Author Archives: omnilibros

When I Coloured In The World

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A young child gets a box of crayons and an eraser from his mum.  He rubs out bad words and replaces them with good words.  He rubs out desert and writes red roses. He makes roses grow all over the world.  He rubs out darkness and replaces it with yellow light.  Hunger gives way to green wheat, drought to silver rain, war to light blue peace, and much more.  The abstract, colorful drawings complement the poetic text and its positive message. mjw

Title: When I Colored In The World Author: Ahmadreza Ahmadi Illustrator: Ehsan Abdollahi Publisher: Tiny Owl Publishing Ltd. London Copyright: 2015 Original Language: Persian Translator: Azita Rassi Original Publisher: Nazar Publisher. Tehran, Iran Original Copyright: 2010 ISBN: 978-1-910328-07-1 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Iranian Author’s residence: Iran Awards: Iranian Flying Turtle Medal, 2010 Hans Christian Andersen shortlist Subjects: Colors, Crayons, Creativity, Erasers, Imagination, World

The Secret Of The Blue Glass

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In the library, in a house in a Tokyo suburb, live the Little People: Fern and Balbo, Robin and Iris. Just a few inches high, a beloved nanny brought them from England to the Moriyama family in Japan. Since then, each generation of the Moriyama family children take care of the Little People by filling the blue glass goblet daily with milk to feed them.  Now it is Yuri Moriyama’s turn.  When World War II comes to Japan, and the older Moriyama brother becomes a fanatic nationalist, the family is divided.  Yuri and a loyal pigeon keep the Little People safe.  This tender fantasy story is full of adventure, hardship, and cultural revelations. mjw

Title: The Secret Of The Blue Glass Author: Tomiko Inui (1924-2002) Publisher: Pushkin Children’s Books.  London Copyright: 2015 Original Language: Japanese Translator: Ginny Tapley Takemori Original Title: Kokage No Ie No Kobitotachi (Yuri And The Little People) Original Publisher: Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers.  Tokyo Original Copyright: 1967 ISBN: 978-1-782690-34-4 Paperback pages: 192 Age range: 12-16 Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Book setting: Tokyo suburb Author’s ethnicity: Japanese Awards: 2019 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Shortlist Subjects: Asian historical fiction, Libraries, Pigeons, World War II

Spur: A Wolf’s Story

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A young wolf named Spur, who is looking for food, is hurt when a shot comes from a helicopter that appears in the sky.  Spur’s family scatters for cover.  When the woods get quiet again, Spur finds another pack of wolves.  She tells them of the attack.  Although she misses her family, she feels grateful to the new pack. After a while, the roar of the helicopter returns.  She warns the other wolves and they hide.  Then, Spur hears a familiar wolf call.  It is her brother.  She splits from the pack and joins him.  Evocative artwork of wolves in their natural habitats enhances this empowering story. An author’s note tells more about culling wolves to protect livestock and to stabilize caribou populations, and the fact that there is evidence that killing wolves helps.  A resource list is also included. mjw

Title: Spur: A Wolf’s Story Author: Eliza Robertson Illustrator: Nora Aoyagi Publisher: Greystone Kids Books Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-77164-341-2 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book Author’s residence: Montreal, Canada Illustrator’s residence: Berkeley, California Subjects: Caribou, Nature and environment, Seasons, Wolves

No Ballet Shoes In Syria

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Eleven-year-old Aya has just arrived in Manchester, England, from Syria, with her Mumma and her baby brother.  She is an “asylum seeker, a would–be refugee, a poor little girl from Syria, a fatherless child from a war zone.” Her passion is dance.  One day she comes across a ballet class and the teacher recognizes her talent and thinks she might earn a position at the prestigious Northern Ballet School.  Aya is a powerful, brave character.  Her story engages in a series of flashbacks about her life in Syria.  There is a parallel story about her ballet teacher who had to flee the holocaust.  This incredibly moving, well-written story shows how dance transcends borders.  A map of Aya’s journey from Syria is included. mjw

Title: No Ballet Shoes In Syria Author: Catherine Bruton Publisher: Nosy Crow Ltd. U.K. Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English  ISBN: 978-1-78800-4-503 Paperback pages: 272 Age range: 8-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Syria, Turkey, Greece, England Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: England Subjects: Aleppo, Asylum seekers, Ballet, Dance, Prejudice and racism, Refugees

The Second Sky

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Gilbert, a baby penguin, wants to fly in the sky like an albatross.  He practices to no avail because he has big clumsy feet and small fluffy wings.  He falls on his face, his back, and his bottom.  His uncle tells him to give it up, but Gilbert knows he will find a way to fly.  He finally spreads his wings, jumps, tumbles, and splashes into the sea.  He sinks and sees stars, moons, clouds, forests, gardens, and mountaintops.  Under the sea, he flies.  He discovers the second sky in his own element.  The watercolor and pencil illustrations are beautiful with Gilbert’s movement and action. mjw

Title: The Second Sky Author: Patrick Guest Illustrator: Jonathan Bentley Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Grand Rapids, Michigan Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0802-855206 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Australian Author’s residence: Australia Illustrator’s ethnicity: Australian Illustrator’s residence: Australia Subjects: Determination, Flight, Penguins

Rasha: Little Girl Big Heart

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Feisty fourteen-year-old Rasha is abandoned by her mother in a village far from their cosmopolitan Dhaka home, where she is forced to live with her aged and probably mad grandmother. The village has no electricity, heavy rains, and nosy neighbors. Rasha has to attend a primitive school with a bullying teacher.  She rises against her circumstances and exposes the teacher, stops a child marriage from happening, builds a boat so that she can get to school, and teaches her new school friends how to use a computer.  She even wins a science Olympiad. mjw

Title: Rasha: Little Girl Big Heart Author: Muhanned Zafar Iqbal Publisher: Puffin Books.  Penguin Random House India Copyright: 2016 Original Language: Bengali Translator: Arunava Sinha Original Title: Rashed Amar Bondhu Original Publisher: Tamralipi, Dhaka Original Copyright: 2010 ISBN: 978-780143434887 Paperback pages: 240 Age range: 12-15 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Bangladesh Author’s ethnicity: Bangladeshi Author’s residence: Bangladesh Translator’s ethnicity: Bangladeshi Translator’s residence: Bangladesh Awards: Translator has won the Crossword Prize for Translated Books.  The book is on the 2019 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Award Shortlist Subjects: Bangladesh liberation war, Dhaka, East Pakistan, Freedom, Freedom fighters, Intergenerational

Ojiichan’s Gift

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Mayumi visits her grandfather (Ojiichan) in Japan every summer.  She helps him in his beautiful rock garden.  But one summer, everything changes.  Ojiichan has grown older and he cannot tend the garden any more.  Mayumi makes him a mini rock garden in a bento box. This is a heartwarming story about the bond of love.  The watercolor paintings are detailed and calming just like a Japanese rock garden. The Japanese words used in the story are explained in a brief glossary. mjw

Title: Ojiichan’s Gift Author: Chieri Uegaki Illustrator: Genevieve Simms Publisher: Kids Can Press. Toronto Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-77138-963-1 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Japan Author’s ethnicity: Japanese Author’s residence: British Columbia Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian Illustrator’s residence: Toronto, Ontario Subjects: Asia, Gardens, Multigenerational, Rock gardens