Materials from the Americas
Teacher and librarian Luis Soriano Bohórquez packs his two burros, Alfa and Beto, with books and makes his way over mountains and through valleys to visit children in far-flung villages in rural Colombia all for the sake of literacy and culture.
No opponent is too big a challenge for the cunning skills of Las Hermanitas, Lucha Queens! Their Poopy Bomb Blowout will knock em’ down! Their Tag-Team Teething will gnaw opponents down to a pulp! Their Pampered Plunder Diversion will fell even the most determined competitor!
A deceptively simple, imaginative story depicting the complex emotional reality of a girl whose father no longer lives at home. The girl conjures up an imaginary companion, a lion, who will come with her on the long walk home from school. He will help her to pick up her baby brother from daycare and shop at the store (which has cut off the family’s credit), and he’ll keep her company all along the way until she is safe at home.
Featured in WOW Review Volume XI, Issue 2.
What do cats really see? What do trees talk about? Should you make funny faces on a windy day? Do worms rule the world? Do mothers always tell the truth? Do snails have nightmares?
Less than forty-eight hours after twelve-year-old Chris sets off on a sailing trip down the Alaskan coast with his uncle, their boat sinks. The only survivors are Chris and a boy named Frank, who hates Chris immediately. Chris and Frank have no radio, no flares, no food. Suddenly, they’ve got to forage, fish, and scavenge the shore for supplies. Chris likes the company of a curious, friendly raven more than he likes the prickly Frank. But the boys have to get along if they want to survive.
On a beautiful Arctic morning, Kumak looks out the window of his house at the sun rising over the frozen river. “Ahhh, spring,” says Kumak to his family. “The days are long, the nights are short, and the ice is still hard. Good day for fish.” Eager to give Uncle Aglu’s amazing hooking stick a try, Kumak packs up his family and heads out to go ice fishing. “Good day for fish!” they all agree. Hapless Kumac is the only one in his family without fish until the tug at the other end of his line incites a mighty battle. A clever ending reveals that the whale-sized fish that Kumak imagined was actually a line of small fish in tug o’ war position. Kumak reigns, and there’s plenty for everybody. Authentic details throughout the playful art and text, as well as endnotes on Inupiat fishing, provide young readers with a fascinating window into another culture in this follow up to KUMAK’S HOUSE a 2003 Children’s Book Council Notable Trade Book in Social Studies.
Amidst a complicated history of mistreatment by and distrust of the American government, the Navajo people–especially bilingual code talkers–helped the Allies win World War II.
“The story of two giraffes – one English-speaking and one Spanish-speaking that overcome the language barrier to forge a friendship”
Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous and life-changing journey from his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in the United States.
This book was reviewed in Volume XI, Issue 1 of WOW Review: Reading Across Cultures.
When I was three years old, Mom plucked a curly white feather out of my neck. If I get scared or the loneliness comes over me, I run my fingertip over the tiny scar and dream about the day the rest of my feathers will grow in. That’s the day I’ll fly away from here. For eleven-year-old Finch, there couldn’t be a better time to fly away from her life.