“Malo the shrew promised to make pickles with Poto-but when he hears there’s a new merry-go-round in the forest, he selfishly sneaks off to find it, learning lessons about the importance of kindness, friendship, and integrity in the end”
Mrs. Tortoise and Birdie are very close friends. One morning, Mrs. Tortoise sees her reflection in the pond and realizes her shell is worn out, and she feels old and sad. Then Birdie comes along with an idea to cheer her up.
In this spare and powerful story set in the Old West, people in a small town live in constant worry of another visit from the Outlaw. Then the Outlaw suddenly and mysteriously disappears. Time passes, and one day a stranger rides into town. He takes it upon himself to fix everything that is in disrepair — the clapboard schoolhouse, the train station platform. He even builds a horse trough. But when someone recognizes him as the Outlaw, the crowd turns on him. It takes the courage of a small boy to change the course of events.
Featured in WOW Review Volume X, Issue 4.
“The hour has come to speak of troubled times. It is time we spoke of Skullyville.” Thus begins Rose Goode’s story of her growing up in Indian Territory in pre-statehood Oklahoma. Skullyville, a once-thriving Choctaw community, was destroyed by land-grabbers, culminating in the arson on New Year’s Eve, 1896, of New Hope Academy for Girls. Twenty Choctaw girls died, but Rose escaped. She is blessed by the presence of her grandmother Pokoni and her grandfather Amafo, both respected elders who understand the old ways. Soon after the fire, the white sheriff beats Amafo in front of the town’s people, humiliating him. Instead of asking the Choctaw community to avenge the beating, her grandfather decides to follow the path of forgiveness. And so unwinds this tale of mystery, Indian-style magical realism, and deep wisdom.
All roads lead to kindness in this warm, uplifting celebration of generosity and love. In a colorful tree house, a rainbow of children determine the most important needs in our complex world, and following spreads present boys and girls happily helping others. Kids bring abundant food to the hungry; medicine and cheer to the sick; safe housing, education, and religious tolerance to all; and our planet is treated with care. Forgiveness and generosity are seen as essential, because kids know how to share, and they understand the power of love.
Cecilia and Miguel are best friends, and have been since the third grade when he gave her bunny ears in the class picture. Their life-long friendship is recorded in warm recollections of bike races and soccer games, beach time and fishing from the pier.
Sylvester and Arnold enjoy being big, tough crocodiles so when they finally meet they are about to fight until Betty, an enormous crocodile, comes hissing by to take over their swamp.
Chicken, Pig, and Cow have always gotten along well—until the day Girl builds a big city out of blocks. Thinking something is missing, Chicken makes a leaf statue. Now the city is perfect. Pig loves zipping and zooming around the city. Chicken warns him to be careful, but Pig is having too much fun to listen. Then the inevitable happens: Pig zooms right into Chicken’s statue, destroying it. Chicken is furious! Pig’s attempts to fix the statue only make matters worse. In the end, he demolishes the entire city. Realizing what a mess he’s made, Pig hides while Chicken, Cow, and Dog rebuild the city. After a nap, Pig feels better and returns to apologize to his friends. They forgive him and invite him to join them in putting the finishing touches on the city. As with all the books in this popular series, Chicken, Pig, Cow’s First Fight offers young children a gentle message about teamwork and cooperation.
What if you awakened one day and realized your parents were part of unspeakable evil? Do you turn away from them and therefore yourself? The unique coming of age story of Liesel and her preoccupation with finding her neighbor’s son is extremely eventful and takes the reader from postwar Germany to England, Africa and the United States. It explores interconnectedness between victim and perpetrator and touches on universal themes of family, forgiveness, guilt and justice. This candid account of a family’s history combined with a flawed protagonist’s sexual history will strike deep emotional responses in a thoughtful reader.
When Desmond takes his new bicycle out for a ride through his neighborhood, his pride and joy turn to hurt and anger when a group of boys shout a very mean word at him. He first responds by shouting an insult, but soon discovers that fighting back with mean words doesn’t make him feel any better. With the help of kindly Father Trevor, Desmond comes to understand his conflicted feelings and see that all people deserve compassion, whether or not they say they are sorry. Brought to vivid life in A. G. Ford’s energetic illustrations, this heartfelt, relatable story conveys timeless wisdom about how to handle bullying and angry feelings, while seeing the good in everyone.