Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Wolf Wilder

Twelve-year-old Feodora, Feo for short, lives in the snowy woods of Russia with her mother. They are wolf wilders. They take wolves that were bought as pups by St. Petersburg aristocrats and abandoned; teach the wolves to hunt, fight, and distrust humans; and then release them back into the wild. Feo’s house was burned and her mother was attacked and captured by the Russian Army. Accompanied by three loyal wolves, Ilya, a sensitive, lost young soldier who loves ballet, and Alexei, a 15-year-old agitator from a nearby village, Feo sets off into the ice and snow of the woods on a journey to rescue her mother. Set near the end of Tsar Nicholas II’s reign, the story combines history with fairytale, and suggests the hope of the Revolution. Feo is a feisty and beautiful heroine, who stands for everything that is right. This captivating book begins with a note on wolf wilders (which the author made up). mjw

Title: The Wolf Wilder
Author: Katherine Rundell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York
Copyright: 2105
Original Language: English
Original Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, London
Original Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-1942-0
Hardcover pages: 240
Age range: 8-12
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book setting: Russia
Author’s Ethnicity: Grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London
Author’s residence: Oxford, England
Subjects: Ballet, Bravery, Fairytales, Fantasy, Mothers and daughters, Russia – history – Nicholas II, 1894-1917, Russian Revolution, Survival, Wolves

Kuma-Kuma Chan, The Little Bear

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A young child narrates how his friend Kuma-Kuma Chan uses his time during the day. The simplistically charming text and illustrations evoke a meditative feeling of the story. The narrator describes the activities the adorable bear does, such as doing his daily chores, participating in seasonal activities, writing letters, and composing a love song. The short sentences make it easy for young readers to follow. They will be able to imagine the type of tasks Kuma-Kuma Chan, as the narrator, describes how the little bear spends his day. ema

Title: Kuma-Kuma Chan, The Little Bear
Author: Kazue Takahashi
Illustrator: Kazue Takahashi
Publisher: Museyon
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: Japanese
Translator: Poplar Publishing
Original Title: Kuma-Kuma Chan
Original Publisher: Poplar Publishing
Original Copyright: 2001
ISBN: 978-1-940842-01-1
Hardcover pages: 52
Age range: 3-5
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Japanese
Author’s residence: Japanese
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Japanese
Illustrator’s residence: Japanese
Subjects: Activities, Bears, Days, Imagination, Seasons

Harry Miller’s Run

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Eleven-year-old Liam is an enthusiastic runner who, with his mates, has entered his first Junior Great North Run. He visits an elderly neighbor, Harry Miller, who is about to move into a nursing home and who his mum helps to look after. Harry tells that he ran the thirteen-mile race from Newcastle to the sea at South Shields when he was a lad in 1938. This touching and uplifting story about friendship is illustrated with detailed black and white drawings. The Great North Run is an actual English athletic event. mjw

Title: Harry Miller’s Run
Author: David Almond
Illustrator: Salvatore Rubbino
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd., London
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: English
Original copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4063-6224-4
Hardcover pages: 64
Age range: 7 up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book setting: England
Author’s ethnicity: British
Author’s residence: Northumberland, England
Illustrator’s residence: London
Awards: Author has won 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Medal
Subjects: Friendship, Marathon running, Reminiscing in old age, Running

Mr. Chicken Lands On London

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London is Mr. Chicken’s favorite city in all the world and he has a full itinerary. First, he has morning tea with the Queen. After the royal visit, it’s St. James’s Park and St. Paul’s Cathedral. He drives the double-decker bus himself, rides the Underground, and sits atop Lord Nelson’s Column – all before lunch. More sightseeing includes the National Gallery, Piccadilly Circus, and St. Martin-in-the-Fields. He attends the opera and makes it to Big Ben by the strike of midnight. This introduction to London is made fun by the crazy cartoon drawings and subversive humor of enormously oversized Mr. Chicken’s madcap adventure. The endpapers include a map of London, Mr. Chicken’s London Checklist, and his thank you note to the Queen. The author/illustrator was named Australian Children’s Laureate on February 8, 2016. mjw

Title: Mr. Chicken Lands On London
Author: Leigh Hobbs
Illustrator: Leigh Hobbs
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, Australia
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-74331-592-7
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Book setting: London
Author’s ethnicity: Australian
Author’s residence: Australia
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Australian
Illustrator’s residence: Australia
Awards: 2016-2017 Australian Children’s Laureate
Subjects: Birds, England, Europe, Geography, Humor, London

The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams In A Can

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This book is based on the author’s true story. As a young girl, she dreamed of going to school. It was a challenge for her to achieve her dream because in her country Rhodesia, current Zimbabwe, girls do not receive any formal education. This picture book is filled with watercolor illustrations and moving text that describes how she achieved her dream of earning three degrees. The author shares her talents as an educator and humanitarian with her village and other communities around the world. ema

