Tag Archives: Arts

The Warli People

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The Warli people lived in ancient India around 2500 BCE. They hunted, fished, and harvested salt from the sea. The women were artists who painted scenes of day-to-day activities on the walls of their mud-brick houses. The artwork in the book , in the Warli style, depicts seasons, the forest, animals, trees, food, a festival, and a wedding day. It is interesting that no mythological characters or deities are shown. The Warli people celebrated life’s joyous moments. Back matter includes a note on the people and their artwork, a timeline of events, key terms and concepts, and information on the rise of civilization. mjw
Title: The Warli People
Author: Hye-eun Shin
Illustrator: Su-bi Jeong
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. Grand Rapids, MI
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: Korean
Editor: Joy Cowley
Original Publisher: Yeowon Media Co. Ltd.
Original Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5476-6
Paperback pages: 36
Age range: 6-10
Genre: Picture Book, Information Book
Book setting: India
Author’s ethnicity: Korean
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Korean
Subjects: Agriculture, Community, Harvest, Indic people, Monsoon, Wedding

The Ballad Of A Broken Nose

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The Ballad of a Broken NoseThirteen-year-old Bart Norum has had a hard life. He lives in public housing with his alcoholic mother, his neighbors are drug addicts, and he doesn’t know who is father is. He takes up boxing so that he can protect himself, but his real love is opera. His friend Ada, who cannot keep a secret, lets his classmates and teacher know about his passion and they want him to sing in the class talent show. But Bart suffers from paralyzing stage fright. Bart is an optimist and he tells his story about bravery, fear, sports, and music in a funny and matter-of-fact style. An interesting note is that Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel is Bart’s idol. mjw
Title: The Ballad Of A Broken Nose
Author: Arne Svingen
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, New York
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: Norwegian
Translator: Kari Dickson
Original Title: Sangen om en Brukkt Nese
Original Publisher: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag
Original Copyright: 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4814-1542-2
Hardcover pages: 224
Age range: 10-12
Genre: Fiction
Book setting: Norway
Author’s ethnicity: Norwegian
Author’s residence: Norway
Awards: 2017 Mildred L. Batchelder Award, Norwegian Ministry of Culture’s Best Young Adult Literature Prize
Subjects: Boxing, Bullies, Drugs, Friendship, Music, Opera, Talent shows

The Sun Is Also A Star

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Natasha has hours left before she is deported to Jamaica. The logical aspiring scientist believes in facts and refuses to fall in love with someone she just met. Dreamer Daniel, who lives under the pressure of pleasing his Korean parents, believes Natasha is the one. That fate has made several events fall into place for them to meet.  With all of the possible futures there are, will their one day in New York City lead to a future together? Yoon’s multiple points of view in narration brings to light a variety of perspectives and emotions of the human experience. ema

 

Title: The Sun Is Also A Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: English
Original Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 978-0553496680
Hardcover pages: 384
Age range: 14 and up
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
Authors’ ethnicity: American, Jamaican 
Authors’ residence: Los Angeles
Awards: National Book Award finalist, Michael L. Printz Honor Book, and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner
Subjects: Immigration, Jamaican, Love, Multiple POVs, Poetry, Racism, Science, South Korean

 

Danza ! Amalia Hernandez And El Ballet Folklorico De Mexico

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Amalia Hernandez was born in Mexico City in 1917. She saw her first dance performance as a young girl and decided she was going to be a dancer. She studied ballet and modern dance and soon began to choreograph. She formed her own troupe of dancers that focused on traditional Mexican dances and also blended ballet, drama, and colorful costumes. Her company, El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, was successful nationally and internationally and still performs today. Digitized, hand-drawn illustrations rendered in Tonatiuh’s Mixtec-inspired signature style celebrate Hernandez’s life and the history of dance in Mexico. An author’s note, glossary, and bibliography are included.mjw
Title: Danza! Amalia Hernandez And El Ballet Folklorico De Mexico
Author: Duncan Tonatiuh
Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers, New York
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2532-6
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 6-10
Genre: picture Book Biography
Book setting: Mexico
Author’s ethnicity: Mexican
Author’s residence: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Mexican
Illustrator’s residence: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Awards: Author/illustrator has won the Pura Belpre Medal
Subjects: Arts, Dancers, Folk dancing, Mexico, Music, Performing arts

