Category Archives: Uncategorized

Meena

The suspicious children of Fly Street are convinced that their elderly neighbor is a toad-eating witch. They call her names, write her a threatening letter, and believe that the little girl who visits her house must be under a spell. When they learn that the little girl is Meena’s granddaughter, they discover that there is nothing wicked-witchy about Meena. Meena treats them with kindness, patience, and slices of her delicious homemade cherry pie. Illustrated with bright abstract collages, this is a humorous and hopeful book about overcoming misunderstandings. mjw

Title: Meena
Author: Sine Van Mol
Illustrator: Carianne Wijffels
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Copyright: 2011
Original language: Dutch
Original title: Mina Lieverd
Original publisher: Wielsbeke
Original copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5394-3
Hardcover pages: 28
Age range: 5-9
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Belgian
Author’s residence: Belgium
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Belgian
Illustrator’s residence: Belgium
Awards: USBBY Outstanding International Books List
Subjects: Europe, Grandmothers, Fear, Old age, Prejudices, Western Europe

The Midnight Palace

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This brilliantly translated and haunting mixture of adventure, magic, and horror is set in the shady alleyways of 1930s Calcutta. Ben and Sheere, twins separated at birth, find each other sixteen years later and have to confront the evil figure from their past who killed their parents. A secret society of quirky and likeable friends, a labyrinthine railway station, ghostly orphan trains, and a convoluted plot make this cult classic fast moving and entrancing. mjw

Title: The Midnight Palace
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Copyright: 2011
Original language: Spanish
Translator: Lucia Graves
Original title: El Palacio de la Medianoche
Original publisher: Edebém
Original copyright: 1994
ISBN: 978-0-316-04474-5
Paperback pages: 304
Age range: 12 up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book setting: Calcutta, India
Author’s ethnicity: Spanish
Author’s residence: Barcelona, Spain and Los Angeles, California
Subjects: Asia, Calcutta, Conspiracies, Demonology, India, Orphans, Secret societies, Southern Asia, Twins

In Darkness

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In Darkness is a violent, challenging, dark novel that alternates chapters between the aftermath of the 2010 Haitian earthquake and the late 18^th century slave rebellion led by Toussaint L’Ouverture. The story is based on the history and truth of a country full of problems, corruption, and atrocities. Shorty is a fifteen-year-old thug trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital. He slips in and out of consciousness, shares a psychic connection with L’Ouverture, and dreams of a better future. Unflinching violence, zombies, infanticide, and strong language make this book not for the faint-hearted, although it is evocative and engrossing. mjw

Title: In Darkness
Author: Nick Lake
Publisher: Bloomsbury Books
Copyright: 2012
Original language: English
Original title: In Darkness
Original publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Original copyright: 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59990-743-7
Paperback pages: 352
Age range: 14 up
Genre: Fiction
Book setting: Haiti
Author’s ethnicity: British
Author’s residence: Great Britain
Awards: 2013 Printz Winner
Subjects: Caribbean; Gangs; Haiti – earthquake; Haiti – history; North America; Revolution; Toussaint L’Ouverture, 1743-1803; Survival; Violence.

I Am Different! Can You Find Me?

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This clever picture book, presents sixteen “spot the difference” puzzles that celebrate our differences. Each vibrant, mixed-media spread repeats the question Can You Find Me? in one of sixteen different languages now spoken in North America, including English, Hebrew, Hawaiian, Cree, Arabic, Filipino, Gullah, Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, Nahuatl, Italian, Navajo, French, and American Sign Language. Supplemental text provides information about each language, phonetic pronunciation guides, and familiar words that come from each language. Backmatter includes a short piece on “Languages Around the World” and an answer key explaining that there may be more than one answer for each page. mjw

Title: I Am Different! Can You Find Me?
Author: Manjula Padmanabhan
Illustrator: Manjula Padmanabhan
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Copyright: 2011
Original Language: English
Original title: I Am Different! Can You Find Me?
Original publisher: Tulika Publishers, India
Original copyright: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-57091-640-3
Paperback pages: 32
Age range: 6 up
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: Indian
Author’s residence: India
Subjects: Asia, India, Manners and customs, Multicultural education, North America, Language and culture, Picture puzzles, Southern Asia