Tag Archives: Families

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 Awards: 2019 USBBY Honor List of Outstanding International Books Subjects: Family, Hope, Refugees

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 Awards: 2020 Middle Eat Book Award for Youth Literature Subjects: Aleppo, Asylum seekers, Ballet, Dance, Prejudice and racism, Refugees

Rasha: Little Girl Big Heart

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Feisty fourteen-year-old Rasha is abandoned by her mother in a village far from their cosmopolitan Dhaka home, where she is forced to live with her aged and probably mad grandmother. The village has no electricity, heavy rains, and nosy neighbors. Rasha has to attend a primitive school with a bullying teacher.  She rises against her circumstances and exposes the teacher, stops a child marriage from happening, builds a boat so that she can get to school, and teaches her new school friends how to use a computer.  She even wins a science Olympiad. mjw

Title: Rasha: Little Girl Big Heart Author: Muhanned Zafar Iqbal Publisher: Puffin Books.  Penguin Random House India Copyright: 2016 Original Language: Bengali Translator: Arunava Sinha Original Title: Rashed Amar Bondhu Original Publisher: Tamralipi, Dhaka Original Copyright: 2010 ISBN: 978-780143434887 Paperback pages: 240 Age range: 12-15 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Bangladesh Author’s ethnicity: Bangladeshi Author’s residence: Bangladesh Translator’s ethnicity: Bangladeshi Translator’s residence: Bangladesh Awards: Translator has won the Crossword Prize for Translated Books.  The book is on the 2019 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Award Shortlist Subjects: Bangladesh liberation war, Dhaka, East Pakistan, Freedom, Freedom fighters, Intergenerational

Ojiichan’s Gift

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Mayumi visits her grandfather (Ojiichan) in Japan every summer.  She helps him in his beautiful rock garden.  But one summer, everything changes.  Ojiichan has grown older and he cannot tend the garden any more.  Mayumi makes him a mini rock garden in a bento box. This is a heartwarming story about the bond of love.  The watercolor paintings are detailed and calming just like a Japanese rock garden. The Japanese words used in the story are explained in a brief glossary. mjw

Title: Ojiichan’s Gift Author: Chieri Uegaki Illustrator: Genevieve Simms Publisher: Kids Can Press. Toronto Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-77138-963-1 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Japan Author’s ethnicity: Japanese Author’s residence: British Columbia Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian Illustrator’s residence: Toronto, Ontario Subjects: Asia, Gardens, Multigenerational, Rock gardens

Borka: The Adventure Of A Goose With No Feathers

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Borka is the youngest of six geese born to Mr. and Mrs. Plumpster.  She has no feathers, so Mrs. Plumpster knits a gray woolen sweater for her. The other geese tease her.  She is left behind when the family migrates south for the winter because she cannot fly.  She makes friends with a dog named Fowler and a boat skipper named Captain McAllister, who takes Borka on his boat.  He brings her to Kew Gardens in London where she fits in nicely because there are so many kinds of strange birds there.  She meets Ferdinand and he and Borka live there happily.  The bold, richly textured illustrations complement this beautiful classic.  This is the 55thanniversary edition, back by popular demand. mjw

Title: Borka: The Adventure Of A Goose With No Feathers Author: John Burningham Illustrator: John Burningham Publisher: Candlewick Press. Somerville, MA Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English Original Publisher: Jonathan Cape, U.K. Original Copyright: 1963 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0040-9 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 5-7 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: England Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: North London, England Illustrator’s ethnicity: English Illustrator’s residence: North London, England Awards: 1964 Kate Greenaway Medal Subjects: Birds, Dogs, Geese, Knitting

Step Up To The Plate, Maria Singh

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It is 1945, and with World War II going on, fifth-grader Maria Singh wants to play baseball.  When her teacher starts an all-girls team at her school, Maria is thrilled.  However she meets many challenges. Her father from India doesn’t want her wearing shorts.  Her mother form Mexico wants her to stay home to watch her younger brother.  Maria also wants to work to get the city council to approve a baseball field for her neighborhood.  And because her father isn’t a U.S. citizen, he can’t own their farm and the family is in danger of losing it.  As she learns about teamwork and baseball, she also learns about prejudice and racism in her community.  And most importantly, she learns to speak up and make a difference in her world.  This well-written, fascinating book, that covers a lot of social history, has great potential for the classroom.  mjw

Title: Step Up To The Plate, Maria Singh Author: Uma Krishnaswami Publisher: Tu Books, an imprint of Lee and Low Books.  New York Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-600602-61-0 Hardcover pages: 288 Age range: 9-12 Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: California Author’s ethnicity: born in New Delhi Author’s residence: Victoria, British Columbia Awards: 018 South Asia Book Award Subjects:East Indian Americans, Farm life, Mexican Americans, Prejudice, Racially mixed people, Racism, Sexism, Softball, World War II

