Green Corn Tamales / Tamales De Elote

GREEN CORN TAMLAES – TAMALES DE ELOTE narrates the experience of one small girl growing up in an Hispanic-American family which gathers every year at grandmother’s ranch to make wonderful green corn tamales

Surprise

The anticipation, joy, challenges and rewards of parenthood, captured by Happy artist Mies van Hout. Just as fish expressed the emotions of Happy and monsters big and small portrayed the stages of Friends, Mies van Hout’s birds of wonder convey the journey of parenthood with colorful exuberance.

Amy’s Three Best Things

Amy may never have spent a night away from home, but today she declares that she wants to spend not one but three nights at her grandma’s house. So she packs a bag, and off she goes. During the day, she and Grandma have a lovely time, but when Amy is alone in bed she starts to miss her mother and her baby brother and their dog, Bonzo. Luckily Amy has brought her three best things for a visit, which offer a heartening taste of home — in the most remarkable ways! From the stellar creative pair of Philippa Pearce and Helen Craig comes a wonderfully reassuring bedtime tale.

Ella and the Balloons In the Sky

Ella comes down one morning to feed her pets and finds that they have disappeared. She discovers them floating away on balloons, high in the sky. Try as she might, she can’t get them to come back. But although they are out of reach, Ella soon learns they are not truly gone as long as they remain in her heart and her memories. Written in gentle rhyming verse with light-hearted illustrations, Ella and the Balloons in the Sky is a story that tackles the tough subject of love and loss in a new way–with whimsy, magic, and lightness.

Open Mic

Using humor as the common denominator, a multicultural cast of YA authors steps up to the mic to share stories touching on race. Listen in as ten YA authors — some familiar, some new — use their own brand of humor to share their stories about growing up between cultures. Henry Choi Lee discovers that pretending to be a tai chi master or a sought-after wiz at math wins him friends for a while — until it comically backfires. A biracial girl is amused when her dad clears seats for his family on a crowded subway in under a minute, simply by sitting quietly between two uptight women. Edited by acclaimed author and speaker Mitali Perkins, this collection of fiction and nonfiction uses a mix of styles as diverse as their authors, from laugh-out-loud funny to wry, ironic, or poignant, in prose, poetry, and comic form.

Anne of the Island

Anne is finally off to Redmond College! While she’s sad to be leaving Marilla and the twins, she’s excited to finally become a full-fledged BA, and to embark on new adventures with the other Avonlea folks attending Redmond—a group that includes her friend Gilbert Blythe. At Redmond Anne meets Philippa Gordon, a frivolous but charming girl who pulls Anne into the center of the Redmond social scene. As Anne becomes the object of several boys’ affection, she’s faced with numerous proposals she can’t possibly accept. Then Gilbert ruins everything by declaring his own feelings for her, and Anne worries that she’s lost one of her best friends…and possibly so much more.

Little Red Lies

The war is over, but for thirteen-year-old Rachel, the battle has just begun. Putting childhood behind her, she knows what she wants – to prove she has acting talent worthy of the school drama club, and what she doesn’t want – to romantically fall for someone completely inappropriate. Worries about her veteran brother’s failing health and repugnance at her mother’s unexpected and unwanted pregnancy drive her to seek solace from a seemingly sympathetic, but self-serving teacher. The lies she tells herself hoping to reach solutions to the problems complicating her life merely function to make matters worse. Ultimately, she finds a way to come to terms with life as it reaches an end and life as it begins.

Water Witcher

Water Witcher brings to life the experience of a family in drought-stricken rural Australia during the Depression era. Through the eyes of Dougie, the optimism of childhood shines through despite the tough work and harsh conditions. Jan Omerod’s stunning, evocative illustrations make this a rich and resonating book.