United States

Materials from United States of America

Hiroshima Dreams

Lin can’t explain the knowledge she has of the future, of what people will say or what will happen. It’s a gift she shares with Obaasan, her grandmother, who has recently come from Japan to live with Lin’s family. But seeing the future is more than knowing whether or not a boy will call. What is Lin to make of the visions she has of a day long ago, when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima? Acclaimed author Kelly Easton’s poignant coming-of-age novel about a girl with psychic abilities is rich in imagery and memorable characters.

Waynetta and the Cornstalk: A Texas Fairy Tale

Times sure are tough on the ranch, and Waynetta and her ma can use all the luck they can get. But when Waynetta trades their last longhorn for a handful of so-called magic corn, Ma is none too pleased. “The only magic this corn’s got is the disappearin’ kind,” she says, and tosses it out the window. But come the next morning, there’s a giant cornstalk growing up to the sky, and Waynetta climbs it to find her own luck… Helen Ketteman’s Texas-style retelling of “Jack and the Beanstalk” is full of cowgirl sass. Diane Greenseid’s paintings bring rollicking new life to a familiar tale. The author lives in Florida; the illustrator lives in California.

The Closet Ghosts

With help from Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, Anu finds a way to cope with going to a new school, living in a new home, and even dealing with the mischievous ghosts in her closet.

Grandfather’s Journey

A Japanese American man recounts his grandfather’s journey to America which he later also undertakes, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume VII, Issue 4

Crazy Jack

Once there was a boy named Jack who traded away a cow for a handful of beans. But Jack was no fool, he was haunted since the day his father climbed up into the clouds and vanished. When the beans provide a way for Jack to pursue his father, he enters the Giant’s world, where he discovers the terrifying ends of greed and desire. In Donna Jo Napoli’s transforming novel, Jack’s search for his father yields not gold, but sustenance, love, and the means to build a life.From the Paperback edition.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: America Keeps the Memory Alive

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opened in Washington D.C., in April 1993. This book walks the reader through the museum, floor by floor. It interweaves the story of the Holocaust with a description of the museum. The book describes the Nazis’ rise to power, the “final solution”, and the aftermath of the Holocaust (1945 to present).

Hello, America

The year is 1951 and eighteen-year-old Elli and her mother arrive in New York City. Finally they can leave behind bitter Holocaust memories and become real Americans! From office filing all day, to the challenge of night school, to interpreting the intentions of Alex, a handsome and persistent doctor, Elli soon finds learning English is only half as hard as “making it” in this new world. Against a backdrop of soda shops, skyscrapers, and subways, acclaimed author Livia Bitton-Jackson fuses old-world tradition and modern dreams, in this vivid kaleidoscope of immigrant America.

Wilderness

A novel of mothers lost and found. Grainne’s Mom disappeared years ago when her parents were divorced, and Mom moved to the U.S. Now, bafflingly, she’s reappeared and wants to meet. To get out of the way of this mysterious reunion, Grainne’s half-brothers, Johnny and Tom, go with their mother, Sandra, on an “adventure holiday” in Finland. But before they’re more than a few days into the snowy north, the boys are separated from Sandra, taking impossible risks to save her life.

Roadwork!

here are many big machines and busy people involved in building a road, and this picture book, with its rambunctious rhymes and noisy fun, follows them every step of the way, from clearing a pathway to rolling the tar to sweeping up at the end.

Robert H. Jackson: New Deal Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice, Nuremberg Prosecutor

This engaging biography of Jackson, a New Deal lawyer, Supreme Court Justice, and chief U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trial, details the personal journey of this extraordinary man who had never attended college nor earned a law degree.