The Specific Ocean

In this gently told picture book, a young girl is unhappy about having to leave the city for a family vacation on the Pacific Ocean (which she used to call the Specific Ocean). As the days pass, however, she is drawn to spend more time in and near the water, feeling moved by its beauty and rhythms. By the end of the vacation, the girl has grown to love the ocean and now feels reluctant to leave it behind. But as she soon realizes, it doesn’t ever have to leave her.

The Shamer’s Signet

When eleven-year-old Dina, who recently inherited her mother’s gift of perceiving secret shames through eye contact, is kidnapped and forced to shame enemies of the evil Valdracu, her fifteen-year-old brother Davin rides to her aid.

The Red Pencil

After her tribal village is attacked by militants, Amira, a young Sudanese girl, must flee to safety at a refugee camp, where she finds hope and the chance to pursue an education in the form of a single red pencil and the friendship and encouragement of a wise elder.

Featured in WOW Review Volume IX, Issue 2.

The Case Of The Stolen Sixpence

Twelve-year-old Maisie is a noticing sort of person. Thats why she is convinced she would make an excellent detective if she ever got the chance! But instead of detecting, she spends her days polishing the banisters at her grandmother’s boarding house or fetching fish for the lodgers’ dinner. In The Case of the Stolen Sixpence, Maisie’s big chance to prove herself finally arrives when crime strikes her Victorian London neighborhood.

Mine!

Amy loves her blankie, her bear, her bunny, and her bird very much. “Mine!” she proudly crows. But what will happen when baby Joe and twins Zak and Jack want to join in and play too? Sue Heap’s joyful illustrations bring a classic story of learning to share to vibrant life.

Lola Plants A Garden

After Lola reads a book of garden poems, she wants to plant some flowers. She gets books from the library and chooses her plants. Then Lola and her mommy buy the seeds, make the garden, and mark the rows. Now it’s time to wait. . . .