Good Morning China

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CHINA.  Playing, exercising, resting under a lotus tree: the things happening in an ordinary park on an ordinary morning. Early morning, and a community is coming to life.  Children are playing, an artist is painting, people are exercising and meditating.  Each page in this lovely picure book presents a snap-shot, and a final foldout spread collects them all to give a panorama of daily life in China.  Hu yong Yi’s paintings are saturated with color and rich in life and feeling.

Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story

In 1940, Chiune Sugihara-a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania-risked his life to issue thousands of exit visas to Jewish refugees fleeing from the Nazis. Seen through the eyes of his son, Hiroki, who was five years old at the time, this moving story shows how one person can truly make a difference.

Elizabeti’s Doll (Elizabeti Series)

When her new baby brother arrives, Elizabeti decides she needs a doll that she can care for the way her mother cares for the new baby. After looking around the village, Elizabeti finds the perfect doll to love. She names her Eva. When Mama changes the new baby’s diaper, Elizabeti changes Eva’s. And one day when Eva turns up lost, Elizabeti realizes just how much she loves her special doll. Full-color illustrations.

Mama Panya’s Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya

Mama Panya has just enough money to buy ingredients for a few pancakes, so when her son Adika invites all their friends to join them, she is sure there will not be enough to go around. With facts about Kenya and Kiswahilin (Swahili).

Jamari’s Drum

Little Jamari loves the sound of the great village drum and often sits at drummer Baba’s feet. “Why do you play every day?” he asks. “The drum is the keeper of peace in the village,” Baba replies. Time passes and many of the village elders pass on. One day Jamari agrees to take over the beating of the drum, to keep the peace. But little by little, he forgets his promise until disaster looms. What will Jamari do to bring back peace? Featuring acclaimed artist Baba Diakité’s gorgeous illustrations, Jamari’s Drum offers a simple, compelling lesson about duty and the greater good.

Mirror

In Sydney, Australia, and in Morocco, two boys and their families have a day of shopping. Readers are invited to compare illustrations in two wordless stories that are intended to be read one from left to right and the other from right to left.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 2

Grand

A warm visual essay on the universal relationship between children and their grandparents features photographs from a diverse range of ethnic, cultural and socio-economic regions of the world.