In 1770, the slave Esperança Garcia bravely penned a letter to the governor of Piauí state, in Brazil, describing how she and her children were being mistreated and requesting permission to return to the farm where the rest of her family was living. Before she wrote her letter, Esperança Garcia lived on a cotton farm run by Jesuit priests, where she learned to read and write — a rare opportunity for a woman, especially a slave. But one day, she was separated from her husband and older children and taken with her two little ones to be a cook in the home of Captain Antonio Vieira de Couto, where she and the other slaves were beaten.
Picture Book
What There Is Before There Is Anything There
Every night when his parents turn off the light, strange creatures descend from the black space where the ceiling used to be . . . First comes one, then another, and then more and more. They stand all around him, staring, not saying a word. And then, worst of all, comes the dark, shapeless one that tells him, “I am what’s there before there is anything there . . .”
Boy and a Jaguar
Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Follow the life of the man Time Magazine calls, “the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation” as he searches for his voice and fulfills a promise to speak for animals, and people, who cannot speak for themselves.
Featured in WOW Review Volume IX, Issue 4.
In The Moonlight Mist: A Korean Tale
A good-hearted woodcutter finds a heavenly wife in this retelling of a Korean folk tale. One day in the forest, a woodcutter rescues an enchanted deer stalked by a hunter. In return for saving its life, the deer offers to make the woodcutter’s secret wish come true.
Up And Down
Little Penguin misses his friend and decides it’s time to visit. Leaping off his iceberg, he embarks on a journey, facing ups and downs and ins and outs until the pair are finally reunited.
Once Upon a Rainy Day
This is the story of a story that starts over again every day in the same way: as the sun rises, Mr. Warbler steps outside his cottage and walks into to the forest to wake the Big Bad Wolf. Every day, this action unleashes the same cavalcade of antics as the forest animals try to escape. But today, none of it happens, Mr. Warbler doesn’t even go outside, because it is raining.
The White Book
Roller in hand, a boy starts to paint a blank wall. First it’s a plain coat of pink. Then six birds emerge, perched on a branch. Wait, they were there a minute ago! Then he tries the blue paint, and it happens again: fourteen fish swimming in formation, until green paint reveals a giant dinosaur with big teeth and a mind of its own.
Black Cat, White Cat
Black Cat—black from the tips of his ears to the tip of his tail—only ever goes out in the day. But White Cat—white from her whiskers to her four furry paws—only ever goes out at night. He picks daisies, while she gazes at the stars. When they both feel the urge to explore a world beyond their own, Black Cat and White Cat go on a journey of discovery and meet for the very first time.
The Wonderful World of Pascal the Very Brave
Pascal, the Very Brave Platypus, lives in a most incredible town with his most incredible friends. There’s everyone from Fancy the roller-skating turtle, to Zelda the frog with the underwater trampoline and Ringo, the motor-cycle wearing bear who is the madcap inventor of the Piggy Bouncer. There are silly carrot recipes, a collections of chewed-up gum, an ant-powered toilet and ever-so-much more crammed onto spreads and spreads of hilariously detailed drawings, maps, illustrations and more everything guaranteed to have Pascal fans poring over for hours and hours and roaring with laughter.
A Tale of Two Beasts
There are two sides to every story. In part one, a little girl finds a strange beast in the woods and takes it home as a pet. She feeds it, shows it off to her friends and gives it a hat. But that night it escapes. Then, in part two, the beast tells the story of being kidnapped by the girl, who forcefed it squirrel food, scared it with a group of beasts and wrapped it in wool. Can the two beasts resolve their differences? An eye-opening story that makes you look at things from a different perspective.