After hearing a story about a girl in Uganda whose life is changed for the better by the gift of a goat, a class of fifth-graders pulls together to raise funds to make a similar donation to someone in need.
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
“Hold on to the saddle, pony might prance, bucking and frisky, he’s roaming the ranch. GIDDY-UP!”A pony inspires a child to ride high on her father’s shoulders, a sailboat stirs two others to set off to sea in a cardboard box, and an airplane invites kids to soar like a bird.In 13 striking spreads, we see how children use the world around them as the inspiration for play. Vibrant photographs are juxtaposed with lively drawings to reveal the child’s own inventive interpretation. Short bursts of action-packed, rhythmic poetry encourage preschoolers to identify the patterning throughout the text and the sounds associated with each idea.While developing language skills, kids can join in the fun as they create their own imaginative play from what they see around them.
Young Jane — or Jenny, as she is called — is a girl with a head full of questions. Surrounded by her busy parents and brothers, Jenny finds a place for her thoughts in the companionship of her older sister, Cassandra. Theirs is a country life full of balls and visits, at which conversation inevitably centers on one topic: marriage. But the arrival of their worldly-wise cousin Eliza disrupts Jenny’s world, bringing answers to some of her questions and providing a gem of an idea.
Pablo Neruda grew up in the rough and wild frontier town of Temuco, Chile. His father was a railroad man and not inclined to draw out the introspective boy. However, his stepmother, descended from the Mapuche people, was gentle and nurturing and told him stories of Chile’s native people. But in her husband’s presence, she was as silent as Pablo. So the child found refuge in nature and in books. And secretly he wrote down his thoughts. With the encouragement of Gabriela Mistral, an award-winning poet, teacher, and friend, Neruda’s writing grew resonant and powerful. At age sixteen he left Temuco for the university in Santiago and went on to become the “people’s poet” and to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Blending her telling of Neruda’s childhood with excerpts from his own poetry and prose, Ms. Ray captures the people and places that inspired him in her rich watercolor illustrations.
A Moroccan woman’s magic carpet takes her to far away places, which provide inspiration for her to create other beautiful carpets.