Tag Archives: Families

A Place To Belong

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World War II is over and Hanako and her family – her father, her mother, and little brother Akira – are moving to Japan.  They have been in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans in America.  They have renounced their citizenship so they can leave the camp and return to Japan to live with Hanako’s grandparents on a tenant farm outside of Hiroshima.  They barely survive.  Hanako struggles to fit in as an outsider in her new home.  This is a moving book interspersed with black and white drawings. mjw

Title: A Place To Belong Author: Cynthia Kadohata Illustrator: Julia Kuo Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English  ISBN: 978-1-481446648 Hardcover pages: 416 Age range: 10-14 Genre: Historical Fiction Book setting: Hiroshima, Japan Author’s ethnicity: Japanese Author’s residence: California, U.S. Subjects: Emigration and immigration, Hiroshima, Multigenerational family life, Japan, Japan history 1945

The Color Of The Sun

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This story takes place in one day of Davie’s life in Tyneside, his small town home.  He takes off on a journey after what appears to be the murder of a boy he knows.  Half real and half imagined, he meets characters from his town, which has rival gangs,. Davie thinks he knows who the murderer is.  As the story progresses, it gets harder to fathom what is real.  The ending is brilliant and leaves readers feeling positive and hopeful.  The book is beautifully written. mjw

Title: The Color Of The Sun Author: David Almond Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English Original Publisher: Hachette Children’s Group. U.K. Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0785-9 Hardcover pages: 224 Age range: 12 up Genre: Fiction, Fantasy Book setting: England Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Medal, Carnegie Medal Subjects: Adventure, Coming of Age, Death and dying, Violence, Young adult boys

Old Man Of The Sea

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A young boy narrates this adventure tale about his grandpa’s travels all over the world – the story of his life.  He first tells about Europe with fairy tale castles and groves of olive trees.  The ocean calls and grandpa sails to Africa where he dances to the rhythm of drums.  He feels the pull of the ocean and ends up in Asia where he eats spices and visits ancient temples.  He returns to the sea and Oceania and finally ends up in America where he marries, works hard, has children, and makes a family.  For the first time in his life, he forgets to go back to the sea.  The digitally rendered watercolor paintings include maps of the continents. mjw

Title: Old Man Of The Sea Author: Stella Elia Illustrator: Weberson Santiago Publisher: Lantana Publishing. London Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-91137-354-4 Hardcover pages: 40 Age range: 5-8 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, America Author’s ethnicity: Brazilian Author’s residence: Brazil Illustrator’s ethnicity: Brazilian Illustrator’s residence: Brazil Awards: Illustrator has won the 2009 Trofeu HQ Mix Award for Best Illustrator in Brazil Subjects: Adventure, Boats, Continents, Maps, Multigenerational, Sailing, Sailors, Ships, Storytelling

Vanishing Colors

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In this haunting story, a young girl and her mother take shelter in their roofless house to sleep. The mother tells the story of a large bird that flies from the mountains to protect them.  Dark illustrations show that the city is ravaged by war.  The bird reminds the girl of happy memories and colors that were there before.  The girl and her mother can leave when the girl sees all the colors in the rainbow, which makes a bridge across the sky.  The book ends with the mother and child walking on, holding hands, under a rainbow. They will stay together and help each other. mjw

Title: Vanishing Colors Author: Constance Orbeck-Nilssen Illustrator: Akin Duzakin Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2019 Original Language: Norwegian Translator: Kari Dickson Original Title: Fargene som forsvant Original Publisher: Vigmostad & Bjorke Original Copyright: 2017 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5518-3 Hardcover pages: 40 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Eastern Europe Author’s ethnicity: Norwegian Author’s residence: Norway Illustrator’s ethnicity: Turkish-Norwegian Illustrator’s residence: Norway Subjects: Destruction, Emigration and Immigration, Homelessness and poverty, Migration, Parents, Refugees, Social issues

Bilal Cooks Daal

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Six-year-old Bilal helps his dad make his favorite food – daal.  The slow cooked dish from South Asia requires many ingredients and patience. Bilal’s diverse friends are excited to try the new dish.  They break naan around the table and share the steamy, garlicky, salty, sweet, creamy daal.  They all agree that it tastes great.  The colorful illustrations were rendered digitally. An author’s note explains that daal is known as lentils in English.  A recipe for chana daal with split chickpeas is also included. mjw

Title: Bilal Cooks Daal Author: Aisha Saeed Illustrator: Anoosha Syed Publisher: Salaam Reads, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-534418103 Hardcover pages: 40 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Pakistani-American Author’s residence: Atlanta, Georgia. U.S. Illustrator’s ethnicity: Pakistaani-Canadian Illustrator’s residence: Toronto, Canada Subjects: Bi-racial, Celebrations, Cooking, Cultural differences, Cultural traditions, Family relationships, Friendship, Lentils, Pakistani, Patience

Girl Of The Southern Sea

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Fourteen-year-old Nia lives in the slums of Jakarta, Java, with her father and her little brother. She dreams of attending high school and becoming a writer, but school is too expensive.  Her father runs a banana fritter cart near the railway station, but the money he makes usually just supports his drinking habit.  He is an unhappy and weak man who disappears for days, so Nia has to raise her little brother.  A series of unfortunate events leads to Nia’s father’s plan to marry Nia off to a much older man.  Nia overcomes all the obstacles and determines her own future.  A map of Indonesia and a glossary are included. mjw

Title: Girl Of The Southern Sea Author: Michelle Kadarusman Publisher: Pajama Press, Toronto Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-77278-081-9 Hardcover pages: 224 Age range: 9-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Jakarta, Java, Indonesia Author’s ethnicity: Grew up in Melbourne, has lived in Indonesia Author’s residence: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Subjects: Asian literature, Authors, Fantasy, Homelessness, Mythology, Poverty, Self-esteem and self-reliance, Slums, Teenage marriage

My Sweet Orange Tree

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Zeze, a precocious five-year-old born to a poor family in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, taught himself to read at a very young age and wants to grow up to be “a poet with a bow tie.” Zeze is a naughty child with a heart of gold.  He plays clever pranks on his neighbors and is punished severely for them by his parents. Imaginative Zeze adopts a small orange tree that grows in his yard as his magical friend.  Inspired by the author’s childhood, the book is a Brazilian classic, adopted by schools and adapted for cinema, television, and the stage. It has been translated into nineteen languages. mjw

Title: My Sweet Orange Tree Author: Jose Mauro De Vasconcelos (1920-1984) Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2019 Original Language: Portuguese Translator: Alison Entrekin Original Title: Meu pe de laranja lima Original Publisher: Editora melhoramentos Ltda, Brazil Original Copyright: 1968 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0328-8 Hardcover pages: 272 Age range: 14-17 Genre: Autobiographical novel Book setting: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Author’s ethnicity: Brazilian Subjects: Abuse, Imagination, Magic, Orange trees, Poverty