Materials from the Americas
A rhyming tale about a toad who travels to the outdoor market, only to discover upon his return home that he has neglected to pick up the items on his grocery list. He does manage, however, to have a spectacularly wonderful time perusing the venue and mingling with fellow customers.
Accustomed to his impoverished life in Bogota, Colombia, Juan Guillermo resents his family and is delighted when a visit to his wealthy grandmother introduces him to the comforts of money, but he learns a savage truth that puts his family in danger.
Who ever heard of a girl glassblower? In Mexico, where the sun is called el sol and the moon is called la luna, a little girl called Elena wants to blow into a long pipe… and make bottles appear, like magic. But girls can’t be glassblowers. Or can they? Join Elena on her fantastic journey to Monterrey — home of the great glassblowers! — in an enchanting story filled with magic realism.
Americas Award For Children’s And Young Adult Literature. Commended.
Chaska wishes that she could learn to read and write, but the schoolhouse in her little village in the Andes Mountains is too small, and only the boys and older girls can attend. So she spends her days with Grandfather, who tells her stories about the proud Incas and their gold. Many years ago, the Incas lived in the same valley as Chaska’s village and made golden objects in honor of the Sun God, Papa Inti. A few still lie buried among the rocks and stones. One day, as Chaska is thinking about these stories, she finds a golden doll–real Inca idol.
Little Reina persuades her mother to let her go to the beach with her uncle and cousins, but she has to promise to not go near the waves. It becomes intolerable for her to keep that promise as her cousins frolic in the water–and then she finds a solution to her problem.
“Explores the geography, history, government, economy, people, and culture of El Salvador”–Provided by publisher.
In 1962 Ottawa, 11-year-old Rex Norton-Norton faces several confusing mysteries, including his father’s troubling secrets from World War II, the problems of a beautiful but unhappy woman named Natasha, what to do about his mean and vindictive teacher, and whether or not he should even be concerned about these things.
Saturdays and Sundays are very special days for the child in this story. On Saturdays, she visits Grandma and Grandpa, who come from a European-American background, and on Sundays — los domingos — she visits Abuelito y Abuelita, who are Mexican-American. While the two sets of grandparents are different in many ways, they also have a great deal in common — in particular, their love for their granddaughter. While we follow our narrator to the circus and the pier, share stories from her grandparents’ pasts, and celebrate her birthday, the depth and joy of both cultures are conveyed in Spanish and English. This affirmation of both heritages will speak to all children who want to know more about their own families and ethnic backgrounds.
Awards
Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, Commended
A whimsical, quirky, and very personal history of cars. In the early days, cars were primarily a source of recreation. They shared unpaved roads with horses and wagons, and when they ran out of gas — which was often because there were few gas stations — horses had to pull them home. Driving mania soon began to shape the landscape. Cars begat gas stations, which sparked the popularity of family camping, going to the drive-in, and fast food. They even spawned bridges so that people could ford rivers in the comfort of their cars.
Black Stars in a White Night Sky, Lawson’s second book of poetry for children, includes fractonyms, concretes, as well as short lyrics and poems that don’t rhyme. Lawson stretches the boundaries of what is normally thought of as children’s poetry, but not at the expense of the books entertainment value or clarity. The poems are written within hearing of both children and adults; philosophy and tomfoolery are equally at home in this exemplary new tome.