Describes an incident in the life of John Parker, a formerly enslaved person who became a successful businessman in Ripley, Ohio, and who repeatedly risked his life to help other slaves escape to freedom.
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books
At the age of fourteen, Francisco Jiménez, together with his older brother Roberto and his mother, are caught by la migra. Forced to leave their home, the entire family travels all night for twenty hours by bus, arriving at the U.S. and Mexican border in Nogales, Arizona. In the months and years that follow, Francisco, his mother and father, and his seven brothers and sister not only struggle to keep their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours of labor, and blatant prejudice. How they sustain their hope, their goodheartedness, and tenacity is revealed in this moving sequel to The Circuit. Without bitterness or sentimentality, Francisco Jiménez finishes telling the story of his youth.
The author describes the many challenges he faced as the son of Mexican American migrant workers during his quest to continue his education and become an academic success, overcoming poverty, family turmoil, guilt, and self-doubt.
This book is a sequel to The Circuit (1997) and Breaking Through (2001), which covered Mexican-born Jiménez’s childhood.
Featured in Volume I, Issue 4 of WOW Review.
When Zlata’s Diary was first published at the height of the Bosnian conflict, it became an international bestseller and was compared to The Diary of Anne Frank, both for the freshness of its voice and the grimness of the world it describes. It begins as the day-today record of the life of a typical eleven-year-old girl, preoccupied by piano lessons and birthday parties. But as war engulfs Sarajevo, Zlata Filipovi´c becomes a witness to food shortages and the deaths of friends and learns to wait out bombardments in a neighbor’s cellar. Yet throughout she remains courageous and observant. The result is a book that has the power to move and instruct readers a world away.
One day in 1914 when Soichiro Honda was seven years old, an astonishing, moving dust cloud appeared in his small Japanese town. The cause was a leaky, noisy automobile–the first the boy had ever seen. At that moment Honda fell in love with cars, and a dream took hold. He would one day make them himself. It took Honda many years to reach his goal. Along the way he became an expert mechanic and manufacturer of car parts. After World War II he developed a motorized bicycle, the forerunner of his innovative motorcycles. Eventually Honda began manufacturing cars, first race cars and then consumer cars. Constantly seeking ways to make his products better than his competitors, Honda grew into a global industry leader. Soichiro Honda had an inventive mind and a passion for new ideas, and he never gave up on his dream. A legendary figure in the world of manufacturing, Honda is a dynamic symbol of lifelong determination, creativity, and the power of a dream.
Growing up in New York City, Hiromi Suzuki misses spending time with her father, a sushi chef who works long hours in the family’s Japanese restaurant. So one day when she is eight years old, Hiromi begs her father to take her to the Fulton Fish Market, where he buys fresh fish. Hiromi is fascinated by what she sees and learns; by the time she is thirteen, she is ready to take the next step. She asks her father to teach her to make sushi. Little does Hiromi realize that her request would lead her to the forefront of a minor culinary revolution, as women claimed their place in the once all-male world of sushi chefs. Hiromi’s Hands is the true story of a young girl’s determination to follow her dream, and a tribute to the loving family who supported her.
Malaysian teenager Mat makes a life-changing move from the quiet kampung where he was born to Ipoh, the rapidly industrializing nearby town. Living far from his rural roots at a boarding school, he discovers bustling streets, modern music, heady literature, budding romance, and through it all his growing passion for art. The companion novel to the critically acclaimed Kampung Boy, Town Boy offers more of Lat’s delicious storytelling and enchanting pen-and-ink artwork. At once exotic and familiar, his cartoon world builds a bridge for readers into another world, another culture, and another time.
Determined to find definitive proof that Anne Frank’s diary was authentic, Simon Wiesenthal began a five-year-long search for the Gestapo officer who arrested the Frank family. This inspiring and suspenseful account testifies to the difference that one person’s dedication can make.
Strongman and circus owner Louis Cyr captured the world’s imagination with his remarkable feats of strength and mammoth proportions. Set in Quebec at the turn of the 20th century, this visual biography features the celebrity in his old age, recalling his glory days for his young daughter. In vivid detail he recounts his adventures traveling through Europe performing feats of strength that astounded audiences and remain unsurpassed today. Nicholas Debon’s vibrant illustrations and moving text bring the world of circuses and celebrities from long ago to life for young readers.
The wreck of a great sailing ship inspires a budding author.