The Remembering Stone

Alice keeps a perfectly round skipping stone in her pocket to remember her grandfather by but the stone goes missing. It looked just like a regular stone, but Alice knew it was different: It was perfectly round so you could use it to trace circles, and sometimes she could trick her dad into thinking it was a quarter. It was also how Alice remembered her grandpa, who taught her how to skip stones, and who passed away last winter.

Alice brings the stone to school for Show and Share, but when her classmate asks to see it again at recess, Alice discovers that the stone is gone! Her friends search high and low and can’t find the stone but their friendship gives Alice an idea of another way that she can remember. A gentle look at loss, grief and how small everyday actions can connect us to those we love.

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

Lali’s Flip-Flops

Lali has worked hard to earn money for a special treat but should she spend her earnings on herself or her friends?

The Thing At 52

There’s a Thing on my street. He lives at number 52. I see him sitting in his front yard when I walk to school. He was big and lumbering and a wore a tiny top hat perched on top of his rather large head. She didn’t think he had any friends, so she brought him a flower. It wasn’t long before their friendship bloomed. The Thing was gentle and kind and the adventures they went on were the best she could ever imagine. The girl soon discovered that there were many Things, living all over the place, which gave her an idea. She invited them all to a party, and the Things danced till midnight. Thing had never felt so happy. But one day the Thing had to go and their adventures came to an end. All Things have to go sometime.

Finding François: A Story About The Healing Power Of Friendship

Alice sends a message in a bottle that travels the River Seine and lands with Francois, who helps her heal from the loss of her beloved grandmother.

Unraveller

Fifteen-year-old Kellen’s unique ability to unravel curses unfortunately does not protect him from becoming cursed, and unless he and his best friend and ally Nettle can remove his hex, Kellen is in danger of unravelling everything–and everyone–around him.

The Melancholy Of Summer

After seventeen year old Summer’s parents go on the run, she is placed in the care of Olu, a cousin she barely knows, but with Olu and friends’ efforts, stoic Summer eventually learns to open up.

Spare Parts

In 2004, four undocumented Mexican teenagers arrived at the national underwater robotics championship at the University of California, Santa Barbara. No one had ever told Oscar, Cristian, Luis, or Lorenzo that they would amount to much until two inspiring high school science teachers convinced the boys to enter the competition. Up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country, this team of underdogs from Phoenix, Arizona, scraped together spare parts and a few small donations to astound not only the competition’s judges but themselves, too.

The Day Saida Arrived

Two girls forge a forever-friendship by learning each other’s language. The Day Saida Arrived demonstrates the power of language to build bonds beyond borders.

Featured in August 2023’s WOW Dozen on books about Language Learning and Communication.

Show Us Who You Are

A neurodiverse twelve year old girl is shown an amazing new technology that gives her another chance to talk to the best friend she lost. But she soon discovers the corporation behind the science hides dark secrets that only she can expose.