Author Archives: omnilibros

The Fox Girl And The White Gazelle

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Twelve-year-old Reema is a Syrian refugee trying to find her place in Glasgow.  She struggles with a new language and culture and misses her older brother who got left behind in Aleppo.  Caylin feels completely alone.  She has to look after her alcoholic mother.  She bullies the other kids and steals from them so that she can eat. Reema and Caylin become friends when they discover an injured fox and her babies. The girls also discover that they both like to run. Told in alternating perspectives, this is a great story of friendship. mjw

Title: The Fox Girl And The White Gazelle Author: Victoria Williamson Publisher: Kelpies, an imprint of Floris Books. Edinburgh, Scotland Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English  ISBN: 978-178250-490-0 Paperback pages: 272 Age range: 10-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Scotland Author’s ethnicity: Scottish Author’s residence: U.K. Subjects: Foxes, Glasgow, Poetry, Prejudice and racism, Refugees, Running, Syria

Mina Vs. The Monsoon

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Mina, a young girl living in India, really wants to go outdoors to play soccer, but it’s monsoon season and she has to stay in.  Her mother prepares to celebrate the monsoon by making chai and samosas.  Mina plays her tabla (drum) to cheer herself up.  The doodh wallah (milkman) explains how important rain is for the rice paddies, but Mina is still sad.  When her mother asks her to get thread for stringing flower garlands, Mina discovers her mother’s soccer jersey. As her mother explains that she used to play soccer, the dark clouds disappear and they head outside together.  The bold, bright illustrations accompany the energetic text.  The book concludes with a glossary of Urdu and Hindi words and a note to parents and educators. mjw

Title: Mina Vs. The Monsoon Author: Rukhsanna Guidrozz Illustrator: Debasmita Dasgupta Publisher: Yali Books, New York Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-949528-98-5 Hardcover pages: 38 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Picture book Book setting: Bijar and Jharkhand, India Author’s ethnicity: Persian-Indian-Chinese Author’s residence: Hawaii Illustrator’s ethnicity: Indian Illustrator’s residence: Singapore Subjects: Drums, Girls and women, Monsoons, Peacocks, Soccer

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga

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Cherokee people say otsaliheliga to express gratitude. Journey through the seasons with a Cherokee family as cool breezes blow and colored leaves fall during uligohvsdi– fall.  As bears sleep deep and snow blankets the ground in gola– winter, the elders share stories and savor buttery bean bread and steamy hominy soup.  In spring – gogeyi, they say otsaliheliga while men sing asking for rain’s protection of the emerging sprouts that women tend.  And as the crops mature, they celebrate the first harvest at the Green Corn Ceremony in gogi – summer.  Every day, every season, they are grateful. Cherokee words are smoothly integrated into the text, which is illustrated with bright gouache paintings. Definitions, an author’s note, and the Cherokee syllabary are included. mjw

Title: We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Author: Traci Sorell Illustrator: Frane Lessac Publisher: Charlesbridge. Watertown, MA Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English, Cherokee Translator: Mr. Feeling ISBN: 978-1580897723 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 3-7 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: U.S. Author’s ethnicity: Cherokee Author’s residence: Kansas City Illustrator’s residence: Monsterrat, London, Australia Awards:  2019 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor, 2020 ALA American Indian Youth Award Subjects: Cherokee Indians, Cherokee language, Multicultural, Native Americans, Religion Seasons

Outside In

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Twelve-year-old Ram, who lives on the streets of Chandigarh in northern India, discovers a hidden garden full of sculptures.  He follows a man on a bicycle who seems to be collecting rocks and cast off materials. The man, Nek Chand, uses scraps of metal, bike tires, broken glass and dishes, old rags – junk according to Ram – to create a secret world of thousands of odd statues.  Ram and Nek become friends and learn how the story of the Ramayana parallels their story.  This heartwarming book was inspired by the true story of the famous Indian artist who was displaced from his home after Partition and illegally built an entire village in Chandigarh.  Today, Nek Chand’s Rock Garden is the second most visited site in India, after the Taj Mahal.  A glossary of Indian terms and an author’s note are included.  mjw

