Quebrado has been traded from pirate ship to ship in the Caribbean Sea for as long as he can remember. The sailors he toils under call him el quebrado—half islander, half outsider, a broken one. Now the pirate captain Bernardino de Talavera uses Quebrado as a translator to help navigate the worlds and words between his mother’s Taíno Indian language and his father’s Spanish. But when a hurricane sinks the ship and most of its crew, it is Quebrado who escapes to safety. He learns how to live on land again, among people who treat him well. And it is he who must decide the fate of his former captors.
Awards
Ten Birds
Ten birds are trying to figure out how to get to the other side of the river. The bird they call “Brilliant” devises a pair of stilts. The bird they call “Highly Satisfactory” engineers a raft. One by one, nine resourceful birds make the crossing until a single bird is left behind–the one they call “Needs Improvement.” This bird’s solution proves surprising and absurdly simple. More than a counting book, Ten Birds is a witty story that highlights ingenuity, common sense and the inadequacies of labels.
Where I Belong
Master storyteller Cross delivers an exciting new novel set in London and Somalia, which grapples with such issues as identity, trust and family.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 5, Issue 2.
Me, Frida
Artist Frida Kahlo finds her own voice and style when her famous husband, Diego Rivera, is commissioned to paint a mural in San Francisco, California, in the 1930s and she finds herself exploring the city on her own.
The Friends
In this award-winning book from Japan, three young boys curious about death learn–and teach–some valuable lessons about life and friendship.
Peace Tales
Maybe it’s the king who spills honey, and then says it is not his problem until it causes a war. Or maybe it’s some sandpipers and whales who get into a foolish fight that almost destroys their homes. Perhaps it’s the man who thinks that a gun makes him strong, or the monkeys who follow their leader into water that’s too deep.
Dog in Boots
After reading “Puss in Boots,” an adventurous dog sets out to find the perfect pair of shoes to suit his every need.
Season of Secrets
Sent by their father to live in the country with their grandparents after the sudden death of their mother, Molly’s older sister Hannah expresses her grief in a raging rebellion while imaginative Molly finds herself increasingly distracted by visions, that seemingly only she can see, of a strange hunt in the nearby forest.
The Night Journey
Thirteen-year-old Rachel ignores her parents’ wishes and persuades her great-grandmother Nana Sashie to relate the story of her escape from czarist Russia. An ALA Notable Book.
Fog Magic
A child of Nova Scotia who loves the fog is transported into a secret world of her own.