When Brazilian American twins Lia and Luís receive a jigsaw puzzle from their grandmother, they must quickly solve it to figure out its secret message.
Picture Book
Robot, Unicorn, Queen
Shannon Bramer’s follow-up to her much loved poetry book Climbing Shadows is a collection of poems that explore a range of childhood experiences. Many poems reveal what it feels like to be a child―to pretend and dream and play with abandon, as well as to hurt and regret and feel sorrowful. The poems are varied in form, and while some are simple and direct, others invite children to see the potential for play and discovery in words and language.
The Pet Store Window
Ana looks out the pet store window with the store’s last remaining animals for sale a dog, a hedgehog and a mouse. What are they waiting for? Ana remembers finding the dog and bringing him to the store as a puppy. She’s watched as all the other dogs, the most charming, the most elegant, the strongest have all gone off. Ana, too, has never left, except at nights when she closes the store and goes home to the modest apartment she shares with her grandmother. But a day comes when the store owner announces that he has sold the store. An office tower will be built in its place. It makes no difference to him what happens to the animals, but Ana knows what she does next will make all the difference to her friends. Because after being together so long, isn’t that what they are?
When Dad’s Hair Took Off
One day, Dad’s hair decided it was tired of being brushed and combed. It wanted a life of its own, to see the world. It took off.
It’s Time For Berries!
Two sisters have waited all spring and summer to pick berries with their ningiuq, their grandmother. They’ve gone fishing, dug for clams, and by the time late summer arrives, it’s finally time for berries! Ninguiq and the girls head out to pick berries, rain or shine nothing will stop Ningiuq! Through driving rain and early autumn snow the girls and Ningiuq pick as many sweet berries as their buckets can hold. The hard work is all worth it to enjoy the delicious treats Ninguiq creates with her berries.
Happy Birthday To Me
How does it feel to turn a year older? A child runs through a spectrum of emotions on the best day of the year, their birthday!
The Woman And Her Bear Cub
When a mother and daughter find a polar bear cub alone on the sea ice, the daughter cannot bear to leave it behind. Finding no mother bear in sight, the two adopt the cub and raise it as the girl’s brother.
Mother Of Sharks
At la Playita del Condado in Puerto Rico, Meli meets a crab, Jaiba, who takes her on a dreamlike underwater adventure, teaches her about the importance of shark conservation, and reveals Meli’s ultimate destiny to become the Mother of Sharks.
My Mother Was A Nanny
A girl longs for her mother’s attention. But Mummy is always busy helping everyone else and their children! Day by day, the narrator recalls what it was like growing up with her mother, who was a nanny, as well as a friend, baker, maker, teacher, cleaner and more. As the youngest in her family, the girl stayed home and helped amuse the children her mother looked after. She went along on trips to the Caribbean greengrocer in their Brooklyn neighborhood, where her mother would almost always forget to buy her favorite fruit. She eavesdropped on her mother’s conversations, waiting for her turn to talk, only to be shooed away. She even accompanied her mother on office cleaning expeditions on Saturdays. Mummy seldom had a moment to spare. But looking back on a special surprise one Easter Sunday, the narrator realizes that her mother was always thinking about her own children, in spite of the demands of her domestic work and the central role she played in her community. Based on Laura James’ childhood in Brooklyn, and accompanied by her gorgeous, vibrant illustrations, this simple story is a moving reflection of race, class and labor in North America, including the Caribbean.
Malaika, Carnival Queen (The Malaika Series, 4)
Malaika learns about her father, who came to Canada as a migrant farm worker when she was just a baby and who shared her love of carnival. Malaika dreams about a man with a basket of fruit and guesses that the dream is about her father. Mummy explains that her daddy passed away long ago, and Grandma decides it’s time Malaika knew more about her father’s life. The family drives to a far off farm where they receive a warm welcome and visit the orchard where Malaika’s father picked fruit. The farm workers tell Malaika that her daddy had always dreamed of celebrating carnival there, just like back home. Will Malaika agree to be their Carnival Queen for the harvest festival?