This Is Me, Mayil

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This is the diary of spirited sixteen-year-old Mayil Ganeshan.  She is curious and intelligent and wants to be a writer.  Also included are her rhymes and doodles.  The diary feels natural and is third in a series. mjw

Title: This Is Me, Mayil Author: Niveditha Subramaniam and Sowmya Rajendran Illustrator: Niveditha Subramaniam Publisher: Tulika Publishers.  Chennai, India Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-93-5046-996-5 Paperback pages: 124 Age range: 13 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: India Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: India Illustrator’s ethnicity: Indian Illustrator’s residence: India Subjects: Autobiography, Diary, Humor, Rhyme, Verse, Young adult

A Drop Of The Sea

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Ali lives with his great-grandmother at the edge of the desert, not far from a hundred-year-old palm tree.  Ali has grown worried that, in her old age, his great-grandmother is finding it harder to walk. Ali asks if all her dreams have come true.  She replies that she hasn’t seen the sea.  A determined Ali takes his pail and a pack of dates and walks the two days it takes to get to the sea.  He carefully fills his pail and walks the two days back to his great-grandmother.  Gently he offers her the pail.  At the very bottom only a few drops of the sea remain.  The old woman declares that this is one of the most beautiful days of her life.  The artwork in this sweet story was rendered digitally and in gouache and pencil.  A clever touch is the use of paper maps to indicate Ali’s journey. mjw

Title: A Drop Of The Sea Author: Ingrid Chabbert Illustrator: Raul Nieto Guriddi Publisher: Kids Can Press. Toronto, Canada Copyright: 2018 Original Language: French Original Title: Un Bout de Mer Original Publisher: Editions Frimousse Original Copyright: 2017 ISBN: 978-1-5253-0124-7 Hardcover pages: 36 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: A Middle East desert Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: France Illustrator’s ethnicity: Spanish Illustrator’s residence: Spain Subjects: Bedtime story, Multigenerational, Seas, Sleep

Anne Arrives: Inspired By Anne Of Green Gables

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In this first of a charming early reader series that reimagines L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Anne Shirley arrives at the farm of Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. They had adopted what they thought would be a sturdy boy to help on their farm.  Instead, they got imaginative – and outspoken – red-headed Anne-with-an-e.  This book covers the first few chapters of Montgomery’s book.  The lovely illustrations are rendered in graphite, watercolor, and colored pencil and completed digitally.  And the chapters are short enough to keep young readers’ attention. mjw

Title: Anne Arrives: Inspired By Anne Of Green Gables Author: Kallie George Illustrator: Abigail Halpin Publisher: Tundra Books, and imprint of Penguin Random House. Canada Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-77149-930-9 Hardcover pages: 72 Age range: 6-8 Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: Prince Edward Island, Canada Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Vancouver, British Columbia Illustrator’s ethnicity: U.S. Illustrator’s residence: Maine.  U.S. Subjects: Farms, Foster homes, Orphans

Pashmina

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Pryanka is a teenage girl whose mother emigrated from India years ago, leaving Pri’s father behind. After finding a magical pashmina, Pri travels to India to learn more about her family and her culture.  She is greeted by an elephant and a peacock, that show her around the country.  This story of self-discovery is heartwarming, inspiring, funny, and thought-provoking. Most of the artwork is black and white with thick lines, but whenever someone wears the pashmina, the pages become full-colored. mjw

Title: Pashmina Author: Nidhi Chanani Illustrator: Nidhi Chanani Publisher: First Second, an imprint of Roaring Book Press Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-62672-087-9 Paperback pages: 176 Age range: 10-14 Genre: Fiction, Graphic novel, Fantasy Book setting: U.S. Author’s ethnicity: born in Kolkata, India Author’s residence: San Francisco, U.S. Illustrator’s ethnicity: born in Kolkata, India Illustrator’s residence: San Francisco, U.S. Awards: 2018 South Asia Book Award Subjects: Asia, Cashmere shawls, Comics, Culture, East Indian Americans, Heritage, Magic realism, Mothers and daughters, Self-discovery, Teenage girls

The Fox Girl And The White Gazelle

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Twelve-year-old Reema is a Syrian refugee trying to find her place in Glasgow.  She struggles with a new language and culture and misses her older brother who got left behind in Aleppo.  Caylin feels completely alone.  She has to look after her alcoholic mother.  She bullies the other kids and steals from them so that she can eat. Reema and Caylin become friends when they discover an injured fox and her babies. The girls also discover that they both like to run. Told in alternating perspectives, this is a great story of friendship. mjw

Title: The Fox Girl And The White Gazelle Author: Victoria Williamson Publisher: Kelpies, an imprint of Floris Books. Edinburgh, Scotland Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English  ISBN: 978-178250-490-0 Paperback pages: 272 Age range: 10-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Scotland Author’s ethnicity: Scottish Author’s residence: U.K. Subjects: Foxes, Glasgow, Poetry, Prejudice and racism, Refugees, Running, Syria