At The Drop Of a Cat

A 6-year old boy loves spending time with his immigrant grandfather, Luis, who teaches him many things as they spend time in his garden, a place of wonder and illumination. It is the place where the boy practices to read and write, as well as the place where he learns of his grandfather’s experiences. As a war refugee, Luis was unable to go to school and therefore never learned how to read and write. But he instills his wisdom of language to his grandson, as well as his experiences and talents as an artist, a cook and a gardener.

This book is part of the WOW Dozen: Difficult and Challenging Topics in Children’s Literature list.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

Okinawa

This heartbreaking manga, by an award-winning mangaka, examines the effects of World War 2 and post-war military colonization in Okinawa. An essential manga classic presented in English for the first time.

Okinawa is the WOW Recommends Book of the Month for April 2024.

A Daydreamy Child Takes A Walk

Even though he has promised his mama he will stay focused, Little Giovanni cannot help but continue to daydream and pay attention to the smaller, more wonderous, details of the world around him. Written by the father of modern Italian children’s literature, Gianni Rodari, with a Batchelder Award winning translation by Antony Shugaar, A Daydreamy Child Takes a Walk is beautifully illustrated by New York Public Library Best illustrator, Beatrice Alemagna and is sure to delight young readers with its assertion of the power and value of childlike wonder.

Colorful Mondays: A Bookmobile Spreads Hope In Honduras (Stories From Latin America)

Monday is Luis’s favorite day of the week, the day the bookmobile comes to his neighborhood in Villa Nueva. You see, in Villa Nueva, sad stories gather like dark clouds, but when the bookmobile arrives, light and color burst through with laughter, stories, and maybe even a puppet show! Inspired by the JustWorld International’s bookmobile program in Tegucigalpa, Colororful Mondays celebrates the ways in which books and learning can bring joy to communities.

Saints Of The Household

Bribri American brothers, Max and Jay, have always depended on each other for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, they have learned that the only way to protect themselves, as well as their mother, is to keep their heads down and adhere to a strict schedule. But after intervening when a classmate gets into a fist fight, resulting in the school’s star soccer player being beat to a pulp by both brothers’ hands, they must grapple with the realization that they may be more like their father than they thought. In order to move forward, they will have to reach back to their Bribri roots.

Houses With A Story: A Dragon’s Den, A Ghostly Mansion, A Library Of Lost Books, And 30 More Amazing Places To Explore

Houses with a Story brings more than 30 imaginative houses together, along with the people who make them into homes. Taking readers to unexpected worlds to explore, we are introduced to inhabitants such as as the mischievous bridge-tower keeper, a witch who grows a garden and a postal worker who must tame his delivery dragons. We also discover the contents of the rooms and closets, the rooftops and where shadowy hallways lead. Featuring  lush full-color illustrations and sectional drawing, combined with detailed descriptions of each character and house, artist Seiji Yoshida’s award-winning art book opens doors to wonder and endless possibilities.

The House Of The Lost On The Cape

Kazu knows something odd is going on when he sees a girl in a white kimono sneak out of his house in the middle of the night-was he dreaming? Did he see a ghost? Things get even stranger when he shows up to school the next day to see the very same figure sitting in his classroom. No one else thinks it’s weird, and, even though Kazu doesn’t remember ever seeing her before, they all seem convinced that the ghost girl Akari has been their friend for years! When Kazu’s summer project to learn about Kimyo Temple draws the meddling attention of his mysterious neighbor Ms. Minakami and his secretive new classmate Akari, Kazu soon learns that not everything is as it seems in his hometown. Kazu discovers that Kimyo Temple is linked to a long forgotten legend about bringing the dead to life, which could explain Akari’s sudden appearance-is she a zombie or a ghost? Kazu and Akari join forces to find and protect the source of the temple’s power. An unfinished story in a magazine from Akari’s youth might just hold the key to keeping Akari in the world of the living, and it’s up to them to find the story’s ending and solve the mystery as the adults around them conspire to stop them from finding the truth.

Mexikid

Pedro Martín has grown up hearing stories about his abuelito, his legendary crime-fighting, grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican Revolution! But that doesn’t mean Pedro is excited at the news that Abuelito is coming to live with their family. After all, Pedro has 8 brothers and sisters and the house is crowded enough! Still, Pedro piles into the Winnebago with his family for a road trip to Mexico to bring Abuelito home, and what follows is the trip of a lifetime, one filled with laughs and heartache. Along the way, Pedro finally connects with his abuelito and learns what it means to grow up and find his grito.

Featured in Volume XVI, Issue 3 of WOW Review.

Ancient Night

Ancient Night is a twist on two Nahuatl traditions: the rabbit which the Feathered Serpent placed on the moon, and Yaushu, the Lord Opossum who ruled the earth before humans came, and who stole fire from the gods to create the sun.

Yellow Butterfly: A Story From Ukraine

A wordless picture book portrayal of war seen through the eyes of a young girl who finds hope in the symbolism of yellow butterflies against the background of a pure blue sky. Using the colors of his national flag, Oleksandr Shatokhin has created a deeply emotional response to the conflict in Ukraine and provided a narrative full of powerful visual metaphors for readers to consider as they travel from the devastating effects of war to a place of hope for peace and the future.

Yellow Butterfly is featured in WOW Review Volume XVII, Issue 3.