I Love Saturdays y Domingos

Saturdays and Sundays are very special days for the child in this story. On Saturdays, she visits Grandma and Grandpa, who come from a European-American background, and on Sundays — los domingos — she visits Abuelito y Abuelita, who are Mexican-American. While the two sets of grandparents are different in many ways, they also have a great deal in common — in particular, their love for their granddaughter. While we follow our narrator to the circus and the pier, share stories from her grandparents’ pasts, and celebrate her birthday, the depth and joy of both cultures are conveyed in Spanish and English. This affirmation of both heritages will speak to all children who want to know more about their own families and ethnic backgrounds.

Awards
Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, Commended

Angel’s Grace

Grace has always had wild red hair like no one else in her family and a birthmark on her shoulder that her mother told her was the mark of an angel. When Grace is sent from New York to spend the summer with her grandmother in Trinidad, she looks through the family album and discovers a blurred photograph of a stranger with a birthmark — her birthmark — and Grace is full of questions. No one is able to identify the man in the photo, and Grace is left with no choice but to find out who he is and what he might mean to her. What Grace does not know is that her search will lead to a discovery about herself and her family that she never could have imagined. Tracey Baptiste’s first novel is a tender coming-of-age story set on the island of Trinidad. Angel’s Grace explores the meaning of identity and truth, and the unbreakable ties of a family bound by love.

(Paula Wiseman Books)

Sambalena Show-Off

A lazy boy gets his head stuck in a pot, and only with the wise advice of his grandmother does he get it out.

Forest of the Pygmies

Alexander Cold and Nadia Santos reunite for their final adventure in Isabel Allende’s celebrated trilogy. This time they are heading to the blazing plains of Kenya, where Alex’s grandmother Kate is writing an article about the first elephant-led safaris in Africa. Days into the tour, a Catholic missionary approaches the camp in search of companions who have mysteriously disappeared. As the group investigates, they discover a clan of Pygmies and a harsh world of corruption, slavery and poaching. Alexander and Nadia must trust in the strength of their totemic animal spirits as they launch a spectacular struggle to restore freedom to the Pygmies and return leadership to its rightful hands.

The Scarves

What can you do when the people you love don’t think they love each other anymore? When one little girl learns that her grandparents are separating, it’s hard for her to understand. Grandpa explains that Grandma steals his chocolate pudding, and her favorite color is blue. Grandma says that Grandpa watches too much TV, and his favorite color is red. But when the little girl realizes they really do still love each other, she devises a plan she hopes will bring them back together. Perhaps blending two lives together can be just like knitting two colors together to make a beautiful scarf.

Grandmother’s Tale

Every week, Nazan and her particular grandmother go to the market very Friday. Nazan loves shopping with Grandmother, because she tells such good stories while they shop. Waiting in the queue, Grandmother remembers her childhood in Turkey and Nazan watches the vegetables come to life.

English and Urdu bilingual book

Oh, No, Toto!

Little Toto loves to eat, and when he goes with his grandmother to the marketplace he eats everything in sight, leaving chaos in his wake. Includes a glossary of Cameroonian foods and a recipe for egussi soup.