Materials from Asia
Kali’s father is a snake catcher – the best in the village. Kali knows that is really something to be proud of, but at school he sometimes gets embarrassed. The other children seem to think there is something very strange about having a snake catcher for a father and eating things like fried termites for a snack. Plus, Kali is the teacher’s pet. How will he ever make friends?
Imagine an industrialized Lilliput. Imagine an enormous construction site. Imagine a birthday cake like no other. Little people use big machines to make a giant birthday cake, in this fun story.
Sun-hee and her older brother Tae-yul are proud of their Korean heritage. Yet they live their lives under Japanese occupation. All students must read and write in Japanese and no one can fly the Korean flag. Hardest of all is when the Japanese Emperor forces all Koreans to take Japanese names. Sun-hee and Tae-yul become Keoko and Nobuo. Korea is torn apart by their Japanese invaders during World War II. Everyone must help with war preparations, but it doesn’t mean they are willing to defend Japan. Tae-yul is about to risk his life to help his family, while Sun-hee stays home guarding life-and-death secrets.
Jane Addams Honor Book
Featured in Volume I, Issue 1 of WOW Review.
This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
This book examines the lives and times of the Tibetan people, their cultural complexities, the country’s astonishing geography, and its economic and political status.
A proud old fox scorns a youngster’s simple plan for stopping the hunter who has grown skillful at killing foxes, but when he sets out to handle the problem himself, he runs into trouble.
Hachi, an Akita pup, reveres his master and likes nothing more than accompanying Japanese professor Eizaburo Ueno to his morning train and then meeting him in the afternoon. One day the professor dies while at work, yet the faithful Hachi awaits his return at the station every day until his own death some 10 years later. Newman’s fictionalized account of this true story adds a young boy, Yasuo, who befriends the dog and the professor and later cares for Hachi during his steadfast vigil at the Shibuya train station in Japan.
South of the clouds, in the land of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, dwell the descendants of a once pastoral people, the Nakhi. In ancient times, family names were passed from mother to child, there were no marriages, and women alone raised children. In the Nakhi language, there is no word for “father.” Today there are still Nakhi who follow these traditions, and Nakhi folktales reflect these beliefs. In the legends presented here we are introduced to a fantastic cast of characters: plants, insects, animals – all of them female! (Nakhi people, Naxi language)
In a pristine valley hidden in the Himalayas, Anand has a disturbing vision. His mentor and spiritual guide, the Master Healer Abhaydatta, is apparently in grave danger. What should he do? If he conveys this information to his elders, he’ll waste precious time. But is it wise to take matters into his own hands? Anand makes his choice and embarks on a spectacular adventure that takes him not only across contemporary India but also several hundred years into the past to the time of the Moghul rulers. There he encounters powerful sorcerers, a haughty and arrogant prince, and a jinn capable of unspeakable magic. A sequel to Brotherhood of the Conch
Thirteen linked verses and handsome, mood-drenched paintings show how we catch fish from New England to the Arctic, to Japan and Namibia and beyond. This lovely picturebook about fishing, geography, people and customs, and the bond between parent and child fishing together will appeal to everyone who’s cast a line in the water.
These vividly told tales of plantation life from decades past center around the lives of Marita Kim and her four younger brothers and sisters. The children experience many hardships growing up poor and motherless in a Korean camp in Hawaii, but their stories are full of adventure. In “Joe and the White Dog,” Joe takes Little Sister exploring and loses her… until a mysterious white-haired woman and her friendly dog appear to help. In “The Little People,” fearless six-year-old Puni searches for menehune to grant her wish for a new doll. The stories also provide a poignant look at the family’s daily struggles. In “Plantation Child” we see, through the eyes of Marita, the sacrifices made to pay for a pair of new shoes, the need for thrift and hard work to make ends meet. In “The Pineapple Cannery” we share in Marita’s excitement as she begins a new life working in Honolulu. The last story, “Abuji,” is a tender portrait of the long-widowed father, reminiscing about his youth and his return journey to Korea. Moving from child to child, from story to story, Eve Begley Kiehm brings to life a formative period in the history of Korean Americans in Hawaii.