A child dealing with loss while trying to find her place in a new home. An author’s note provides context for the plight of the many children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
The Biggest Soap
When Kessy, who lives in the Truk Islands, is sent by his mother to buy laundry soap, he hurries back to listen to her storytelling, discovering that his own experience makes a good story too.
Where’s Jamela?
When Mama gets a new job and a new house, everyone is excited about moving except Jamela who likes her old house just fine.
The Little Red Ant And The Great Big Crumb|: A Mexican Fable
A small red ant finds a crumb in a Mexican cornfield, but she is afraid that she lacks the strength to move it herself and goes off to find an animal that can.
The Wishing Of Biddy Malone
In Ireland, a young girl who cannot sing, dance, or control her temper stumbles across a faerie village, where a beautiful boy asks her to name her three wishes–but does not promise to grant them for her.
Zen Shorts
When Stillwater the giant panda moves into the neighborhood, the stories he tells to three siblings teach them to look at the world in new ways.
Like Me and You
An illustrated version of Raffi’s song about children all over the world, who are much like one another despite living in different countries.
My House Has Stars
Young people describe the different kinds of homes they live in around the world and how they see the stars. Eight children–from the Philippines, Ghana, Japan, the American Southwest, Brazil, Alaska, Mongolia, and Nepal–share stories of the stars that they can see from their homelands.
Hachiko: The True Story Of A Loyal Dog
Relates the true story of a dog who accompanied his master to and from a Tokyo train station for a year and, after his master died, continued to wait for him there every day for many years.
Subira Subira
Set in contemporary Tanzania, this variation on a traditional tale describes how a young girl learns a lesson in patience when a spirit woman sends her to get three whiskers from a lion.