Canticos Little Skeletons Countdown to Midnight

Follow the little skeletons as they go about their surprising and intriguing day while counting down from 1 PM to midnight.

Letters to a Prisoner

Told entirely through illustrations, Letters to a Prisoner is a wordless story about the power of hope and the written word. Inspired by Amnesty International’s letter-writing campaigns to help free people who have been jailed for expressing their opinion, the book tells the story of a man who is arrested during a peaceful protest. In solitary confinement, he begins to despair―until a bird delivers a letter of support written by somebody outside the prison. Every day more missives arrive until the prisoner escapes his fate on wings made of letters.

Featured in WOW Review Volume XII, Issue 4

Ebb & Flow

One summer, after a long plane ride and a rotten bad year I went to Grandma Jo’s. It was my mother’s idea. Jett, what you need is a change of scenery. I think she needed a change of scenery, too. One without me. Because that rotten bad year? That was my fault. Thus begins the poignant story, told in free verse, of eleven-year-old Jett. Last year, Jett and his mother had moved to a new town for a fresh start after his father went to jail. But Jett soon learned that fresh starts aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. When he befriended a boy with a difficult home life, Jett found himself in a cycle of bad decisions that culminated in the betrayal of a friend a shameful secret he still hasn’t forgiven himself for. Will a summer spent with his unconventional grandmother help Jett find his way to redemption?

A World Below

Mr. Baker’s eighth grade class thought they were in for a normal field trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, but their journey takes a terrifying turn when an earthquake hits and the students are plunged into a frigid underground lake, forcing them to fight for survival and find their way back above ground.

Aquarium

A girl ventures to the water’s edge, dreaming of a new friend. And, just like that, a beguiling red fish leaps into her life. But is friendship a sea these two can navigate together? From debut Argentinian author-illustrator Cynthia Alonso comes a wordless picture book about the timeless beauty of nature, the transcendent power of connection, and the importance of letting go.

Rainforest

Travel deep into the forest. What elusive and fascinating creatures will you find there? Delicate, colorful and distinctive, Julia Groves’ illustrations introduce us to the animals that live in this precious and endangered habitat. Wildlife fans will be thrilled to encounter all kinds of rainforest creatures from the familiar species to the more obscure.

Rooster Summer

For the brother and sister in this novel in verse, each day begins with a barnyard wakeup call. During a summer spent on their grandparents’ farm, they collect eggs from the chicken coop, put on shows for city folks in passing trains, fill in for the farm dog by barking the cows home and dance around the perfectly ripening watermelon growing in Grandma’s garden. All of these barnyard adventures happen in the company of Rexter the rooster, Seed-Sack the mule and Ginger-Tea the farm dog animal friends that will steal readers’ hearts over the course of a carefree rooster summer.

Running Through Sprinklers

Two life-long best friends grow up and begin to grow apart in this honest, deeply felt middle grade debut. Sara and Nadine. Nadine and Sara. It’s only ever been the two of them. Two halves of the same person. Best friends forever—until they aren’t. Everything has changed this year. Nadine has suddenly skipped a grade and gone to high school without Sara. No matter how hard she fights to save their friendship, Sara can feel it slipping away. But change can happen from the inside, too. The forever-friend days of running through sprinklers and slurping up ice cream cones may be over. Yet in their place, Sara just might discover something new and wonderful: herself.

Sisters In Blue

In the early 1600s, imagines an encounter between a Pueblo woman and Sister María de Jesús de Ágreda, New Mexicoʹs famous Lady in Blue, during the nun’s mystical spiritual journeys.

Featured in WOW Review Volume X, Issue 3.