School

Carmen Learns English

The first day of school can be scary, especially when no one else speaks your language. Carmen, who speaks only Spanish, knows she must be brave. Her teacher’s Spanish is muy terrible; but with a little encouragement from la Senora, Carmen teaches the class Spanish words and numbers, and she in turn learns English from her new friends.

This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

    Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan

    Young Nasreen has not spoken a word to anyone since her parents disappeared. In despair, her grandmother risks everything to enroll Nasreen in a secret school for girls. Will a devoted teacher, a new friend, and the worlds she discovers in books be enough to draw Nasreen out of her shell of sadness? Based on a true story from Afghanistan, this inspiring book will touch readers deeply as it affirms both the life-changing power of education and the healing power of love.

    Click here to read the Worlds of Words review.

    Willow’s Whispers

    Willow’s voice, soft and shy as a secret, goes unheard by everyone at school and causes her to no end of troubles. (Having to drink orange juice at snack time when she has asked to nicely for apple is just one disappointment.) After a night of wishing, thinking and planning for a way to make louder words, Willow wakes the next morning with the perfect idea: a magic microphone! But although she fashions if from the sturdiest recyclables, her beglittered invention doesn’t last the school day. Will Willow find another way to make herself heard?

    Coyote Winter

    In the worst winter in living memory. The people in the tiny northern Alberta Hutterite colony are confined by the relentless snow. Finally the thaw comes and the colony’s school children and their teacher are able to take their first walk of spring.To their dismay, the children discover a coyote caught in a trap. When they release it they are amazed to find that the animal makes no attempt to bite or to run away. Instead, it scampers like a dog, delighting in a freedom that every living creature can understand.The recording of this extraordinary event was the teacher’s dying wish. Her sister, Jacquelinne White, has told the story in evocative words and paintings.

    Together

    A child’s-eye view of keeping it all together.Acclaimed children’s writer Hazel Hutchins explores the concept of what-goes-with-what in her new picture book for preschoolers — whether it’s buttons that keep your shirt together, or shoelaces that keep your feet in your shoes. Playful text coupled with lively illustrations will keep children engaged and encourage them to build their vocabulary.As young children struggle, literally, with keeping it all together, here’s the book to keep them from coming undone, blowing away or falling apart. From getting dressed at the start of the day to leaving school at the end, there is plenty of opportunity throughout the story to make connections.With Together, Hazel Hutchins has created another rhythmic and imaginative tale, richly realized by Alice Priestley’s vibrant illustrations.

    Muchacho: A Novel

    Living in a neighborhood of drug dealers and gangs in New Mexico, high school junior Eddie Corazon, a juvenile delinquent-in-training, falls in love with a girl who inspires him to rethink his life and his choices.

    Rules of Attraction

    Living on the University of Colorado-Boulder campus with his older brother Alex, a college student and ex-gang member, high school senior Carlos is not ready to give up his wild ways until he meets a shy classmate named Kiara and becomes unwillingly involved in a drug ring.

    My Special Day at Third Street School

    A school visit from children’s book author Amanda Drake brings a day full of fun. A boy tells how his class prepares for author Amanda Drake’s arrival: reading her books, decorating the room, making lemonade, baking a cake and discussing what questions to ask (and not to ask). The writer makes a terrific impression and motivates the children to write their own stories later. Meanwhile the narrator has made a suggestion to Miss Drake that inspires her next book , My Special Day in Third Street School.