In Mississippi during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Logans are one of the few Black families who own their own land. Nine-year-old Cassie Logan doesn’t understand why her parents attach so much importance to this, any more than she understands the Night Riders–white men who terrorize her people.
This engaging series examines places around the globe where life is anything but serene.
When two young Kenyan boys, one Maasai and one Kikuyu, first meet, they are hostile toward each other based on traditional rivalries, but after they suddenly have to work together to save a baby in danger, the boys begin to discover what they have in common.
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.
When her father loses his job and leaves India to look for work in America, Asha Gupta, her older sister, Reet, and their mother must wait with Baba’s brother and his family, as well as their grandmother, in Calcutta. Uncle is welcoming, but in a country steeped in tradition, the three women must abide by his decisions. Asha knows this is temporary—just until Baba sends for them. But with scant savings and time passing, the tension builds: Ma, prone to spells of sadness, finds it hard to submit to her mother- and sister-in-law; Reet’s beauty attracts unwanted marriage proposals; and Asha’s promise to take care of Ma and Reet leads to impulsive behavior. What follows is a firestorm of rebuke—and secrets revealed! Asha’s only solace is her rooftop hideaway, where she pours her heart out in her diary, and where she begins a clandestine friendship with Jay Sen, the boy next door. Asha can hardly believe that she, and not Reet, is the object of Jay’s attention. Then news arrives about Baba . . . and Asha must make a choice that will change their lives forever.
Featured in Volume II, Issue I of WOW Review.
Growl is a little purple monster who lives alone in a big castle at the end of Eucalyptus Drive. Growl likes to hop and skip, and jump, and sing. But best of all, Growl loves to growl! She loves to growl inside and out. She loves to growl all morning, and even at night. One afternoon Growl sneaks across her garden and growls over the neighbor’s fence! When they telephone the police, a special rule is made and Growl is banned from doing what she loves best. But what will Growl do? How will Growl get her growl back?
This book explores the history of Israel, from the beginning of the Zionist movement to the birth of Israel as a state in 1948 to the intense conflicts over Israel, the Palestinians, and the Jewish settlements of today.
At fourteen, Alis has never been outside her strict religious community. But when her parents arrange for her to marry a forty-year-old man, she flees desperately to the dangerous, unfamiliar city. She learns quickly that the only way to survive there is to become a thief—or worse. Facing an impossible choice between a forced marriage or life on the streets, Alis seizes control of her own fate. But the path she chooses sets off a disastrous chain of events that leave her accused of murder. Steadfastly loyal, Alis must decide: will she betray a loved one or sacrifice herself?
Sixteen-year-old Jessica, who longs to be free of the restrictions of her father and life in the Jewish ghetto of sixteen-century Venice, falls in love with a Christian aristocrat and must make choices which will affect her whole family. Inspired by Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice.
Two small boys in warrior garb peer at each other across a deserted landscape. Each is suspicious of the other; each is proud and boastful. And so, an argument breaks out that grows bigger and bigger, until it threatens to consume them and everything around them.
A twelve-year-old boy learns about death and the conflicts that grip his Central American country when he’s pressed into military service and trained as a soldier.