Children

Beto and the Bone Dance

A fantastic encounter on the Day of the Dead. Today is Beto’s favorite holiday — the Day of the Dead. First, he and his father craft an altar at home in honor of Beto’s recently departed grandmother, filled with the things she loved in life. Later, it’s off to the cemetery, where at midnight all the dead souls will come to visit the living. It’s a celebratory occasion, but Beto is distraught because he isn’t able to find a perfect gift for Abuela’s altar. The answer to his dilemma is found in a wild dream, in which Beto joins a conga line of dance-mad skeletons. Through her effulgent paintings and rhythmic text, the author conveys all the excitement of this unique Mexican fiesta, as well as a comforting message for children who have lost a loved one.

The Little Blue House

In a very small town in rural Argentina there is a magical house. The house is vacant and has been for as long as anyone can remember, but once a year, at midnight, the house turns blue, and 24 hours later it turns back to white again. Twelve-year-old Cintia lives with her father, an angry man who is sometimes violent. But Cintia finds comfort at her grandmother’s home, where there is always delicious food and fascinating tales about the town and about Cintia’s own family. Cintia is drawn to the little blue house even though both her father and grandmother forbid her to go there. And the town’s mayor, who hopes to turn the house into a money-making tourist attraction, tries to prevent anyone from visiting the place without paying. As the time approaches for the annual transformation of the house, more mysteries crop up. Cintia and her grandmother must make peace with Cintia’s father. The mayor’s plans must be confronted, and an old bookseller needs to find a way to save what is most important. And what about the rumors of buried treasure?

The Children of the Ecuadorean Highlands (World’s Children)

Two separate chains of the Andes Mountains stretch through Ecuador, and almost half of Ecuador’s people live in the highlands of these mountains. The author/photographer of Riders Up! ( C. 1992) takes readers on a journey through the beautiful Ecuadorean highlands, as seen through the eyes of its children.

A Handful of Seeds

One sad day, Grandmother died. “You cannot stay here,” said the man who owned the land. “I have a family ready to move in.” Young Concepcion has no choice but to move to the [barrio] of the nearby city. There she meets children who, in order to survive, must steal the good they eat. But Concepcion has a plan. With back-breaking work she plants a garden amid the rubble, using her grandmother’s legacy: a handful of chili, corn and bean seeds. But her garden is destroyed. Will she have the strength to begin again? Published in collaboration with UNICEF Canada, A Handful of Seeds offers a message of hope on behalf of the thirty million children worldwide who live on the streets of their cities.

A Completely Different Place

When Johnny Nesbit wakes up in a pink bedroom that is inside a glass bottle, he soon realizes that he is battling the Strangers, the fairies that had stolen his baby sister a year earlier. Johnny returns to the Stranger country with his former classmate, Cheryl to try to save a group of kidnapped children from the nasty fairies.

This book is a sequel to The Same Place but Different.

Abuela’s Weave

A Guatemalan story about intergenerational trust, love, and independence, this book introduces children to the culture of Guatemala through the story of a little girl selling her grandmother’s beautiful weaving at the public market. Illustrated throughout with paintings of authentic Guatemalan scenery, giving life to the country’s radiant landscape and bustling city streets.

My Pig Amarillo

Amarillo is Pablito’s best friend. They do everything together-run, hide from each other, jump in the mud. They are inseparable, just like many best friends. But Amarillo is a bit different-he is a little yellow pig. When Pablito comes home from school one day and Amarillo isn’t there, Pablito is devastated. Where could he be? Pablito can’t eat; he can’t sleep. His heart feels as if it will break wide open. But Grandfather has an idea, a way for Pablito to send a message to Amarillo, and help him say goodbye to his best friend. My Pig Amarillo is a beautiful story for children of all ages, full of friendship and love and learning to let go.

The White Giraffe

When Martine’s home in England burns down, killing her parents, she must go to South Africa to live on a wildlife game preserve, called Sawubona, with the grandmother she didn’t know she had. Almost as soon as she arrives, Martine hears stories about a white giraffe living in the preserve. But her grandmother and others working at Sawubona insist that the giraffe is just a myth. Martine is not so sure, until one stormy night when she looks out her window and locks eyes with Jemmy, a young silvery-white giraffe. Why is everyone keeping Jemmy’s existence a secret? Does it have anything to do with the rash of poaching going on at Sawubona? Martine needs all of the courage and smarts she has, not to mention a little African magic, to find out. First-time children’s author Lauren St. John brings us deep into the African world, where myths become reality and a young girl with a healing gift has the power to save her home and her one true friend.

Knife Edge

Persephone Hadley is six months pregnant with a mixed-race baby.In their society this fact alone will threaten the child’s life every day. To make matters worse, the baby’s father, Callum, is dead. He was hanged for terrorism months ago, but his presence still torments Sephy. And she’s not alone. Callum’s brother, Jude, blames Sephy for the death, and thirsts for revenge in the form of her life. Obviously, Sephy is not fond of Jude, but when his actions take him to the brink of disaster, his life poised on a knife edge.