Ada’s Violin: The Story Of The Recycled Orchestra Of Paraguay

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Adas ViolinEleven-year-old Ada Rios lives with her family in a landfill in Cateura in Paraguay’s capital city of Asuncion. It is one of the poorest slums in all of South America. Favio Chavez, an environmental engineer sent to Cateura to teach safety practices to the gancheros (recyclers) working in the dangerous heaps of trash, worried about the children and decided to offer them music lessons. Since they could not afford instruments, they created cellos, flutes, guitars, violins, and more out of garbage. In time, Chavez’s music class became the Recycled Orchestra. Now, the orchestra plays around the world, spreading their message of hope and inspiration. They even opened for a Metallica concert. This true story is illustrated with mixed media collages. Spanish words are smoothly integrated into the text. An author’s note; websites, videos, and sources; and a photo of string instruments made from oil drums, paint cans, and pieces of wooden crates are included. The book is also available in a Spanish edition, El Violin de Ada: La historia de la Orquesta de Intrumentos Reciciados del Paraguay. mjw
Title: Ada’s Violin: The Story Of The Recycled Orchestra Of Paraguay
Author: Susan Hood
Illustrator: Sally Wern Comport
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3096-8
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Book setting: Paraguay
Author’s ethnicity: U.S.
Author’s residence: Connecticut, U.S.
Illustrator’s ethnicity: U.S.
Illustrator’s residence: Maryland, U.S.
Subjects: Classical music, instruments, Music, Musicians, orchestra, Recycling, Spanish

The Boring Book

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the-boring-bookOnce there was a BORING book that no one ever read. People who tried to read it fell asleep. The words in the book were tired of standing in rows, so they escape to have fun. They jump into street signs and shop signs. They dance all over the pages until the wordplay gets out of hand. Unusual and colorful graphics and three-dimensional miniature books within the book are imaginative and add to the fun. mjw
Title: The Boring Book
Author: Vasanti Unka
Illustrator: Vasanti Unka
Publisher: Puffin Books, New Zealand
Copyright: 2013
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-143-50575-4
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4-10
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s residence: Auckland, New Zealand
Illustrator’s residence: Auckland, New Zealand
Awards: 2014 New Zealand Post Mahy Book of the Year, 2014 White Raven, 2016 IBBY Honor Book
Subjects: Activity books, Books and libraries, Words

Canada Year By Year

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CanadaThis amazing history book features one milestone per year of Canada’s 150-year history. Ten chapters are filled with sidebars, biographies, quotations, trivia, and fascinating illustrations. In 1910, the first chocolate bar in North America was developed in New Brunswick as a quick snack for fishermen. In 1922, Joseph-Armand Bombardier attached a car motor and an airplane propeller to a sleigh to create a snowmobile. In 1932, 17-year-old Joe Shuster sketched the first Superman. And in 2009, more than one-fifth of all smartphones used around the world were made by a Canadian company called Blackberry. This is the story of the people, places, and events that have shaped Canada. Back matter includes an index and an illustrated list of great Canadians – artists, athletes, politicians, and more.mjw
Title: Canada Year By Year
Author: Elizabeth MacLeod
Illustrator: Sydney Smith
Publisher: Kids Can Press. Toronto, Canada
Copyright: 22016
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-77138-397-4
Hardcover pages: 96
Age range: 9-12
Genre: Picture book, Information, Nonfiction
Book setting: Canada
Author’s ethnicity: Canadian
Author’s residence: Toronto
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian
Illustrator’s residence: Toronto
Subjects: Canada, History, Reference