Belonging

Barkbelly

One silver-starry night, a shiny, wooden egg falls from a flying machine high in the air down, down, down through the midnight sky down to the small village of Pumbleditch, where Barkbelly is born. Where he’s the only wooden boy. And where he’s the cause of a tragic accident. Suddenly, Barkbelly’s only choice is to flee for his life—to run. As he tries to escape his haunting past, he faces extraordinary adventures and dangers. Every wooden step leads Barkbelly toward the dark and startling truth about where he comes from and the burning question of where he really belongs.

Angel’s Grace

Grace has always had wild red hair like no one else in her family and a birthmark on her shoulder that her mother told her was the mark of an angel. When Grace is sent from New York to spend the summer with her grandmother in Trinidad, she looks through the family album and discovers a blurred photograph of a stranger with a birthmark — her birthmark — and Grace is full of questions. No one is able to identify the man in the photo, and Grace is left with no choice but to find out who he is and what he might mean to her. What Grace does not know is that her search will lead to a discovery about herself and her family that she never could have imagined. Tracey Baptiste’s first novel is a tender coming-of-age story set on the island of Trinidad. Angel’s Grace explores the meaning of identity and truth, and the unbreakable ties of a family bound by love.

(Paula Wiseman Books)

Alfredito Flies Home

Alfredito and his family are getting ready to return to El Salvador for Christmas. It will be their first visit back since they left as refugees and made their way to California on foot. But this time they’re flying! Excitement mounts as Alfredito and his family soar over the Earth and finally arrive at their beloved home to reunite with family and friends. This extraordinary book celebrates an experience familiar to the many who have left their original country to find a new life. Jorge Argueta’s tender, clever prose is perfectly complemented by Luis Garay’s rich, authentic illustrations.

Adele & Simon

When Adele walks her little brother Simon home from school he loses one more thing at every stop: his drawing of a cat at the grocery shop, his books at the park, his crayons at the art museum, and more. When Simon’s older sister, Adele, picks him up from school, he has his hat and gloves and scarf and sweater, his coat and knapsack and books and crayons, and a drawing of a cat he made that morning. Adele makes Simon promise to try not to lose anything. But as they make their way home, distractions cause Simon to leave something behind at every stop.

The New Hippos

Something unusual has happened at the river’s edge where the hippos live–two new hippos have arrived! They like the beach, all the space, and the diving board. But it’s not easy being the new arrivals. All day the new little hippo watches the other hippo kids play in the water, but she’s not allowed to join in their games. Meanwhile, the new hippo mama struggles with building a hut, while the adult hippos watch dubiously. And then one day the new hippos disappear, and it’s up to the little hippos to find them.

Ink and watercolor.