Materials from the Americas
Roses for Isabella invites us to experience life in Ecuador through the eyes of a young girl who keeps a journal and loves to write. We learn about Isabella’s parents who work on one of the hundreds of farms growing beautiful roses that are sold all over the world. But not all of these farms are fair to worker and kind to the earth. Through Isabella, we learn how her family’s life changes for the better when her parents find work at a Fair Trade farm.
The Aztecs built an advanced and dazzling empire that stretched across a large part of Mesoamerica. The Chuampa “floating gardens” system of farming is perhaps their most remarkable accomplishment. Other discoveries and inventions related to transportation, agriculture, architecture, science, and technology, enriched their culture and provide a way for us to experience parallels between ancient times and the world we know today.
A Chinese-American boy gains a new understanding of his Chinese grandfather in this celebratory story of family, martial arts, and the Chinese New Year. Vinson is very excited when his grandfather comes from China for a visit. When Grandpa practices tai chi in the garden, Vinson asks to learn, hoping it will be like kung fu, full of kicks and punches. But tai chi’s meditative postures are slow and still, and Vinson quickly gets bored. He can’t understand why Grandpa insists on calling him by his Chinese name, Ming Da, or why he has to wear a traditional Chinese jacket to the Chinese New Year parade. As the parade assembles, however, he notices the great respect given to his grandfather and the lion dancers under his training. And when Vinson is offered a role in the parade, he realizes that being part Chinese can be pretty cool—and is ready to start learning from his grandpa’s martial-arts mastery in earnest.
Fourth-grader Cal learns a lot about teasing and standing up for others when a weird new student joins his class, while Stella, the tenth-grader who lives with Cal’s family to help his mother, practices for her driving test.
Cosmo remembers a time when dodos lived happily on Earth. But with humans came their guns, and soon the only dodos left were Cosmo and two friends. Then comes the terrible day when Cosmo finds himself all alone, the last of the dodos. If he is to survive, he must leave the planet he loves. He is lucky to make a trusty friend in the form of an almost-human space robot, and, together, they set out across the universe to find other dodos. But soon they realize that many creatures, and even the planet Earth, need protection and care. The survival of all living things depends on it. In fast-paced text and eye-catching art, The Adventures of Cosmo encourages children to learn about their environment and the reason why it is important for them to protect it.
Cosmo remembers a time when dodos lived happily on Earth. But with humans came their guns, and soon the only dodos left were Cosmo and two friends. Then comes the terrible day when Cosmo finds himself all alone, the last of the dodos. If he is to survive, he must leave the planet he loves. He is lucky to make a trusty friend in the form of an almost-human space robot, and, together, they set out across the universe to find other dodos. But soon they realize that many creatures, and even the planet Earth, need protection and care. The survival of all living things depends on it. In fast-paced text and eye-catching art, The Adventures of Cosmo encourages children to learn about their environment and the reason why it is important for them to protect it.
Cosmo remembers a time when dodos lived happily on Earth. But with humans came their guns, and soon the only dodos left were Cosmo and two friends. Then comes the terrible day when Cosmo finds himself all alone, the last of the dodos. If he is to survive, he must leave the planet he loves. He is lucky to make a trusty friend in the form of an almost-human space robot, and, together, they set out across the universe to find other dodos. But soon they realize that many creatures, and even the planet Earth, need protection and care. The survival of all living things depends on it. In fast-paced text and eye-catching art, The Adventures of Cosmo encourages children to learn about their environment and the reason why it is important for them to protect it.
Otto is a lumbering, sweet-natured elephant who can’t forget his childhood chum Georgie, a smiley-faced chimpanzee who was abducted and shipped away from their forest home by the mysterious and sinister Man with the Wooden Nose. Accompanied by a wisecracking but protective parrot named Crackers, Otto decides to hop a plane and look for Georgie in America. But once they hit the wild streets of the concrete jungle, Otto and Crackers court trouble at every turn — even becoming unwittingly involved in the seedy alligator underworld dominating the city sewers. And little do these out-of-place out-oftowners realize that they, too, are being doggedly pursued across the city — by the local police! Will the authorities catch Otto and Crackers? Will Otto and Crackers find Georgie? Who is the Man with the Wooden Nose? And what’s an elephant doing sporting a trenchcoat and fedora?
Cosmo remembers a time when dodos lived happily on Earth. But with humans came their guns, and soon the only dodos left were Cosmo and two friends. Then comes the terrible day when Cosmo finds himself all alone, the last of the dodos. If he is to survive, he must leave the planet he loves. He is lucky to make a trusty friend in the form of an almost-human space robot, and, together, they set out across the universe to find other dodos. But soon they realize that many creatures, and even the planet Earth, need protection and care. The survival of all living things depends on it. In fast-paced text and eye-catching art, The Adventures of Cosmo encourages children to learn about their environment and the reason why it is important for them to protect it.
Few know the story of the Japanese invasion of Alaska during World War II–until now. This narrative nonfiction book for young adults tells the riveting story of how the Japanese invaded and occupied the Aleutian Islands in Alaska during World War II. This fascinating little-known piece of American history is told from the point of view of the American civilians who were captured and taken prisoner, along with the American and Japanese soldiers who fought in one of the bloodiest battles of hand-to-hand combat during the war. Complete with more than 80 photographs throughout and first person accounts of this extraordinary event.