Friendship

Big Wolf and Little Wolf: The Little Leaf that Wouldn’t Fall

The second book about Big Wolf and Little Wolf. The book begins, “High up in a tall tree was a little leaf,” and it is Little Wolf’s need to touch this leaf and the fact that it will not fall that create the drama. Big Wolf refuses Little Wolf’s request that he climb up and get the leaf several times. “Wait,” he tells him. “Eventually it will fall.” But the leaf doesn’t fall. Winter arrives and the leaf is still there, high up in the tree. Then one morning Big Wolf wakes up, stretches and says, “I’m going up.” He says it just like that, simply to see Little Wolf’s eyes sparkle. At first his climb up the big tree goes well, but the higher he goes the more slippery it gets and the more dangerous. Little Wolf waits below wondering whether such a little leaf is worth such trouble after all. To climb to the top of a frost covered tree isn’t easy, and what if something should happen to Big Wolf? A lovely story about two friends and the many ways in which friendship teaches patience, boldness and love.

Noni Says No

Noni can do many things: she can give her baby brother his bottle, she can help her mother in the kitchen, and she can even walk over to her friend Susiers’s house. But Noni just canr’t say “no.” When she was very small, it was easy saying “no” to everybody, but now that she has a best friend, she wants to please. Noni can’t say “no” to her friend, even when it means she has to hand over a precious toy, or when it means agreeing to a hideous haircut, or even giving up her bed at a sleepover. But when Noni finally finds her voice, the consequences are not what she or the reader expects. A comforting exploration of friendship and of the importance of trusting one’s own judgment. Noni learns that you can stand up for yourself and still be a good friend.

The Dog Who Loved Red

Raja loves red! Red slippers, red shawls, red socks… But when he spots his friend Champs lost red ball in Mr. Mehtas garden, he has to brave a whole rainbow of obstacles to recover the ball and save the day!

Mama Panya’s Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya

Mama Panya has just enough money to buy ingredients for a few pancakes, so when her son Adika invites all their friends to join them, she is sure there will not be enough to go around. With facts about Kenya and Kiswahilin (Swahili).

The 10 p.m. Question

Worry-prone Frankie keeps his family secret under control — until a bold, inquisitive girl enters his life — in this warm, witty, and captivating YA novel.Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons is a talented kid with a quirky family, a best friend named Gigs, and a voice of anxiety constantly nibbling in his head: Could that kidney-shaped spot on his chest be a galloping cancer? Are the smoke alarm batteries flat? Has his cat, The Fat Controller, given them all worms? Only Ma, who never leaves home, takes Frankie’s worries seriously. But then, it is Ma who is the cause of the most troubling question of all, the one Frankie can never bring himself to ask. When a new girl arrives at school — a daring free spirit with unavoidable questions of her own — Frankie’s carefully guarded world begins to unravel, leading him to a painful confrontation with the ultimate 10 p.m. question. Deftly told with humor, poignancy, and an endearing cast of characters, The 10 P.M. Question will touch everyone who has ever felt set apart.

The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon

Crackpot notions, community spirit, and sky-high aspirations transform a quiet boy’s life in this whimsical tale from the stellar team of David Almond and Polly Dunbar. There are some strange ideas floating around in Paul’s apartment block. There’s Mabel, who now calls herself Molly and whose brother hides under a paper bag. Then there’s Clarence, the poodle who thinks he can fly. But the strangest notion of all is Paul’s. You see, Paul believes that the moon is not the moon but a great hole in the sky. And he knows that sausages are better than war. How on earth (or not) will he find out if he is bonkers or a genius? With a few equally bonkers (or genius) helpers and a very long ladder, that’s how! From a master of magical realism and a celebrated artist comes another delightfully outrageous expedition.

Garmann’s Street

After succumbing to peer pressure from a bully, an unusual friendship between Garmann and the Stamp Man arises out of a near-disaster.

The Tree House

A polar bear rides on a whale to get to a marvelous treehouse, and more and more animals come to join him there.