family stories

Everything Sad Is Untrue: (A True Story)

At the front of a middle school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls “Daniel”) stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. To them he is a dark-skinned, hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny; who makes things up and talks about poop too much. But Khosrou’s stories, stretching back years, and decades, and centuries, are beautiful, and terrifying, from the moment his family fled Iran in the middle of the night with the secret police moments behind them, back to the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy.and further back to the fields near the river Aras, where rain-soaked flowers bled red like the yolk of sunset burst over everything, and further back still to the Jasmine-scented city of Isfahan. We bounce between a school bus of kids armed with paper clip missiles and spitballs to the heroines and heroes of Khosrou’s family’s past, who ate pastries that made people weep and cry “Akh, Tamar ” and touched carpets woven with precious gems. Like Scheherazade in a hostile classroom, Daniel weaves a tale to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth. And it is (a true story). It is Daniel’s.

The Tyrant’s Daughter

Exiled to the United States after her father, a Middle Eastern dictator, is killed in a coup, fifteen-year-old Laila must cope with a completely new way of life, the truth of her father’s regime, and her mother and brother’s ways of adjusting.

Families

Human and animal families care for their young in similar ways. They go on walks, share food, go swimming, cuddle, and of course, give plenty of hugs and kisses. Explore the charming similarities between animals and humans in this fun photographic book about families. Vibrant photographs of babies and the families that love them make this delightful book perfect for families everywhere! (Part of the Babies Everywhere[[ Board Book Series)

My Family and I / Mi Familia y Yo (English and Spanish Foundations Series) (Book #4) (Bilingual) (Board Book)

Teach children the all-important concept of family in these heartwarming pages of colorful and charming illustrations. Come along with Emma as she introduces all the members of her family while teaching the words for different relations, such as mother, father, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. There’s a helpful pronunciation guide in the back of the book. Written by Gladys Rosa-Mendoza and illustrated by Jackie Snider.

Grandma Francisca Remembers (What Was It Like Grandma?)

An Hispanic grandmother relates family and cultural history to her granddaughter in her San Francisco, California, apartment as she tells of growing up in New Mexico.

Braids/Trencitas

This bilingual story shows the importance of family and of reading, while also emphasizing the rewards of passing along cultural traditions. Beautiful illustrations portray the moving story of Bela and her grandma, who love to tell stories, braid hair, and play lotería with the family: “Our stories, like our braids, bind us forever.”

Families

Some children live with their mothers and fathers. Others have stepparents or live with just one parent. Still others live with grandparents or foster parents who chose them specially. But all children all around the world, are part of families–big and small, loving, sharing, and caring for one another. This look at all kinds of families from all over the world helps young children begin to think about families they belong to, as it gives them a glimpse into the rich variety of world cultures.