Discusses Zimbabwe, including its history, conflicts, and the reasons why it is currently in the news.
Nonfiction
Nonfiction genre
Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures: Ancient Egypt
Ms. Frizzle and her tour group are transported to ancient Egypt, where they learn about the pyramids, mummification, flooding of the Nile, and other aspects of life in Egypt long ago.
Cat Mummies
Clearly written text offers an answer to the question of why ancient Egyptians mummified thousands and thousands of cats. An easy-to-understand introduction to ancient Egyptian history. “Extensive research is evident in the many original sources quoted and the lengthy bibliography. . . . Kubinyi’s soft-focus watercolors work well to explain and break up the text.” — School Library Journal
Gorilla Walk
In 1997, Ted and Betsy Lewin trekked into the Impenetrable Forest in Uganda to see mountain gorillas in the wild. This real-life adventure story is the amazing saga of that trip. At moments funny, exhausting, educational, and enlightening, Gorilla Walk is filled with the wonder of nature in general–and of this magnificent animal in particular.Notable Children’s Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council, 2000 Notable Children’s Books (ALA), and Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 2000–selected by Natn’l Science Tchrs Assoc. & Child. Bk Cncl.
Bulu
Fans of true dog stories, Jack Russell terriers, and African wildlife will want to check outBulu! Born on a crocodile farm in Zambia’s untamed South Luangwa Valley, the puppy seemed different from his littermates. Too quiet. Unresponsive. Terriers are usually full of energy and bouncing off walls. But not this one. Nobody wanted him. Enter Anna and Steve Tolan-former police officers who had left behind their life in England to live in the African bush. People thought the Tolans were a bit different, too. The peculiar puppy suited them perfectly. They named him Bulu, or “wild dog” in the local Nyanja language. Living in the bush, Bulu not only found his voice, he also found his calling as a foster parent to the orphaned baby animals-including warthogs, monkeys, elephants, baboons, bushbucks, and buffalo-cared for by the Tolans. But Bulu’s protective nature led him into terrifying situations in the wild. It’s a miracle he survived! But survive he did, disarming people with his wacky ways and nurturing once-unwanted creatures like him until they too could be set free. Bulu’s story is a joyful confirmation of dogs as unique spirits, capable of love, compassion, and bravery. Packed with vivid descriptions of encounters with crocodiles, lions, leopards, poisonous snakes, bull elephants, and more-and illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs-Bulu: African Wonder Dogwill leave fans of dog stories begging for more!
Give a Goat
After hearing a story about a girl in Uganda whose life is changed for the better by the gift of a goat, a class of fifth-graders pulls together to raise funds to make a similar donation to someone in need.
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
Saving the Baghdad Zoo
The Baghdad zoo was once home to more than six hundred magnificent animals. But after the war in Iraq began in 2003, the city faced widespread destruction. When U. S. Army Captain William Sumner was asked to check out the state of the zoo, he found that it, too, was devastated. Hundreds of animals were missing, and the few remaining were in desperate need of care. And so Captain Sumner accepted a new mission. Together with an international team of zoologists, veterinarians, conservationists, and dedicated animal lovers, Captain Sumner worked tirelessly to save the neglected—but tenacious—animals of Baghdad. Saving the Baghdad Zoo tells the poignant stories of these remarkable animals. Meet the abandoned lions who roamed an empty palace with no food or drink; the camel, Lumpy, who survived transport through sniper fire; the tigers, Riley and Hope, who traveled 7,000 miles from home; and many more. The Baghdad Zoo, open once again to the people of Iraq, has become an oasis of hope and safety in a city where both are precious gifts.
I.D.
Some things can change you forever.This is a book about identity. Everyone remembers the life events that shaped their identity. That first love. The first all-out fight with a parent or sibling. The feeling of being let down by someone you love. Losing something or someone that matters to you. Struggling to fit in. I.D. collects 12 first-person accounts about life’s pivotal moments and offers each as an incisive graphic narrative.Illuminated by Peter Mitchell’s bold, gritty illustrations, these true stories tackle the universal experiences from childhood and adolescence that stay with us forever. Each anecdote and accompanying reflection reveals how individual identity can be shaped by common themes.By turns thoughtful, painful, funny and fierce, I.D. powerfully demonstrates that what defines us in youth doesn’t have to confine us forever.
Pika: Life In The Rocks
A pika scurries across a rock pile high in the Rocky Mountians. He watches out for hungry hawks and weasels. Quickly, he nips leafy twigs off bushes and carries them to his rocky den. This hamster-size cousin of the rabbit is storing up food. He will build a “hay pile” as big as a bathtub. As summer changes to autumn and winter settles in, the pika feeds from his hay pile and tunnets through the snow. In the spring, he sings for a mate. Soon, pika pups are climbing on the rocks.
Stunning photographs catch the pike in the act of living naturally. A fact-filled text tells the story of how one of the world’s cutest animals can survive when life is pretty rocky.
Frozen Land
“Describes the traditional ways of life of an Inuit family living in the Canadian Northwest Territories and some of the changes they have had to face”–Provided by publisher.