Material appropriate for primary age groups
Brazilian American twin siblings, Lia and Luís, are always competing, even when it comes to their favorite Brazilian snacks from their family’s store; they want to know which of them has more, and they use various mathematical techniques to pick a winner–and then share the delicious results.
When endlessly curious and tenacious Chang discovers a bear bile farm near her home in Vietnam, she decides to do everything she can to save wild animals—by becoming a conservationist! After teaching herself survival skills, documenting each rainforest plant and animal she sees in her field notebook, and disproving the critics who think she isn’t old enough or strong enough, Chang is finally accepted as a rescue center volunteer. But her toughest challenge yet comes when she’s tasked with returning Sorya—the sun bear she raised from infancy—back into the wild. Because despite being a different species, Sorya is Chang’s best friend. And letting a friend go is never easy . . . even when it’s the right thing to do.
When Jyoti visits her grandmother halfway around the world, she is overwhelmed by the differences between India and home. At first she feels lonely and out of place, but soon, despite a language barrier, she and Sita Pati are able to understand each other. They form a bond-looking at books together, making designs with colored sand, shopping at the market, playing games, eating chapatis, and sipping warm milk with saffron to bring sweet dreams. When it’s time to part, Jyoti doesn’t want to leave, but then she remembers that in Tamil, people don’t say goodbye, they say “I’ll go and come back.” Sure enough, the two reunite the next summer when Pati visits Jyoti in America, and it’s Jyoti’s turn to make her grandmother feel welcome. Can they create some special memories that will last until the next time they see each other?
Featured in WOW Review Volume XV, Issue 2.
Rabbit loves staying close to home where it is warm and safe and cozy. After all, the outside has things with feathers and scales and horns and hooves! It’s certainly better—and safer—for a rabbit to stick to what she knows best: home sweet home. But when rabbit spots a particularly juicy carrot just outside of her comfort zone, she tumbles into a whole new world she wasn’t expecting!
A young girl’s love of the coquíes’ nightly song helps her survive a destructive hurricane with her family. Includes author’s note.
When Liling moves from her home in the mountains of China to the big city, her parents cannot afford to send her to school, and she spends her days with her mother, wishing she had a friend–until she sees a girl in a yellow coat, who lives in the next building, comes from a different mountain, and is happy to be Liling’s friend.
Glenn was a child who knew his own mind ― he liked boats but did not like fishing; he enjoyed puns and pranks but did not like bullying; he loved learning but did not like school … but more than anything else he loved to play the piano. Glenn had a professional performing career by the time he was fifteen; he gave concerts all over the world in his twenties. He became best known for his interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. But Glenn grew to dislike concerts ― the hall was too cold, or he didn’t feel well, or the audience made too much noise (he didn’t even like their applause!). He discovered that when he played and recorded music in an empty concert hall, he could make it sound exactly the way he wanted. He could do what he loved best, while being completely himself.
Congested city streets are noisy and thick with cars and trucks, while pedestrians and cyclists are squeezed to the dangerous edges―but does it have to be this way?
Through the window, the child can hear the trees breathe and watches them sway back and forth as they begin to dance. Then bears join in, accompanied by the child on their drum, making so much noise they wake up a dragon! The dragon’s smoky breath fills the sky, and the wind forms a knight on a steed that gallops through the stars. The child’s adventure continues, as one wonderful flight of fancy leads to the next, from pirates to mermaids to whales, until they find themselves sitting silent once again among the trees.
In 15th-century Korea, King Sejong was distressed. The complicated Chinese characters used for reading and writing meant only rich, educated people could read-and that was just the way they wanted it. But King Sejong thought all Koreans should be able to read and write, so he worked in secret for years to create a new Korean alphabet. King Sejong’s strong leadership and determination to bring equality to his country make his 600-year-old story as relevant as ever.