeic language, call-and-answer structure, and colorful illustrations, Paul Galdone’s telling of this familiar tale is great for reading aloud with groups.
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
Irena’s Jars Of Secrets
Irena Sendler, born to a Polish Catholic family, was raised to respect people of all backgrounds and to help those in need. She became a social worker; and after the German army occupied Poland during World War II, Irena knew she had to help the sick and the starving Jews who were imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. She began by smuggling food, clothing and medicine into the ghetto, then turned to smuggling children out of the ghetto. Using false papers and creative means of escape, and at great personal risk, Irena helped rescue Jewish children and hides them in safe surroundings. Hoping to reunite families after the war, Irena kept lists of the Children’s identities.
Motivated by conscience and armed with compassion and a belief in human dignity, Irena Sendler confronted an enormous moral challenge and proved to the world that an ordinary person can accomplish deeds of extraordinary courage.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
When Goldilocks goes to collect flowers in the wood she gets lost and stumbles upon a pretty house in a clearing. She looks inside and sees a table with three chairs: a big chair, a medium chair and a little chair, and in front of each chair is a steaming bowl of porridge. The porridge smells so good, and Goldilocks is so hungry, that she opens the door and walks inside. But this house belongs to three bears: a big daddy bear, a medium mummy bear and a little baby bear — and they’ll be back soon.This is a beautiful interpretation of a classic story. Gerda Muller’s timeless, intricate illustrations offer wonderful extra detail for children to enjoy. From the very first page, she includes big, medium and little versions of birds, squirrels, mice, plates, umbrellas, slippers, and more. Children and parents will notice new things each time.
Tom the Tamer
Tom’s father is afraid of animals. The father learns through Tom’s creativity and courage that he can conquer his fear.
Poemas A La Luna
This collection includes works by world-renowned poets, among them Lorca, Goethe, Whitman, and Shelley. Each poem appears first in Spanish, and then in its original language, if the poem was translated. For instance, Emily Dickinson’s selection appears in Spanish and English, while Wang Wei’s appears in Spanish and Chinese. The book opens with an excerpt from Christina Rossetti’s Is the Moon Tired? in which the orb is personified as a tired, hardworking woman. Its Spanish translation actually sounds more musical than the original English. The hauntingly beautiful full-page digital paintings have an ethereal quality that transports readers into the lyrical poetry. The Moon appears in each illustration, sometimes as a crescent, sometimes full, and sometimes as a woman’s face. This oversize treasury will be perfect for a world-poetry unit, a lesson on the art of translation, or special poetry programs at schools and libraries.–Rebecca Hickman, Sherman Library at NSU, Fort Lauderdale, FL
I Am Thomas
The author of “Mahtab’s Story” and the author of “The Island “team up to bring young readers another powerful social justice-related work–an inspiring, thought-provoking picture book about finding one’s way in the world “”You must do as you’re told.”””” “”Let the army make you a man.”””” “”Your country needs your vote.”” As the voices in his life crowd in on him, Thomas looks for another way, refusing to conform to the expectations and demands of family and community. A loner, Thomas refuses to feel lonely, an inspiring choice in this masterful tale of questioning authority and resisting oppression. Powerful illustrations and a spare text make a parable of Thomas’s journey, which reflects the courage we all need to find our passion and be ourselves.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 2
Talking Eagle And The Lady Of Roses
This is the traditional story, told simply and elegantly, of how Juan Diego meets the beautiful Lady on a windswept hilltop in December and carries her message to the disbelieving bishop. The Lady fills Juanz’s cloak with full-blooming roses and impresses her image on its fibers as a sign for the bishop to fulfill her request of building a house of prayers. The story tells of how, over many years, countless hands built the great church dedicated to the Lady of Roses, Nuestra Senora Guadalupe on the hill of Tepeyac. Everyone will enjoy the story of Talking Eagle and the Lady of Roses and the wild and glorious illustrations of award-winning, Taos, New Mexico, artist Amy Cordova. Also included is an informative afterword by Gene Gollogly.
The Food of Mexico
Explore the flavor and culture of this colorful country in The Food of Mexico. What better way to study a country than through its geography, history, regions, customs, and celebrations as they relate to food. Dig right in by trying out one of the delicious recipes inside. Studying world cultures has never been so tasty!
Roses For Isabella
Roses for Isabella invites us to experience life in Ecuador through the eyes of a young girl who keeps a journal and loves to write. We learn about Isabella’s parents who work on one of the hundreds of farms growing beautiful roses that are sold all over the world. But not all of these farms are fair to worker and kind to the earth. Through Isabella, we learn how her family’s life changes for the better when her parents find work at a Fair Trade farm.
The Mesopotamians
Provides readers with an up-close look at the ingenuity of forward-thinking inventors and engineers from the early civilizations