Because her Haitian family is too poor to be able to buy paints for her, eight-year-old Ti Marie finds her own way to create pictures that make the heart sing. Ti Marie dreams of being an artist. Whenever she gets some time away from watching her little sisters and helping Mama in their market stall, she finds a cement wall or a scrap of waste paper and lets her imagination soar. Using whatever she can find to make a mark–bits of red brick, charcoal, white rocks–Ti Marie makes beautiful art. If only she had real paint, brushes, and clean white canvas, what wonderful pictures she could paint then! But Mama says there is no money for such things. Still, Ti Marie finds a surprising way to make her dreams come true.
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction genre
Gregory Cool
When he goes to visit his grandparents and his cousin on the island of Tobago, Gregory misses home at first, but as he gets to know both the island ways and his relatives, Gregory begins to enjoy himself.
Tashi and the Tibetan Flower Cure
A young Tibetan American girl helps her grandfather recover from an illness through the use of a traditional cure that focuses on spiritual as well as physical recovery and brings together a caring community.
Duck for a Day
When Abby’s class gets a pet duck named Max, she is eager to take it home overnight, especially since her parents will not let her have a pet.
Sadie and Ratz
Hannah and her hands, named Sadie and Ratz, regularly get into trouble, especially when younger brother Baby Boy is around.
Calvin Coconut: Man Trip
Fourth-grader Calvin flies from Oahu to the big island of Hawaii to go on a deep-sea fishing trip with Ledward, his mother’s boyfriend, and learns to appreciate other living creatures– especially one enormous marlin.
Graffiti Moon
Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she’s going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He’s out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Instead, Lucy’s stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she’s managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they’re suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.
Jo Jo the Giant
JoJo may be small, but his heart is big and so are his dreams. The red Rocket Racers in the window of Smiling Sam’s Shoe Shop could be his, but only if he can stand up to the big kids and run the race of his life. The boy in the mirror looks doubtful, but the boy standing in front of it is going to try. Anything could happen!
Tua and the Elephant
In Chiang Mai, Thailand, nine-year-old Tua releases an abused elephant from its chains–can she complete the rescue by getting it to an elephant refuge without being caught herself?
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 7, Issue 1
Whoa, Baby, Whoa!
A baby finally finds something to do that does not make everyone in the family tell him “No.”