Vanilla Ice Cream

Following some food, a curious young sparrow stows away in the back of a truck and takes an unusual voyage south — through the lush rice paddies of India, across the rough sea, and all the way into a bright new day. As the sun rises high over the city, he finds little Edie at a café with her grandma and granddad, and for a fleeting instant, his world meets up with hers and changes her life in the most delightful way.

The Glass Mountain: Tales from Poland

Dragons and kings, frogs and spells, witches and mermaids — all the hallmark characters of traditional Polish fairy tales are found in this magical collection. Jan Pienkowski draws on a distinctive cut-paper technique learned as a child in Poland to produce dramatic and vibrant illustrations for eight time-honored stories. Celebrating honesty, loyalty, and creativity, stories such as “The Krakow Dragon” and “The Warsaw Mermaid” will captivate today’s child as much as they did young Jan during his childhood.

How To Save A Species

How to Save a Species brings readers as close as they may ever get to some of the most endangered animals and plants on earth. Highlighting the efforts of scientists, communities, and campaign groups, it includes the astonishing success stories of species that have been saved from the edge of extinction, as well as urgent cases in need of immediate action.

Dear Malala, We Stand with You

An inspiring letter to Malala Yousafzai, winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, that is both a show of support and a call to action for girls around the world. Malala became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize after she survived being shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out in favor of a girl’s right to an education. She survived this brutal attack and has emerged as a very powerful voice for social justice in the world.

Families Around the World

A successor to the popular Children Around the World written and illustrated by Donata Montanari, this book allows young readers to visit with fourteen children, each from a different country, to learn about their families. Based on real children, each one’s story fills a two-page spread and is told in the first person, beginning with a greeting in the child’s native language.

Who’s Next Door?

Chicken is thrilled when he finds out someone new has moved in next door. His quiet house deep in the woods can be lonely sometimes, and it would be so much fun to have a friend! But Chicken never catches so much as a glimpse of his neighbor, despite many days spent waiting, pacing, and knocking. As it turns out, his neighbor, Owl, has been doing the same thing, yearning to meet Chicken — only he’s been doing it at night. It’s not until after the two exchange notes and mix up plans for a visit, each using his own definition of “tomorrow,” that they meet fortuitously and find a creative way to enjoy each other’s friendship despite their different schedules.

Hope Springs

A drought has settled in the area around the orphanage where Boniface lives. There are long line-ups at the tiny spring where all the local people get their water, and suddenly the orphans are pushed to the back of the line, unwelcome. Boniface’s houseparent, Henry, tells him that the people were mean out of fear–they feared there would not be enough water for their families. When the building of the orphanage’s well is completed, Boniface has an idea to help the villagers.

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.

Night Sky Dragons

Yazul loves making kites with his grandfather, but all he truly desires is the approval of his father. Yazul’s father, lord of a han along the Silk Road, is a man made stern by loneliness, and Yazul’s love of kite-making only seems to elicit disappointment. “Travel and trade are what matters,” his father says. But when the han is attacked by bandits, Yazul has an idea.