Title: Outside In Author: Jennifer Bradbury Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.  New York Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-4424-6827-6 Hardcover pages: 288 Age range: 8-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Chandigarh, India Author’s ethnicity: U.S. Author’s residence: U.S., taught in Chandigarh Awards: 2018 South Asia Book Award Subjects: Architecture, Asian, Chandigarh, Fables, Hindu, Homelessness, Legends, Myths, Nek Chand, Orphans, Poverty, Ramayana, Rock gardens, Sculptors

Peace And Me

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This beautiful, digitally illustrated book is a child-friendly exploration of what peace means. Featured are Jean Henry Dumont, Fridtjof Nansen, Jane Addams, John Boyd Orr, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Nelson Mandela, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, and Malala Yousafzai.  Brief biographies describe the invaluable work of these caring people from around the world.  A timeline and a world map are included. mjw

Title: Peace And Me Author: Ali Winter Illustrator: Mickael El Fathi Publisher: Lantana Publishing Ltd. U.K. Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-911373-28-5 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 7-11 Genre: Picture Book, Nonfiction, Information Book, Biography Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: U.K. Illustrator’s ethnicity: French-Moroccan Illustrator’s residence: France Subjects: Awards, Biography, Diversity, History, Nobel Prize winners, Pacifists

Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought For Her American Dream

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National bestselling author Julissa Arce tells of her journey from Taxco, Mexico, to growing up undocumented in Texas.  As a young girl, she, her two sisters, her nanny, and her grandmother were left behind in Taxco for months at a time, while her parents worked in America, hoping to build a home for the family.  At age eleven, her parents brought her to Texas where she secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant.  She worked tirelessly, achieved academic excellence, overcame cultural barriers, and ultimately climbed to a successful career on Wall Street. Eight pages of black and white photographs complement this compelling story. mjw

Title: Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought For Her American Dream Author: Julissa Arce Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-316-48174-8 Hardcover pages: 240 Age range: 11-14 Genre: Autobiography Book setting: Mexico, Texas Author’s ethnicity: Mexican Author’s residence: Los Angeles, U.S. Subjects: Biography, Illegal aliens, Immigrants, Mexican American women, Social justice, Texas

Nimesh the Adventurer

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School is over for the day and young South Asian Nimesh starts his walk home.  He meets a dragon and sharks and skates across the ice at the North Pole.  He encounters a guardsman for the Indian Maharaja.  And then, he happens upon  pirates and a princess.  Nimesh’s BIG imagination is complemented by vivid collage like images. mjw

Title: Names The Adventurer Author: Ranjit Singh Illustrator: Mehrdokht Amini Publisher: Lantana Publishing Ltd. U.K. Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English  ISBN: 978-1-911373-24-7 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: India Author’s ethnicity: British, of East Indian Heritage Illustrator’s ethnicity: Iranian Awards: Illustrator has won the Africana Best Book Award Subjects: Fantasy, Imagination, Magic, Multicultural

The Curiosity Cabinet

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Ian Wallace’s wordless tribute to Canada on her 150thbirthday includes graphite illustrations of treasures from his forty years of traveling the country.  He has made thousands of school and library visits inspiring young readers to become artists and he has received many gifts from the students.  His cabinet of curiosities includes these gifts and other discoveries he has made. Each illustration is devoted to a province or territory – tamarack geese made by Cree artists in Ontario, a snow globe illuminating the moment he stood on the Arctic Circle, the English heraldic lion from Prince Edward Island, and much more.  A table of contents and an introduction set the stage and detailed illustrator’s notes provide much information. mjw

Title: The Curiosity Cabinet Author: Ian Wallace Illustrator: Ian Wallace Publisher: Groundwood Books.  House of Anansi Press. Toronto Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-55498-922-5 Hardcover pages: 36 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Canada Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Brookline, MA Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian Illustrator’s residence: Brookline, MA Subjects: Biography, Mystery and wonders, Pictorial works, Travel