Title: The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams In A Can
Author: Dr. Tererai Trent
Illustrator: Jan Spivey Gilchrist
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-670-01654-9
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 6-8
Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
Book setting: Zimbabwe
Author’s ethnicity: Zimbabwean
Author’s residence: Zimbabwe and California
Illustrator’s ethnicity: African American
Illustrator’s residence: Chicago
Subjects: Africa, Communities, Girls Education, Dreams, Education, Villages

Diary Of A Time Traveler: Meet Over One Hundred Of History’s Biggest Superstars

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It all started when a boy named Augustus fell asleep in his boring history class, but thanks to his creative teacher, Professor Tempo, and his magic notebook, history comes alive. He and his teacher travel back in time to 1 Million BC in Africa when people first used fire, then make 28 more stops at important points in Earth’s history, and end in 1969 when man walked on the moon. Other highlights explored are Stonehenge, the early Olympics in Greece, The Great Wall in China, the end of slavery, and the advent of women’s suffrage. They meet explorers, inventors, leaders, writers, and more, such as Leif Erikson, Genghis Khan, Johannes Gutenberg, Michelangelo, William Shakespeare, Sacagawea, Marie Curie, and Duke Ellington. The text contains many amusing and interesting facts and is illuminated by fun, digitally created illustrations. An index is included. mjw

Title: Diary Of A Time Traveler: Meet Over One hundred Of History’s Biggest Superstars
Author: David Lang
Illustrator: Nicholas Stevenson
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions, and imprint of Quarto Inc.
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: English
Original Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd., Great Britain
Original Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 978-1-84780-704-5
Hardcover pages: 64
Age range: 7-10
Genre: Picture Book, Historical Fiction
Author’s ethnicity: English
Author’s residence: Suffolk. England
Illustrator’s ethnicity: English
Illustrator’s residence: North London, England
Subjects: History, Reference, Science fiction, Time travel, World history

An Island Of Our Own

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Siblings, seventeen-year-old Jonathan, ten-year-old Holly, and six-year-old Davy have to look after themselves since their mum died. Jonathan has turned down his place at university to work in a café to care for Holly and Davy. Their wealthy and eccentric Aunt Irene passes away and leaves them some photographs that might lead to an inheritance, and Holly is determined to find the hidden treasure. On their quest, using the modern technology of a Maker Space to find clues, they meet a wide variety of people and travel across England and Scotland. Holly, who narrates the story, is optimistic and spunky. Jonathan is strong, nerdy, and cool. References to Dr. Who, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and The Chronicles of Narnia; short chapters; and likeable characters help make this contemporary adventure about the strength of family and kindness of others a lot of fun. mjw

Title: An Island Of Out Own
Author: Sally Nicholls
Publisher: Scholastic Children’s Books
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1407-12433-9
Paperback pages: 240
Age range: 11up
Genre: Fiction
Book setting: England, Orkney Islands, Scotland
Author’s ethnicity: English
Author’s residence: Oxford, UK
Awards: 2015 IBW Children’s Fiction Award, 2015 Guardian Children’s Fiction Longlist
Subjects: Brothers and sisters, Discovery, Humor, Maker spaces, Mysteries, Photographs, Technology

In The New World: A Family In Two Centuries

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Robert and Margarete Peters and their children Johannes, who is eight, and Dorothea, who is six, emigrate from Germany to the United States in 1869. They leave behind severe economic conditions, their farm, family, and friends. They can take only what they can carry in the one trunk allowed in steerage aboard the Teutonia. They land in New Orleans and join a wagon train headed west to Nebraska, where they establish a farm outside Omaha. The book ends with fifth generation, multiethnic descendants of Robert and Margarete, who live on the same farm in Omaha, traveling back to their ancestral home in Germany to uncover their history. Detailed, delicate, and crisp pencil and watercolor illustrations enrich the fascinating, well-organized, flowing text in this excellent resource for social studies classrooms. Decorative maps on the endpapers show each family’s journey. mjw

Title: In The New World: A Family In Two Centuries
Author: Christa Holtei
Illustrator: Gerda Raidt
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: German
Translator: Susi Woofter
Original Title: In Die Neue Welt: Eine Familiengeschichte in Zwei Jahrhunderten
Original Publisher: Julius Beltz GmbH and Co. KG, Beltz Verlag
Original Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58089-630-6
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 5-10
Genre: Picture Book
Book setting: Germany and Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Author’s ethnicity: German
Author’s residence: Germany
Illustrator’s ethnicity: German
Illustrator’s residence: Germany
Subjects: Biography, Cultural identity, Emigration and immigration, Family life, Farmers, German Americans, Immigrants, Nebraska, United States 1800s

