Conflict

Singing Down the Rain

Step into a town where all the children are friends, but a drought has made the adults so grumpy they can’t stop arguing! Only a miracle can heal this divided town. Folks are so hopeless, they almost don’t recognize that miracle when it appears as a woman who specializes in rainsongs. Yet slowly the townspeople realize that with faith they can sustain each other during the dry times, and then sing down the rain together. Joy Cowley’s lyrical text and Jan Spivey Gilchrist’s impassioned paintings create a story of a community’s struggle to believe, and to connect with each other.

Across the Barricades

Kevin is Catholic. Sadie is Protestant. In Belfast they are supposed to be enemies – so what chance do they have when they fall in love?

Kevin and Sadie both know their relationship is dangerous. In these terrifying times in Belfast no Catholic boy and Protestant girl go out together without resentment and even violence flaring up around them. So what will happen if they insist on seeing each other?

Thomas’ Snowsuit

Thomas refuses to wear his new snowsuit despite the pleas of his mother, his teacher and even his principal. When everyone’s best efforts lead only to comedic chaos, they all agree it’s best to let Thomas suit himself.

The Twelfth Day of July

Sadie is Protestant, Kevin is Catholic – and on the tense streets of Belfast their lives collide. It starts with a dare – kids fooling around – but soon becomes something dangerous. Getting to know Sadie Jackson will change Kevin’s life forever. But will the world around them change too?

Aftershock

Makis and his moher Sofia escape a devastating Greek earthquake which has claimed his father’s life. North London is a ver different place – but Makis quickly wins a covetted place in the school football team. Unlike her son, Sofia, isolated by her grief and lack of English, sinks into depression. Makis has a brilliant idea to help her – using books from school he begins to teach her to read. But competing loyalites mean that sooner or later, something has to give and his hard-won reputation at school appears to be in ruins.

Hound and Hare

Hounds and hares are like cats and mice. At least, that’s the way it is in Great Bone, a little village beside the river. Harley Hare and Hugo Hound see each other at school every day, and they’re interested in the same things. But they never talk to each other because the Hare and Hound families can’t stand one another. When the annual Big Race takes place on the meadow, Harley and Hugo find themselves racing neck to neck, until a terrible thunderstorm breaks out. Hugo is terrified of the storm and the lightning. Harley panics when they discover they are lost. It turns out that between them, they know just what to do. And, working together, they not only save themselves, but become heroes of the day as well.

Big Red Lollipop

Having to take her younger sister along the first time she is invited to a birthday party spoils Rubina’s fun, and later when that sister is asked to a party and baby sister wants to come, Rubina must decide whether to help.

Join the discussion of Big Red Lollipop as well as other books centered around relocation on our My Take/Your Take page.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 4

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.