Sisters Madeline and Ruby travel to a Central American jungle to help find their missing father, a renowned bird watcher, only to discover a nefarious plot that puts their lives in danger.
Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green
Fiction
Fiction genre
The Boy in the Box
Eleven-year-old juggling enthusiast Sullivan Mintz helps his family run the Stardust Home for Old People. It’s not ideal: his best friend, Manny, is eighty-one years old. But life as usual turns upside down when Master Melville’s Medicine Show comes to town. Sullivan’s excitement at finding performers his own age dissolves into dread when he steps onstage for a magic act only to wake up imprisoned in the traveling show’s caravan. As his fears subside, his questions multiply. Is his family better off without him? Would life as a juggler performing with other kids be worse than living in an old folks’ home? Being kidnapped could be the best thing that ever happened to him. or decidedly not
Castle of Shadows
Ever since the Queen mysteriously disappeared and the King went mad five years ago, eleven-year-old Princess Charlie has lived a wild and mostly unsupervised life in the country of Quale, running amok through the castle instead of following affairs of state. Now revolution whispers through the air, and Charlie is powerless to stop it. Then she discovers a clue: a desperate, unfinished letter scribbled years before by the missing Queen. Charlie doesn’t understand the danger her mother writes of, but she does know that the Queen absolutely must be found-together, they can surely save the King and the kingdom. So plucky Charlie embarks on a quest to track down her mother, armed with the precious scrap of paper and with Tobias, the gardener’s boy, as an unlikely ally. Putting away her tattered old clothes, she must deal with games of political intrigue, the rebels’ rough-laid schemes, and the prime minister’s sudden interest in the forgotten princess’s well-being. And every step closer to the Queen pulls Charlie deeper into an entangling web of lies and secrets, where nothing is as it seems and people are not who they say . . .
My Dad
A child describes the many wonderful things about “my dad,” who can jump over the moon, swim like a fish, and be as warm as toast.
We Planted a Tree
Simple text reveals the benefits of planting a single tree, both to those who see it grow and to the world as a whole.
My Granny Went to Market: A Round-the-World Counting Rhyme
A child’s grandmother travels around the world, buying things in quantities that illustrate counting from one to ten.
Francis Woke Up Early
Imagines a moment in the boyhood of Saint Francis of Assisi, in which he befriends a wild she-wolf by sharing with his breakfast, gathered on his family’s farm.
Lila and the Secret of Rain
For months, the sun has baked Lila’s Kenyan village. It’s too hot to gather firewood, too hot to weed the garden, even too hot to milk the cow. Without rain, the crops will fail. Lila is so worried that when her grandfather whispers to her the secret of making the rain fall, she decides to do something about it — even if it means confronting the sky itself. Lila’s quest to save the village is beautifully told in David Conway’s elegant, sparse prose. Jude Daly’s color-drenched illustrations perfectly evoke both the parched landscape and vibrant village life.
My Heart Will Not Sit Down
When Kedi hears about America’s Great Depression from her teacher, her heart will not sit down. Men and women are unable to find work. Children are going hungry. In her teacher’s village of New York City, people are starving because they do not have money to buy food. But can one small girl in Africa’s Cameroon like Kedi make a difference all the way across the great salt river in America?Inspired by true events, Mara Rockliff’s gorgeous and accessible text matched with Ann Tanksley’s vibrant and warm illustrations bring to life the remarkable story of one child’s vision, passion, and dedication to make the world a better place.
New Shoes for Helen
Helen needs some special shoes for her aunty’s wedding. She tries on all kinds of shoes at home, but some are too big and some are too small – and none of them are special sparkly shoes. So Helen and her mum take a trip to the market to see if they can find the perfect pair of shoes for Helen.