The year is 1915 and the world is at war. Marta and her father are passengers on the Lusitania, desperately trying to get back home to Germany. While aboard, they must keep their identities hidden or risk being mistaken for enemy spies. Then the Lusitania is attacked by a German submarine. They just make it off the sinking ship, but her father is discovered and detained. Marta suddenly finds herself alone in enemy land.To survive, Marta must draw upon a deep well of bravery she never knew she had. Fortunately, she meets Clare, a young Irish girl who can talk a mile a minute, and her kind family. Believing that Marta is a Dutch refugee, they welcome her into their home. She can’t risk letting her new friends know she’s actually from Germany, the very nation that the Irish and English are fighting against. But could these people who have shown her nothing but kindness truly be her enemy? Sweeping from the Irish Sea to a cathedral city in England, this story shows us that friendship, especially in times of war, may be the greatest gift of all.

The heartwarming story of a boy, all the things he holds dear, and the song that inspires him when he needs it most.

Shoshana takes fierce joy in the wild beauty of the plains and the thrill of forging a new, American identity. But it’s not as simple for her older sister, Libke, who misses their Ukrainian village and doesn’t pick up English as quickly or make new friends as easily. Desperate to fit in, Shoshana finds herself hiding her Jewish identity in the face of prejudice, just as Libke insists they preserve it.For the first time, Shoshana is at odds with her beloved sister, and has to look deep inside herself to realize that her family’s difference is their greatest strength. By listening to the music that’s lived in her heart all along, Shoshana finds new meaning in the Jewish expression all beginnings are difficult, as well as in the resilience and traditions her people have brought all the way to the North Dakota prairie.

The latest tale in award-winning author and illustrator Torben Kuhlmann’s Mouse Adventures series takes flight with the courage and spirit of aviation pioneers.For the field mice, the boundary of the garden is the edge of the world. But one little field mouse is determined to discover the wide world beyond the burrow, even if she isn’t supposed to fly. With her knack for engineering and help from an experienced mouse aviator, she defies the other field mice and sets off on a daring journey. Could it be that she inspired Amelia Earhart’s pioneering aviation career? Amelia Earhart dreamed of becoming a pilot after she attended an airshow, and went on to defy gender barriers when she became the first female to fly non stop across the Atlantic.

Ali has arrived in Palestine for a visit just in time for the olive harvest. His grandfather, Seedo, and Hilwa, his favorite tree greet him in the grove, where Seedo explains that Hilwa has many gifts to share. Other family members whack the trees’ branches with sticks, singing, Zaytoon, ya zaytoon, while cousins clap and dance and happily pick up fallen olives. The next day, at the olive press, Ali watches the drip of gold liquid into a can, another of Hilwa’s gifts. Later, they picnic under the tree’s branches with hot mint tea, pita, and delicious olive oil swirled on hummus. Tradition is the greatest gift of all: the family gathering, generation after generation to celebrate a bountiful harvest.

When scientist and explorer Maria Reiche visited Peru’s Nazca Lines in 1941, she was immediately captivated by the larger than life animal carvings. But what were they, and why were they there?

They flee across the water, past a fire-breathing dragon, toward the unknown. At last the family lands in a place where they can gather the strings of their past and their present together. With the help of some new friends, they can knit a new life.

An Introduction To The Atmosphere, How Air Pollution Affects The Environment, And What We Can Do To Keep The Air Clean.

An uplifting immigration story about tackling new experiences with curiosityA little girl and her family are emigrating to a new country. As they say goodbye to their home and move to an unfamiliar place, the girl is full of questions: Will they ever return? What if she doesn’t make new friends? Why does she look different than the other kids? Her mother’s supportive refrain encourages her to voice her curiosity: It’s okay, just ask! Sometimes the answers lead to exciting discoveries. Other times, the answers are unclear, or prompt even more questions. But each time the girl chooses to just ask, she learns more about her community and herself.

Maia wakes up on her birthday to a delicious smell brewing in the kitchen. Her family is making Miyeok guk, one of her favorite foods! Miyeok guk is seaweed soup that new moms eat after giving birth to help replenish nutrients, and many Koreans eat this same soup on their birthdays to honor their mothers, who gave life to them. This year, Maia gets to help prepare Birthday Soup by chopping ingredients, drying the seaweed, and then adding everything to the sizzling pot. Maia wants to share the miyeok guk that she made with all of her friends at her birthday party later in the day, but wonders if they’d rather have pizza and cupcakes instead. With a little encouragement from her umma, Maia blends the two cultures that she’s a part of to create a new birthday tradition.