On a tiny island off the coast of Iceland, Halla and her friends wait with anticipation. Every spring, millions of puffins, the clowns of the sea, return to nest, lay eggs, and raise their chicks to pufflings. That means Halla and her friends will be busy in August when the pufflings venture out at night to take their first flight. Then, all of the children stay out all night, too. During the nights of the pufflings they rescue thousands of stranded young birds, and in the daytime set them safely free at the beach. In Nights of the Pufflings, Bruce McMillan captures the unique and endearing story of an island tradition.
Nonfiction
Nonfiction genre
Days of the Ducklings
On a small island off the coast of Iceland, Drífa has the task of hatching and raising over two hundred peeping wild eider ducklings. Her goal, for which she is supported by a license granted by the Ministry of the Environment, is to raise the ducklings to reestablish a colony of common eiders here. If the ducklings are to survive in the wild, they can’t become pets. Drífa must nurture them while keeping her distance as their caregiver. She must balance the emotionally satisfying appeal of her charges with her ultimate goal of reestablishing the colony if she is to succeed in raising her lovable ducklings to live free as wild eider ducks.
Books For Children of the World
Presents the life of the founder of the International Youth Library in Munich, Jella Lepman, describing how she was sent by the United States Army to Germany in 1945 to assist German children and decided to build a children’s library.
The Hispanic Americans
Discusses the social and economic problems faced by twelve million Hispanic Americans who live and work in the United States today.
On The Texas Trail Of Cabeza De Vaca
In 1527, the conquistador Cabeza de Vaca set sail for the Spanish territory of La Florida. His aim was to explore and colonize an unknown land that stretched from present-day Florida to Texas.
Snakes!: Strange and Wonderful
Provides a comprehensive look at the world of snakes through a presentation of the many types found around the world–reviewing their similarities, differences, and unique abilities.
The Bite of the Mango
The astounding story of one girl’s journey from war victim to UNICEF Special Representative. As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry. But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands. Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown. In this gripping and heartbreaking true story, Mariatu shares with readers the details of the brutal attack, its aftermath and her eventual arrival in Toronto. There she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 4
Africans Thought of It
The ingenuity of African peoples from ancient times to today. Did you know that aloe vera — now found in countless products, including sunscreens and soaps — was first used by Africans? They ground it into powder and used it to treat burns and other skin conditions, and hunters used it to disguise their scent from animals. They also used the nutritious oil from the fruit of the oil palm tree in everything from cooking to medicines to wine. And the marimba, better known to us as the xylophone, is believed to have originated 700 years ago in Mali. Other unique African innovations include the technique of banana leaf art and using horns — and hairdos! — to communicate important messages. Africans Thought of It features descriptive photos and information-packed text that is divided into sections, including: Agriculture Food Medicine Music Architecture Games and Sports. This fourth book in Annick’s We Thought of It series takes readers on a fascinating journey across the world’s second largest continent to discover how aspects of its culture have spread around the globe.
Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto
This is the only biography for children about the remarkable Holocaust heroine Irena Sendler, who smuggled over 400 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Terezin
Through inmates’ own voices and artwork, Terezin explores the lives of Jewish people in one of the most infamous of the Nazi transit camps. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany turned the small town of Terezin, Czechoslovakia, into a ghetto, and then into a transit camp for thousands of Jewish people. It was a “show” camp, where inmates were forced to use their artistic talents to fool the world about the truth of gas chambers and horrific living conditions for imprisoned Jews. Here is their story, told through the firsthand accounts of those who were there. In this accessible, meticulously researched book, Ruth Thomson allows the inmates to speak for themselves through secret diary entries, artwork, and excerpts from memoirs and recordings narrated after the war. Terezin: Voices from the Holocaust is a moving portrait that shows the strength of the human will to endure, to create, and to survive.