International

It’s Our Nature

Believing that animals have feelings, Orozco suggests that humans could learn how to live more harmoniously by looking at how various creatures behave. She gives 10 examples of how specific animals demonstrate tolerance, responsibility, generosity, community, communication, trust, commitment, altruism, and brotherhood. For instance, female elephants generously nurse and protect younger elephants even if the babies are not their own. Wildebeests tolerate zebras that mix in with their herds for protection from predators. Other animals represented include the howler monkey, flamingo, dolphin, armadillo, crocodile, octopus, penguin, and wolf. Each behavior is explained on a spread, accompanied by a simple illustration. Introduces children to different traits that contribute to congenial living and is appropriate for group sharing or individual browsing and emphasizes humans learning from animal behaviors.

Haunted Histories

Guided by tween “ghostorian” Virgil, readers will discover fascinating facts about calamitous events throughout history as they explore castles, palaces and dungeons and those infamous figures associated with each.  For instance, did you know that many castles were made out of wood painted to look like stone? Or that wealthy prisoners in the Tower of London could keep servants? The book is chock-full of details that kids will find intriguing–dungeon life for prisoners, methods of turture, and even the most popular methods of poisoning enemies. So join Virgil and the other ghostly inhabitants for an historical adventure on the dark side.

Because Amelia Smiled

A little girl’s smile as she skips down the street in New York inspires a neighbor to send cookies to her grandson in Mexico, and the good will soon spreads around the world.

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.

That Mad Game: Growing Up in a Warzone

What’s it like to grow up during war? To be a victim of violence or exiled from your homeland, culture, family, and even your own memories?

When America’s talking heads talk about war, children and teenagers are often the forgotten part of the story. Yet who can forget images of the Vietnam “baby lift,” when Amer-Asian children were flown out of Vietnam to be adopted by Americans? Who can forget the horror of learning that Iranian children were sent on suicide missions to clear landmines? Who wasn’t captivated by stories of the “lost boys” of Sudan, traveling thousands of miles alone through the desert, seeking shelter and safety? From the cartel-terrorized streets of Juárez to the bombed-out cities of Bosnia to Afghanistan under the Taliban, from Nazi-occupied Holland to the middle-class American home of a Vietnam vet, this collection of personal and narrative essays explores both the universal and particular experiences of children and teenagers who came of age during a time of war.

Little Treasures

All over the world, people express their love for their children through endearments, such as sweetie pie or peanut. A child might be called  little angel, angelito, in Spanish or precious, bao bei, in Chinese or my sweet little moon, mera chanda, in Hindu. Little Treasures offers a wealth of endearments in fourteen languages to share with your own beloved poppet and petit chou.

Mung-Mung: A Foldout Book of Animal Sounds

Dogs say woof-woof, don’t they? Not in Korean they don’t (mung-mung). Take a trip around the world with this clever international guide to animal noises. Each spread presents a variety of sounds little ones will enjoy imitating. Older kids will delight in trying to guess the animal. Lift the flap to see whimsical illustrations of, for instance, a purple circus horse (ee-ha-ha in Polish). In this enchanting peek-a-boo book babies can imitate animal sounds in 19 languages. What kind of animal says GAV-GAV in Russian, Bo-Bo in Hindi, and WOW-WOW in Spanish? Make a guess, then lift the flap.

The Journey: Stories of Migration

Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant joins naturalist painter Lambert Davis to create a vibrant picture book that follow the migratory journeys of some magnificent creatures: locusts, gray whales, American silver eels, monarch butterflies, caribou, and terns. Rylant’s lively, poetic prose and Davis’ exquisite, dramatic paintings offer an awe-inspiring look at the animal world and the outstanding tests of endurance and strength that the animals have undergone for centuries, and which continue to cycle on and inspire us today.

My Village

My Village is a beautiful collection featuring nursery rhymes and verses from around the world: New Zealand, China, Australia, Norway, Ireland, Tonga, Jamaica, Japan, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Indonesia, Denmark, Iran, Germany, Samoa, Switzerland, Russia, Brazil, France, Holland, Iceland, and India. Readers delight in quirky, touching, and funny verses from the 22 different countries, brought vividly to life by the appealingly fresh artwork from exciting young illustrator Mique Moriuchi, who captures each verse with a uniquely beautiful and child’s-eye focus. Danielle Wright has included some familiar rhymes along with others that are less well known. Internationally acclaimed poet and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen introduces the collection, discussing the origins of nursery rhymes as well as reviewing some of his favorites. Also endorsed by the International Youth Library, this book is an essential addition to any school or library.