The Green Bicycle

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One of Saudi Arabia’s best-known and most controversial filmmakers has adapted her very successful film Wadjda for middle grade readers. Rebellious, 11-year-old Wadjda lives with her strict parents in modern day Riyadh and dreams of owning the green bicycle that she passes in a store everyday on her way to school. She wants to race her friend Abdullah, but riding bikes is frowned upon for girls and Wadjda’s parents refuse to buy the bike for her. Wadjda tries to raise the money buy selling bracelets and mixtapes that she makes. Fiercely independent, she doesn’t fit in at school, gets into a lot of trouble, and risks expulsion. She eventually enters a Quran competition in order to win the prize money and purchase the bike. She wins, but the school chooses to donate the money to Palestine on her behalf. She returns home to find that her mother has bought the bike and Wadjda then wins the race against Abdullah. Explanations of various elements of Saudi culture and its patriarchal society are woven into the story and provide helpful background for readers unfamiliar with the region. The film Wadjda (2012) was the first full-length feature to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and through 2013, the only feature-length film made in Saudi Arabia by a female director. The film has won numerous awards around the world. mjw

Title: The Green Bicycle
Author: Haifaa Al Mansour
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0525-42806-0
Hardcover pages: 352
Age range: 8 up
Genre: Fiction
Book setting: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Author’s ethnicity: Saudi Arabian
Author’s residence: Bahrain
Awards: The film Wadjda (2012) won the 2013 Best International Feature Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival
Subjects: Bicycles and bicycling, Coming of Age, Female empowerment, Gender roles, Girls and women, Koran, Middle East, Music, Muslims, Quran, Sex roles,

The Tea Party In The Woods

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Kikko’s father forgot the pie he was going to bring to Grandmother’s house. Kikko runs through the snow-covered woods to give her father the pie before he reaches the home. Unfortunately, Kikko trips and ruins the pie. Although she is dispirited, she still plans on giving her grandmother the pie. As she continues to follow what she believes to be her father’s footprints, Kikko comes across a house she has never seen before. She meets speaking, clothed, and upright woodland creatures who invite her to their tea party. The mostly black and white charcoaled and penciled illustrations have touches of color and bring this enchanting tale of unexpected friendship and kindness to life. ema

Title: The Tea Party In The Woods
Author: Akiko Miyakoshi
Illustrator: Akiko Miyakoshi
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: Japanese
Translator: Kids Can Press
Original Title: Mori no Oku no Ochakai e
Original Publisher: Kaisei-Sha Publishing Co. Ltd.
Original Copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-77138-107-9
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 3-7
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Japanese
Author’s residence: Tokyo
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Japanese
Illustrator’s residence: Tokyo
Awards: A 2015 Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of the Year Winner
Subjects: Acts of kindness, Grandmother, Party, Pies, Tea, Winter, Woods

A Pig Called Heather

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Heather, the Duroc pig, lives on a lovely 300-year-old farm in Scotland, loves and can identify apples of all kinds, and has Isla, the farmer’s daughter, as her best friend. When the barn is destroyed in a fire and Isla and her father move to London, the new owner, Mr. Busby, has a commercial promoting farm life shot at the farm and Heather is “discovered.” She is whisked off to London to become a national celebrity and the star of an advertising campaign. At a photo shoot, Heather escapes and finds Isla. A pig living in a flat in London proves challenging and Heather ends up finding a home in the London Zoo. Heather’s animal friends are brilliant, perfectly personified, and completely believable. However they don’t talk to humans. Heather and Isla communicate by snout scrunching. The writing is imaginative, fast-paced, and contains fun Britishisms. The ending hints at the two sequels, The Return of A Pig Called Heather (paperback 2014) and Heather’s Piglets (2015), where Heather has more zany adventures. mjw

Title: A Pig Called Heather
Author: Harry Oulton
Publisher: Holiday House, New York
Copyright: 2105
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3290-5
Hardcover pages: 128
Age range: 8-12
Genre: Fiction, Animal Fantasy
Book setting: Aberdeenshire, Scotland. London
Author’s ethnicity: British
Author’s residence: England
Subjects: England, Farm life, Human-animal relationships, Pigs, Voyages and travels

Swan: The Life And Dance of Anna Pavlova

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This beautiful picture book celebrates the extraordinary life of one of the world’s prima ballerinas. Starting with her humble beginnings in 19^th century tsarist Russia, the story unfolds to tell of her triumphs on the stage and her tragic end. The tender and graceful illustrations, which are done in ink, gouache, graphite, pencil, and crayon, and the text, which is light, vivid, and magical, make this masterpiece an excellent read-aloud. An Author’s Note provides more detailed information and a Bibliography and Quotation Sources suggest places for young readers to learn even more about the gifted dancer. mjw

Title: Swan: The Life And Dance Of Anna Pavlova
Author: Laurel Snyder
Illustrator: Julie Morstad
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Copyright: 2015
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-4521-1890-1
Hardcover pages: 52
Age range: 6-9
Genre: Picture Book Biography
Book setting: Russia
Author’s ethnicity: American
Author’s residence: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian
Illustrator’s residence: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Awards: 2016 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
Subjects: Ballerinas, Biographies, Dance, Performing arts, Russia (Federation), Women