Materials from Asia
Chosen from millions of children to serve in Mao’s cultural revolution by studying at the Beijing Dance Academy, Li knows ballet would be his family’s best opportunity to escape the poverty in his rural China home. From one hardship to another, Li perseveres, never forgetting the family he left behind.
Gently explore the special bond between children and their pets. A shy little girl and her very independent cat, play, hide, and comfort one another. Both children and parents will appreciate how the cat soothes the little girl and silently encourages her to explore the bigger world and experience new things.
Dom, a fourteen-year-old computer enthusiast, travels to Bangkok in order to find a necklace that his sister had lost three years earlier and to lift the curse that has plagued his family since that time.
Riley journeys to the Terai Arc region of India and Nepal in search of the elusive Bengal tiger. Riley’s research leads to exciting encounters with some weird and wild indigenous animals (an Asian rhino, a king cobra, langur monkeys and more!) as well as a better understanding of the local culture.
The hero of the Brotherhood of the Conch series, now fifteen, is settling back into his life as an apprentice in the lush Silver Valley, nestled high in the Himalayas. There he continues to learn the secret arts of the Brotherhood. But suddenly his adopted home is reduced to a barren wasteland when his beloved conch, the valley’s source of magical energy, is stolen by an unknown force. Together with his friend Nisha, Anand embarks on what may be his most dangerous mission—traveling to the cold and forbidding world of Shadowland in his attempt to restore the conch to its rightful place, and his home to its original splendor.
Samurai fear nothing, not even death. They are loyal and brave. Fourteen-year-old Seikei has studied the way of the samurai, and would like nothing more than to be one. But a samurai is born, not made; Seikei was born the son of a tea merchant, so a merchant he must be. But when a priceless ruby intended for the shogun-the military governor of Japan-is stolen by a ghost, Seikei finds himself having to display all the courage of a samurai. Seikei is the only person to have seen the thief, and now the famous magistrate, Judge Ooka, needs the boy\’s help to solve this mystery. Can the son of a merchant prove himself worthy to the shogun himself?
Ming-Li looked up and tried to imagine the sky silent, empty of birds. It was a terrible thought. Her country’s leader, Chairman Mao had called sparrows the enemy of the farmers–they were eating too much grain, he said. He announced a great “Sparrow War” to banish them from China, but Ming-Li did not want to chase the birds away. As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, Ming-Li held her ears and watched in dismay. The birds were falling from the trees, frightened to death. Ming-Li knew she had to do something–even if she couldn’t stop the noise. Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one.
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
A little rabbit enjoys having a day off from kindergarten and spending time with his mother during a snowstorm, but his father’s flight home is cancelled until the snow stops falling.
Fleeing from agents of the new communist government in Vietnam, an old man and three children begin an endless and seemingly hopeless struggle for survival as boat people.
A funny fable about growing pains, the ups and downs of friendship, and the gift of forgiveness. In a cozy, tropical place called Washtub Pond, three web-footed creatures pass carefree days playing and dreaming together. Sue-Lin Salamander, Mao-Mao Mudpuppy, and Foo Frog have been best, samesize friends since the day they were born. But like all young creatures, these three grow up — and some really BIG changes in Foo Frog put the trio’s friendship to the test. With warmth, lighthearted wit, and a bit of hot air, Belle Yang has written and painted a laugh-out-loud story in bold, comedic strokes.