Snowboy And The Last Tree Standing

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Snowboy and his Ice Troopers are busy saving the Polar Bear King when Greenbackboy comes up with a better game called KA-CHING – a game that will make them rich. They need to cut down all the trees in the forest, catch all the fish in the ocean, and trade it all in for piles of shiny KA-CHING. But Snowboy realizes the importance of keeping at least one tree and two fish and he is brave enough to stand up for what he feels is right. Whimsical artwork done in pencil and colored digitally helps deliver a clear environmental message in this Lorax-like cautionary tale. mjw

Title: Snowboy And The Last Tree Standing Author: Hiawyn Oram Illustrator: Birgitta Sif Publisher: Candlewick Press. Somerville, Massachusetts Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English Original Copyright: 2017 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9572-9 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 3-7 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: English, born in South Africa Author’s residence: London Illustrator’s ethnicity: Born in Reykjavik Illustrator’s residence: Sweden Subjects: Conservation, Environment, Greed, Natural resources

The Little Prince 75th Anniversary Edition

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This is the 75thanniversary edition of the classic story about an aviator whose plane is forced down in the Sahara Desert where he encounters a little prince from a small planet who relates his adventures in seeking the secret of what is important in life.  This edition offers the full text of the beloved story – including a biography of the author, sketches, photos, and reviews from the first edition.  It also features a free audio download read by acclaimed author Viggo Mortensen.  The Little Prince is the most widely translated literary work of the twentieth century. mjw

Title: The Little Prince 75th Anniversary Edition Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944) Illustrator: Antoine de Saint-Exupery Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. New York Copyright: 2018 Original Language: French Translator: Vali Tamm Original Title: Le Petit Prince Original Publisher: Editions Gallimard. Paris Original Copyright: 1943,1946 ISBN: 978-1-328-47975-4 Hardcover pages: 224 Age range: 10-12 Genre: Fantasy, Fiction Book setting: Sahara Desert Author’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Subjects: Airplanes, Fables, Fairytales, Pilots, Planets, Princes, Roses

Buried Beneath The Baobab Tree

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Based on interviews with young women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014, this powerful novel tells the story of young YaTa and her dreams that became nightmares.  The terrorist group attacked her village and killed most of her family.  Before the abduction, she had a promising future of getting a university scholarship and becoming a teacher.  The book is written in poetic vignettes that tell how the girls were forced to follow their captors’ radical beliefs.  The narrator was forced to marry a man who used her for her body. But she refused to be brainwashed.  An enlightening afterword by Italian journalist Viviana Mazza gives more information about the kidnapping.  References and resources are also included. mjw

Title: Buried Beneath The Baobab Tree Author: Adobe Tricia Nwaubani Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-06-269672-4 Hardcover pages: 336 Age range: 14 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Nigeria Author’s ethnicity: Nigerian Author’s residence: Abuja, Nigeria Subjects: Africa, Girls, Human rights, Prejudice and racism, Survival, Violence

The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, A Changing India And A Hidden World Of Art

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Nek Chand was born in the village of Berian Kalan in the Punjab region near the Himalayas.  He grew up listening to stories and building a small world of his own out of sticks, clay, and rocks.  In 1947, with the Partition of India, the Punjab was divided into India and Pakistan.  His Hindu family no longer belonged where they lived and they resettled in Chandigarh, a modern city in India.  Nek found a job as a government roads inspector, but never felt like he belonged.  He found an abandoned forestland and, using natural materials, started building a secret kingdom.  He worked for sixteen years creating this secret garden of art from his imagination.  The gouache and watercolor illustrations are very detailed and there is a foldout of photos of the actual garden and sculptures.  An author’s note gives more background information about Chand’s life and the Nek Chand Foundation.  The book concludes with an extensive bibliography.  mjw

Title: The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, A Changing India, And A Hidden World Of Art Author: Barb Rosenstock Illustrator: Claire A.Nivola Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-7636-7475-5 Hardcover pages: 48 Age range: 7-10 Genre: Picture Book, Biography Book setting: Chandigarh, India Author’s ethnicity: U.S. Author’s residence: U.S. Illustrator’s ethnicity: U.S. Illustrator’s residence: U.S. Awards: 2019 Orbis Pictus Honor Book, 2019 South Asia Book Award Subjects: Asia, Biography, Green living, Imagination, Mosaics, Partition, Recycling, Rock garden, Sculptures, Storytelling, Visual arts