Puerto Rico’s best-selling author offers us this warm and loving tale about relationships between father and child. In a kingdom far, far away, a time and place has been set to choose the best father of all. In verses, each one of the animals, from a chick to a firefly, from a frog to a penguin, tells why their candidate is the best one. Find out the reasons why everyone’s father is the best in the world.
A stunning novel in verse by a Newbery Honor-winning author paints a portrait of early women’s right pioneer Frederika Bremer and the journey to Cuba that transformed her life.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 1
Description in Spanish: Alicia siempre ha querido ser trapecista y su sueno se hace realidad cuando el circo llega a su pueblo. Entre mil colores, payasos, acrobtas, moniytos, caballos, y elefantes, Alicia logra lo que se propone.
In Puerto Rico, a little boy and his village experience the drama and destruction of a hurricane Sergio lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico. San Juan is usually sunny and peaceful, but one day the sky grows dark and the ocean gets choppy. A hurricane is coming, and Sergio and his family must prepare for the storm. Through the experiences of one little boy, readers will learn about hurricanes and the damage they can do.
In this companion volume to Alma Flor Ada’s Where the Flame Trees Bloom, the author offers young readers another inspiring collection of stories and reminiscences drawn from her childhood on the island of Cuba. Through those stories we see how the many events and relationships she enjoyed helped shape who she is today. We learn of a deep friendship with a beloved dance teacher that helped sustain young Alma Flor through a miserable year in school. We meet relatives, like her mysterious Uncle Manolo, whose secret, she later learns, is that he dedicated his life to healing lepers. We share the tragedy of another uncle whose spirited personality leads to his love of flying…and the crash that takes his life. Heartwarming, poignant, and often humorous, this collection encourages children to discover the stories in their our own lives — stories that can help inform their own values and celebrate the joys and struggles we all share no matter where or when we grew up.
Join the discussion of Under the Royal Palms as well as other books by Alma Flor Ada in Margarita Engle on our My Take/Your Take page.
The story of Selavi celebrates the triumphs of children who face some of life’s most difficult challenges. In these pages, you’ll meet Selavi, a homeless child who is befriended by other children living on the streets in Haiti. They look out for one another, sharing food and companionship. Together they find the voice to express the needs of Timoun Lari, the children who live in the streets. With a caring community they are able to build a shelter, and from there to create Radyo Timoun, Children’s Radio, a station run by and for children, which is still in operation today. At Radyo Timoun, the questions and suggestions of children are broadcast for all to hear. The story takes place in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, a country which has a long history of resistance and struggle. Haiti is the birthplace of Toussaint L’ouverture and many others whose dedication to justice led to Haitian independence from slaveowners. Haiti is perhaps best known as the island which orchestrated the first successful revolt by enslaved peoples in the western hemisphere in 1804. Haitian author Edwidge Danticat adds an essay at the end of the story of Selavi.
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.
Featured in Volume I, Issue 2 of WOW Review.
In the Isle of Spice in the Caribbean lived a Nutmeg Princess, called that because she would only appear when the nutmeg was ready for picking, and the sweet smell of spice was in the air, and only those who were unselfish could see her.
Determined to look his best for the upcoming celebration, a young Puerto Rican boy makes a special costume so that he can be a vejigante, or masquerader, in a book that includes a Spanish-English glossary, chants, and instructions for making a vejigante mask.
Morning Girl, who loves the day, and her younger brother Star Boy, who loves the night, take turns describing their life on an island in pre-Columbian America; in Morning Girl’s last narrative, she witnesses the arrival of the first Europeans to her world.
A collection of stories captures the lives of different teenagers growing up in the barrio, including Rita, who goes to live with her grandparents in Puerto Rico; Luis, who spends his days working at his father’s junkyard; and Sandra, who tries to rediscover her natural Latino beauty.