Americas

Materials from the Americas

Audrey (Cow)

Audrey is a cow with poetry in her blood, who yearns for the greener pastures beyond Bittersweet Farms. But when Roy the horse tells this bovine dreamer that she is headed for Abbot’s War, the slaughter house, Audrey knows that she must leave her home and friends sooner than she ever imagined. With the help of a whole crew of animals and humans alike, Audrey attempts to escape the farm she lives on–and certain death. Cleverly written as an oral account, this unique illustrated tale of an animal on the run, told “to camera”, uses over thirty narrative voices, including six humans, four cows, three sheep, two sheep dogs, one pig and a very silly rooster. Full of heart and humor, Audrey (cow) is ultimately a very human story about life and death, friendship, and holding on to one’s dreams–based more or less on a true story.

Yellow Moon, Apple Moon

In this delightful bedtime rhyme a young child bids good night to the moon, recalling all the familiar things surrounding her, from her pillow, her book, and her kitten to the swing outside, the robins in the trees, and the starry night.

Imagining Geronimo

His face has appeared on T-shirts, postage stamps, jigsaw puzzles, posters and an Andy Warhol print. A celebrity and a tourist attraction who attended three World’s Fairs and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade, he is a character in such classic westerns as Stagecoach and Broken Arrow. His name was used in the daring military operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, and rumors about the location of his skull at a Yale University club have circulated for a century. These are just a few of the ways that the Apache shaman and war leader known to Anglo-Americans as Geronimo has remained alive in the mainstream American imagination and beyond.

Before Columbus: The Americas Of 1491

This study of Native American societies is adapted for younger readers from Charles C. Mann’s best-selling 1491. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, the book argues that the people of North and South America lived in enormous cities, raised pyramids hundreds of years before the Egyptians did, engineered corn, and farmed the rain forests.

One Step At A Time

One Step at a Time continues the true story of Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War. Tuyet, recently rescued from war-torn Vietnam, is settling into her new adoptive family. But before she can even learn to speak their language, she must undergo a frightening surgery to correct her polio-damaged leg.

This One Summer

Rose and her parents have been going to Awago Beach since she was a little girl. It’s her summer getaway, her refuge. Her friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had, completing her summer family. But this summer is different. Rose’s mom and dad won’t stop fighting, and Rose and Windy have gotten tangled up in a tragedy-in-the-making in the small town of Awago Beach. It’s a summer of secrets and heartache, and it’s a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.

Pirates Of The Silver Coast

At long last, Dessa knows the location of her missing twin brother: the Island of Astaroth. But getting there is another matter. No one has ever seen the Dark Island. Together with her friends, Topper and Fisk, she must navigate nasty surprises and pirate treachery in her desperate search for what is left of her family.

Blue Mountain

Tuk the bighorn sheep is told he will be the one to save his herd, but he is young and would rather play with his bandmates than figure out why the herd needs saving. As humans encroach further and further into their territory, there is less room for the sheep to wander, food becomes scarce, and the herd’s very survival is in danger. Tuk and his friends set out to find Blue Mountain, a place that Tuk sometimes sees far in the distance and thinks might be a better home. The journey is treacherous, filled with threatening pumas and bears and dangerous lands, leading Tuk down a path that goes against every one of his instincts. Still, Tuk perseveres, reaching Blue Mountain and leading his herd into a new, safe place.

Last Airlift

Last Airlift is the true story of one girl’s escape from war-torn Vietnam. School Library Journal said, “The author tells Tuyet’s story with respect and dignity, introducing readers to a brave girl caught up in the turbulent times of her country, her fears of leaving what she knew, and the joy of finding a new life.”