Moon bears, or Asiatic black bears, get their name from the white moon-shaped blaze on their chests. Sadly, there are more moon bears in captivity than in the wild, as the animals are being farmed for their commercially valuable bile.
Fiction
Fiction genre
Liu and the Bird: A Journey in Chinese Calligraphy
This innovative book combines the story of Liu, who goes off to visit her grandfather, with a rebus-style look at the evolution of the Chinese written language from pictures to modern calligraphy characters.
I Am Who I Am
This book explores children’s earliest existential queries.
Pieces of Me
A coming-of-age tale follows 14-year-old Mirabelle, a talented artist from a broken home, who befriends the free-spirited and confident Catherine whose friendship brings Mira out of her shell and teaches her about boys. Mira soon learns that her newly found confidence can be shattered in an instant.
Swing
A lantern, a mixing bowl, everything they ever borrowed from the neighbors, even their dog Leopoldo — Josey’s absentminded parents lose EVERYTHING. Sometimes they even lose track of time when they promise to do something fun with Josey. But then, with a big, rusty CLANK, a missing lantern falls out of the backyard tree, and suddenly Josey sees a way to solve her family’s problems. It’s going to take a lot of help, a little magic and a turbo-powered swing, but Josey might just have a shot at bringing the neighborhood — and her family — back together again.
Mayte and the Bogeyman/ Mayte Y El Cuco
Mayte and Pepito are convinced that Don Aparicio, the dour ice cream vendor, is really the bogeyman.
Papa and Me
When I’m with my papá, I can fly like an eagle, an águila.
I can climb alto, high, in a tree,
And I am the ganador, the winner, of many races.
When I am with my papá, I hear the best cuentos, stories,
and I give him the biggest abrazos, hugs.
A young boy and his papa may speak both Spanish and English, but the most important language they speak is the language of love. Here, Arthur Dorros portrays the close bond between father and son, with lush paintings by Rudy Gutierrez.
The Cat Who Came For Tacos
When Señora Rosa and Señor Tomás find a stray cat sleeping on their stoop, they welcome him into their home. “Mi casa es su casa. My home is your home,” Señora Rosa tells the cat. He introduces himself as Flynn and wanders through their house while they prepare lunch, which has a delicious fishy smell. When lunch is served, Flynn hops up on the table. But before he can dig into the tuna tacos, his new friends point out a few house rules. “In my home, everyone dresses for meals,” says Señora Rosa. So Flynn borrows a doll’s tuxedo and puts it on. When Señor Tomás says, “In my home, people must sit in chairs,” Flynn brings a pillow from the sofa and puts it on the chair so he can reach his plate. Then, after a pleasant lunch, Señor Tomás and Señora Rosa discover that Flynn has some ideas of his own about how people and cats can live happilly together.
My Feet Are Laughing
Sadie, an imaginative young Dominican American, relates her experiences growing up in her grandmother’s brownstone house in Harlem.
Sip, Slurp, Soup, Soup – Caldo, Caldo, Caldo
A bilingual picture book offers up a celebration of a kitchen where mom has just pulled out the large stew pot to begin a fabulous vegetable soup and all the kids are invited to help.