Friendship

Anthony And The Gargoyle

Anthony’s house is full of family photos of his parents’ trip to Paris, his great aunt, and Anthony himself as a toddler, holding his favorite rock. When Anthony wakes up one morning, he sees that his “rock” has cracked open and it’s hollow inside. He doesn’t see the little face peering out from the closet. Later, he discovers the newly hatched creature and they become friends. Anthony asks his mother about the rock, and she shows him a photo album of a trip to Paris. Anthony sees that his friend resembles the gargoyles at Notr -Dame cathedral. Back in his room, he shows the photos to the baby gargoyle who looks at them with longing. News arrives that Anthony’s great aunt is in hospital. The family travel to Paris to visit, and Anthony secretly brings the baby gargoyle. When the family have a chance to climb Notre-Dame’s tower, Anthony and his friend wander from one gargoyle to the next and until the baby gargoyle sees one that looks just like him. A bittersweet story of true friendship and letting go.

Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix (Remixed Classics, 8)

In this queer re-imaging of “The Secret Garden,” 15-year-old orphan Mary sets off to live in the Georgian Bay wilds where she discovers family secrets both wonderful and horrifying.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

Flora La Fresca & The Art Of Friendship

Ten year old larger than life Flora Violeta LeFevre uses humor and a little mischief to navigate her best friend moving away, her sister’s overbearing and all-consuming quince preparations, and a surprising new friendship.

Dawn of the Jaguar

After negotiating with the queen of the underworld for ten days aboveground, teenage bruja Ren sets out to save her friends and put the Lords of Night back to sleep forever, all without the help of her shadow magic and time rope.

The Cricket War

A gripping story of a boy’s escape from Communist Vietnam by boat, based on the author’s own experience. It’s 1980, and 12-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his friends, but life is slowly changing under the Communists. His parents are worried, and Tho knows the Communist army will soon knock on their door to make his brother, and then him, join them. Still, it shocks him when his father says that arrangements have been made for him to leave Vietnam by boat, immediately. Thọ tries to be brave as he sets out on a harrowing journey toward the unknown.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

Tiger Daughter

Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, Tiger Daughter is an award-winning novel about finding your voice amidst the pressures of growing up in an immigrant home told from the perspective of a remarkable young Chinese girl.Wen Zhou is a first generation daughter of Chinese migrant parents. She has high expectations from her parents to succeed in school, especially her father whose strict rules leave her feeling trapped. She dreams of creating a future for herself more satisfying than the one her parents expect her to lead. Then she befriends a boy named Henry who is also a first generation immigrant. He is the smartest boy at school despite struggling with his English and understands her in a way nobody has lately. Both of them dream of escaping and together they come up with a plan to take an entrance exam for a selective school far from home. But when tragedy strikes, it will take all of Wen’s resilience and tiger strength to get herself and Henry through the storm that follows.

The Little Green Envelope

Olive’s friend has moved away, and Olive wishes she could visit her. A little green envelope, lost in the bottom of the desk drawer, knows how Olive feels. It, too, wants so much to travel, and imagines zipping up and down conveyer belts and bouncing along in a mail bag, on its way to deliver an important letter. An old postcard reassures that for every occasion, there is an envelope but it seems like it will never be the little green envelope’s turn. When Olive’s grandpa suggests writing her friend a letter, the little green envelope hopes and hopes that it will be chosen to carry the letter to its destination but will it be a perfect fit?