Jacks around the World

This lively collection contains ingriguing, fast-moving games of jacks from countries as varied as Zimbabwe, Israel, Singapore, and the United States. The introduction to each of the 13 countries is packed with interesting facts, while easy-to-follow rules invite readers to play Cinco Marias (Brazil), Maakgep (Thailand), and other fun-filled games.

Count Your Way Through Korea

With the Korean numbers one through ten, Jim Haskins introduces young readers to diverse aspects of Korean culture. Describing such things as one ancient building and eight food seasonings, Haskins’s clear text works together with vivid full-color illustrations by Dennis Hockerman to help children explore Korean life.

Feed the Children First: Irish Memories of the Great Hunger

The great Irish potato famine — the Great Hunger — was one of the worst disasters of the nineteenth century. Within seven years of the onset of a fungus that wiped out Ireland’s staple potato crop, more than a quarter of the country’s eight million people had either starved to death, died of disease, or emigrated to other lands. Photographs have documented the horrors of other cataclysmic times in history, but there are no known photographs of the Great Hunger. Mary E. Lyons combines first-person accounts of those who remembered the Great Hunger with artwork that evokes the times and places and voices themselves. The result is a close-up look at incredible suffering, but also a celebration of joy the Irish took in stories and music and helping one another — all factors that helped them endure.

The Waorani: People of the Ecuadoran Rain Forest (Global Villages)

Describes the culture and plight of the Waorani, an indigenous tribe of the Ecuadoran rain forest whose environment and way of life are threatened by the encroachment of the industrial world.

Lost City: The Discovery of Machu Picchu

In 1911, Hiram Bingham, the young Yale professor, set out on his expedition in search of Inca ruins. Guided the last steps by a young Quechua boy, he discovered not the rumored lost city, but the ruins of Machu Picchu, a city totally unknown to the outside world, and one of the wonders of the world.

Ancient Egypt: A First Look at People of the Nile

The civilization of ancient Egypt disappeared two thousand years ago, yet we still marvel at the wonders it left behind. This engaging primer for young readers introduces the land, people, and culture of Egypt, including the pyramids, the Great Sphinx, and mummification. In his signature style of creating three-dimensional illustrations, Bruce Strachan brings to life the monuments and everyday customs of an enthralling society for children just beginning their discovery of ancient Egypt.