Malli loved weekends with her Paati. The head massages, the hugs, the engrossing stories, and most importantly, Paati’s delicious, piping-hot rasam. But then, one day, everything changed. And Malli’s world became dark and colourless. No more warm hugs, no more rasam, no more Paati. Can Malli find a piece of her beloved grandmother to hold on to?
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
Not A Monster
An axolotl egg hatches and matures in the Xochimilco canals in Mexico City, the only natural habitat of these unique salamanders that spend their lives in water.
My Paati’s Saris
A Tamil boy explores his love for his grandmother and her colorful sari collection in this tale of expressing your true self.
Heart Berry Bling
On a visit to her granny, Maggie is excited to begin her first-ever beading project: a pair of strawberry earrings. However, beading is much harder than she expected! As they work side by side, Granny shares how beading helped her persevere and stay connected to her Anishinaabe culture when she lost her Indian status, forcing her out of her home community all because she married someone without status, something the men of her community could do freely. As she learns about patience and perseverance from her granny’s teachings, Maggie discovers that beading is a journey, and like every journey, it’s easier with a loved one at her side.
Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series
The true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first two Native American pro baseball players to face off in a World Series, teaches important lessons about resilience, doing what you love in the face of injustice, and the fight for Native American representation in sports.
Mama Shamsi At The Bazaar
Samira is excited to go to the bazaar with her grandmother for the first time, but finds the bustling market to be intimidating, until Mama Shamsi helps her find a way to feel safe.
Girl Who Heard The Music
Mahani Teave grew up on Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, one of the most remote islands in the world, where moai statues stand and music is everywhere. When she began taking lessons on the island’s only piano, she proved to be a great talent. She left Rapa Nui when she was just nine to continue her music education, wishing she didn’t have to leave such a beautiful place to pursue her dreams. She became an internationally acclaimed classical pianist, playing around the world for all kinds of audiences. But her island home kept calling her back.
Years later, she returned to Rapa Nui to stay, and with a new dream: to save its environment and culture. She helped create a music and arts school, so that children there could learn music in ways that kept the island’s unique traditions alive. Mahani also saw the island’s struggles with sustainability issues and pollution from tourism and ocean plastics, so the school was built using of thousands of tires, bottles, and cans in its walls, and incorporates rain barrels, solar panels, and a food garden. Mahani and her team have created an inspiring place that celebrates the land of Rapa Nui and its people.
Adam And His Tuba
Wherever Adam Von Trapeze’s family circus performs they inspire audiences with their breathtaking feats. Grandma Antonia breathes fire, Uncle Artem builds dizzying human pyramids, and Papa Alexei and Mama Anastasia dance blindfolded on the tightrope. Only Adam, the youngest of the family, doesn’t show an interest in circus tricks and loud applause. The family is concerned. Where did they go wrong? But one day they are enchanted by the sound of a tuba. And from that day forward, the famous Von Trapeze family circus features a new performer—the one they never expected to be part of the family tradition. And he was a star.
Noni The Pony Counts To A Million
Noni the Pony counts everything from her two friends to the cars going by, all the way to a million stars in the night sky.
Forest Keeper
Indian Jadav Payeng has proven that each and every one of us can make a difference. As a boy, he began planting trees on a sandbank in the state of Assam. Nobody believed that he would succeed in doing so. But since 1979, a forest the size of Central Park has emerged, offering a home to countless animals and plants. It was not until 2007 that a photographer accidentally discovered the forest and made Payeng known to the world beyond India.