International

Sugar Changed the World

When this award-winning husband-and-wife team discovered that they each had sugar in their family history, they were inspired to trace the globe-spanning story of the sweet substance and to seek out the voices of those who led bitter sugar lives. The trail ran like a bright band from religious ceremonies in India to Europe’s Middle Ages, then on to Columbus, who brought the first cane cuttings to the Americas. Sugar was the substance that drove the bloody slave trade and caused the loss of countless lives but it also planted the seeds of revolution that led to freedom in the American colonies, Haiti, and France. With songs, oral histories, maps, and over 80 archival illustrations, here is the story of how one product allows us to see the grand currents of world history in new ways. Time line, source notes, bibliography, index.

Birthdays in Many Cultures (Life Around The World)

From homes and clothes to school and family, life is different all around the world. Culture makes us who we are. Grass-roofed huts, blue jeans, and ceremonial clothing are all a part of culture. Each striking photograph is accompanied by a world map that shows where it was taken.

The Organization of American States

The Organization of American States is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., whose members are the 35 nation-states of the Americas. Its historic goals are to strengthen peace and security, to consolidate representative democracy, to provide for collective defense, to eradicate poverty, and to promote economic, social, and cultural development. The organization is working on a treaty that will establish a hemispheric free-trade area. Though it has often been seen as an arm of U.S. foreign policy, most observers regard the United States’ influence as waning within the organization.

Mama’s Day

In rhyming verse, mothers and their babies are described sharing in a variety of activities, from playing at the ocean to reading books and taking a bath.  The mothers and children represent a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, ages, and sizes, reflecting the diversity of mamas and kids everywhere.

While You Are Sleeping

As one child goes to bed, another is waking up on the other side of the world. Readers can lift the flap to see the same moment of time in different countries: the United States, Nigeria, Japan, Mexico, India, Thailand, Haiti, England, and Brazil.

Around the World on Eighty Legs

A fun, fresh animal journey! Amy Gibson and Daniel Salmieri take readers on an exciting animal adventure around the globe. As readers explore habitats ranging from the Arctic to the Savanna, they will learn fun and humorous information about the animals who live there. Ermine You’ll easily determine / though weasely, ermine / is clearly no vermin — that’s that. / But if not for the coat / on this elegant stoat, / you might think that this mink was a rat.

Peace Tales

Maybe it’s the king who spills honey, and then says it is not his problem until it causes a war. Or maybe it’s some sandpipers and whales who get into a foolish fight that almost destroys their homes. Perhaps it’s the man who thinks that a gun makes him strong, or the monkeys who follow their leader into water that’s too deep.