Three siblings enjoy the Indian festival of Raksha Bandhan, a celebration of the special relationship between brothers and sisters, in this reinterpretation of the song Frere Jacques.
Asia
Materials from Asia
From Twinkle with Love
Told through letters, aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra learns a lesson about love while directing a movie for the Midsummer Night arts festival, in which her longtime crush and his twin brother are also participating.
The Beauty Of The Moment
Sixteen-year-old Susan is the new girl in her Canadian high school, striving to meet her parents’ academic expectations, missing the friends she left behind in Saudi Arabia, dreaming of pursuing her passion for art, and secretly meeting with troublemaker Malcolm.
The Beast Player
Nahoko Uehashi’s The Beast Player is an epic YA fantasy about a girl with a special power to communicate with magical beasts and the warring kingdom only she can save.
Mommy Sayang
Aleeya, concerned when her beloved mother becomes sick, remembers and returns the promise Mommy has made to her–that she will always be by her side.
Diwali
Each autumn we gather with our friends and family and light our brightest lanterns. It’s time for Diwali, the festival of lights! In this lovely board book with illustrations from Archana Sreenivasan, readers learn that the five days of Diwali are a time to pray for a bountiful season, celebrate the special bonds between siblings, and rejoice in the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.
Ojiichan’s Gift
This gentle picture book story will warm children’s hearts as it explores a deep intergenerational bond and the passing of knowledge from grandparent to grandchild over time. The lyrical text by Chieri Uegaki and luminous watercolor illustrations by Genevieve Simms beautifully capture the emotional arc of the story, from Mayumi’s contentment through her anger and disappointment to, finally, her acceptance. The story focuses on an important connection to nature, particularly as a place for quiet reflection. It contains character education lessons on caring, responsibility, perseverance and initiative. It’s also a wonderful way to introduce social studies conversations about family, aging and multiculturalism. Mayumi lives in North America with her Japanese mother and Dutch father, and visits her grandfather in Japan. Some Japanese words are included.
Isla De Leones
A biographical novel about Antonio Chuffat, a Chinese-African-Cuban messenger boy in 1870s Cuba who became a translator and documented the freedom struggle of indentured Chinese laborers in his country.
My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder
Four short stories set in a hutong, or residential alleyway, of Beijing, China. Yu’er, her grandfather, and their eccentric neighbors experience the magic of everyday life.
My Beijing is featured in WOW Review Volume XIV, Issue 1.
The Night Diary
Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary.
Featured in WOW Review Volume XII, Issue 2 and Volume XI, Issue 3.