Primary (ages 6-9)

Material appropriate for primary age groups

With Love

A collection of stories based on the author’s experiences with chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania over a period of almost forty years.

The Wee Christmas Cabin

All her life Oona dreams of having a cabin of her own. Since she has no family, she moves from cabin to cabin, helping wherever there is trouble or need. But when the Great Famine comes and the last of the potatoes is eaten, Oona knows that no one will want another mouth to feed. On a snowy Christmas Eve, she bids a silent farewell to the village and sets out. Much to her surprise, the magic of a white Christmas awaits her, as do hundreds of fairies who have been keeping watch over Oona since the day she was born.

The Travel Game

Tad and his aunt Hattie take an imaginary trip to Hong Kong. Armed with a globe, an illustrated almanac, and their imaginations, Tad and Aunt Hattie play the travel game. They ride elephants in India, escape deadly piranhas in the Amazon River, and hail a water taxi to visit the beautiful boat city of Hong Kong—all without leaving the apartment above the family tailor shop in Buffalo, New York. This funny, affectionate story is based on author John Grandits’s own childhood experiences. The charming and highly detailed illustrations will encourage children to play their own version of the travel game.

Come to the Castle

Behind the scenes in a Medieval castle, history comes alive in poetry and pictures. You are invited to the 13th-century banquet at the castle of the Earl of Daftwood. Young readers will meet all of the lords and ladies, the servants and the squires. They will discover surprises: flying silverware and mystery meat made of animal feet for dinner–life in the castle isn’t always elegant.

Almost To Freedom

Tells the story of a young girl’s dramatic escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad, from the perspective of her beloved rag doll.

(Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book)

Josias, Hold the Book

Every Morning Josias is hard at work in the family’s garden under the hot Haitian sun. And every morning he sees his friend Chrislove walk to school. When will you join us to hold the book? asks Chrislove. But Josias has a garden to tend and no time to learn to read and write, especially now that the garden is failing. Josias can’t figure out why the beans aren’t growing. Without beans, there may not be enough food for his family. He tries giving the beans more water. He tries working more fertilizer into the soil. Still, the garden shows no sign of life. One morning, when Chrislove asks again when his friend plans to come to school, Josias wonders if a book might hold the solution to his problem.

Featured in Volume I, Issue 2 of WOW Review.

Duke’s Olympic Feet

Duke Kahanamoku was the twentieth century’s top waterman, and is known as the “father of international surfing.” The first Hawaiian to win an Olympic gold medal, Duke represented the United States in the Olympic Games in 1912, 1920, 1924 and 1932, winning gold, silver and bronze medals. Born in 1890, Duke grew up next to the ocean in Waikîkî. After school, he and his sister and brothers would hit the water. “I was only happy when I was swimming like a fish,” Duke said. Duke and the other beach boys gathered under a hau tree in Waikîkî. They rode the waves at Castles, a prime surf spot, on their sixteen-foot solid wooden surfboards. Years of swimming, surfing and canoe paddling made Duke a fine athlete. He had a strong body, long arms, powerful legs and his hands were said to be as big as buckets. Some claimed he had feet as big as fins and could steer a canoe with his feet alone. Duke knew that he was a very fast swimmer and he trained constantly. He said that God had given him a gift and a whip. “The whip,” he said with a grin, “is to flog myself into getting the most out of the gift.” He felt that, just maybe, he could be a champion and win Olympic gold for Hawai‘i. His chance came August 12, 1911, at Alakea Slip in Honolulu Harbor, when he demolished the world amateur record for the 100-yard freestyle. His excitement was crushed when mainland AAU officials refused to believe his time. “What are you using for stopwatches over there in Hawai‘i?” they asked. “Alarm clocks?” The AAU officials doubted that a virtually untrained swimmer could break a world record. It was up to Duke to prove he could go up against the world’s fastest swimmers and beat them. Along with his athletic accomplishments, Duke is remembered for his concern for others, humility in victory, courage in adversity and good sportsmanship.

Take a closer look at Duke’s Olympic Feet as examined in WOW Review.

Playing Loteria / El juego de la loteria

A boy has a good time attending a fair with his grandmother in San Luis de La Paz, Mexico, as she teaches him Spanish words and phrases and he teaches her English.

Read more about Playing Loteria in Volume 1, Issue 3 of WOW Review: Reading Across Cultures.

This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Featured in August 2023’s WOW Dozen for books about Language Learning and Communication.

Artie And Julie

Artie was a happy little lion, and Julie was a happy little rabbit—until one day Julie was sent to the grassland to eat grass, and Artie was sent to the grassland to eat . . . rabbit! Distracted from their destinations, they both discover a delicious jellyberry patch. Driven by a sudden storm into a nearby cave, they become friends before they know they are meant to be enemies. Each returns home with a new friend, a tuft of each other’s fur as a keepsake, and a surprising story to tell their parents. A unique design adds depth to this clever tale—when Artie and Julie are apart their parallel stories are told on separate split pages, but when the two become friends the pages join together as well. Filled with playful art that adds a whimsical tone, this amusing story encourages young readers to overlook differences and demonstrates that fear should never be an obstacle to friendship.

Featured in Vol. I, Issue 4 of WOW Review.