As a blizzard approaches, two strangers emerge from the fog enveloping the forest. From the windows of their houses, the neighbors wonder: Who is outside? What do they want? Desperate for shelter, the strangers turn to the locals, hopeful someone will take them in. “The wind is cold. In exchange for some tea, could we warm ourselves by your fire?” Will anyone help?
Featured in WOW Review Volume X, Issue 4.
When a young girl visits the site of Africville, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the stories she’s heard from her family come to mind. She imagines what the community was once like the brightly painted houses nestled into the hillside, the field where boys played football, the pond where all the kids went rafting, the bountiful fishing, the huge bonfires. Coming out of her reverie, she visits the present-day park and the sundial where her great-grandmother’s name is carved in stone, and celebrates a summer day at the annual Africville Reunion/Festival.
The moment she steps off the plane, she feels a wall of heat, and familiar sights soon follow the boys selling water ice by the pink cathedral, the tap tap buses in the busy streets, the fog and steep winding road to her aunt’s home in the mountains. The girl has always loved Auntie Luce’s paintings the houses tucked into the hillside, colorful fishing boats by the water, heroes who fought for and won the country’s independence. Through Haiti’s colors, the girl comes to understand this place her family calls home. And when the moment finally comes to have her own portrait painted for the first time, she begins to see herself in a new way, tracing her own history and identity through her aunt’s brush.
Nancy and Douglas, determined to learn what is on the other side of a fence, try Nancy’s plans to launch, vault, and fly Douglas over, then succeed with Douglas’s simple idea.
A bilingual story, inspired by the childhood of Valentina Cruz, whose family was one of the first permanent inhabitants of the Galapagos islands. Valentina makes a promise to protect the islands and her animal friends.
On a stormy night two hundred years ago, a young woman sat in a dark house and dreamed of her life as a writer. She longed to follow the path her own mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, had started down, but young Mary Shelley had yet to be inspired. As the night wore on, Mary grew more anxious. The next day was the deadline that her friend, the poet Lord Byron, had set for writing the best ghost story. After much talk of science and the secrets of life, Mary had gone to bed exhausted and frustrated that nothing she could think of was scary enough. But as she drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of a man that was not a man. He was a monster. This fascinating story gives readers insight into the tale behind one of the world’s most celebrated novels and the creation of an indelible figure that is recognizable to readers of all ages.
When a classmate hurts his feelings by calling him a fairy, Brandon turns to his imagination and his two best friends, who rally to his side. Brandon informs his pals that he is now a zombie who will destroy his enemies with his tears. They respond by turning into a ghost and a vampire, ready to protect him from the mean words being thrown at him during recess.
Encourages the reader to manipulate the book to take care of a little dragon that has hatched inside–and to try to put out a fire after the dragon sneezes.
Lola was just a baby when her family left the Island, so when she has to draw it for a school assignment, she asks her family, friends, and neighbors about their memories of her homeland…and in the process, comes up with a new way of understanding her own heritage.
Featured in WOW Review Volume XI, Issue 1.
Islandborn was featured in WOW Currents Rompiendo nuestra burbuja: An International Perspective on Culturally Specific Literature from the United States.
What distinguishes a mandarin orange from a clementine, an iris from a pupil, a tornado from a cyclone, and a bee from a wasp? The difference is in the details! This content-rich illustrated extravaganza distills the distinctions between an impressive collection of pairs—from animals to food to geography and more—offering enlightening trivia, amusing tidbits, and unforgettable facts in a highly browsable format. Young readers can dip in quickly to feed their curiosity, or delve into the details and stay awhile. With a bold, graphic art style and an accessible, smart text, this miscellany collection will enrich probing minds (or is it “brains”?!).