Category Archives: Uncategorized

I’m An Immigrant Too!

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This book uses poetry to guide the reader though the journeys of several young people, as they immigrate from various countries around the world to Australia. Brightly colored computer graphics set the tone marvelously for this story of perseverance and hope. mm
Title: I’m An Immigrant Too!
Author: Mem Fox
Illustrator: Ronojoy Ghosh
Publisher: Beach Lane
Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3602-2
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 5-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Australian
Author’s residence: Adelaide, Australia
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Indian
Illustrator’s residence: Sydney, Australia
Subjects: Australia, Family, Immigrants

The Dark And The Light

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Shaggy is a furry creature who lives in darkness and who longs to visit the light. In the light lives Sparkle, who is fascinated yet fearful of the darkness. The two meet at the edge of the dark and light and soon become friends, meeting in the grey-blue inbetween.  When Shaggy visits Sparkle for the first time he brings a parasol to shield the light and when Sparkle visits him she brings a flashlight. While each is initially scared of entering the other’s world, their bond as friends helps them overcome their fears and enforces the importance of compromise. Cyanotype prints beautifully illustrate the contrast from dark to light in stunning indigos, navy blues, and brilliant whites. mm
Title: The Dark And The Light
Author: Kerstin Hau
Illustrator: Julie Völk
Publisher: NorthSouth Books
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780735843851
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: German
Author’s residence: Darmstadt, Germany
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Austrian
Illustrator’s residence: Vienna, Austria
Subjects: Darkness, Friendship, Light

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

Marwan’s Journey

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Marwen is a young boy and refugee who flees from starvation, poverty, and war. Along with thousands of other refugees, he takes an incredible journey across the desert and away from his homeland and culture. Marwen hopes to return to his home in the future and create a place that is safe, happy, and filled with hope. Brown, black, blue, red, and yellow watercolors combine in variations to establish scenes that reflect the ups and downs of Marwen’s journey. mm
Title: Marwan’s Journey
Author: Patricia de Arias
Illustrator: Laura Borrás
Publisher: Michael Neugebauer Publishing ltd
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 978-988-8341-55-9
Hardcover pages: 36
Age range: 5-7
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Spanish
Author’s residence: Brazil
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Spanish
Subjects: Family, Hope, Refugees

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

Who Built That? Modern Houses

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Who Built That? Modern HousesPart-biography, part-introduction to modern homes; this book offers up an incredible amount of information about the lives and design styles of architects such as Gerrit Rietveld and Frank Lloyd Wright. Primary color pen illustrations clearly depict the materials and floor layouts of each architect’s unique design and creative voice. mm

 

Title: Who Built That? Modern Houses
Author: Didier Cornille
Illustrator: Didier Cornille
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press, New York
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9781616892630
Hardcover pages: 75 
Age range: 10-13
Genre: Nonfiction, Information books
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: Le Mans, France
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: Le Mans, France 
Subjects: Architecture, Color, Design, Houses

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