Tag Archives: Friends

The Little Prince 75th Anniversary Edition

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This is the 75thanniversary edition of the classic story about an aviator whose plane is forced down in the Sahara Desert where he encounters a little prince from a small planet who relates his adventures in seeking the secret of what is important in life.  This edition offers the full text of the beloved story – including a biography of the author, sketches, photos, and reviews from the first edition.  It also features a free audio download read by acclaimed author Viggo Mortensen.  The Little Prince is the most widely translated literary work of the twentieth century. mjw

Title: The Little Prince 75th Anniversary Edition Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944) Illustrator: Antoine de Saint-Exupery Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. New York Copyright: 2018 Original Language: French Translator: Vali Tamm Original Title: Le Petit Prince Original Publisher: Editions Gallimard. Paris Original Copyright: 1943,1946 ISBN: 978-1-328-47975-4 Hardcover pages: 224 Age range: 10-12 Genre: Fantasy, Fiction Book setting: Sahara Desert Author’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Subjects: Airplanes, Fables, Fairytales, Pilots, Planets, Princes, Roses

Buried Beneath The Baobab Tree

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Based on interviews with young women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014, this powerful novel tells the story of young YaTa and her dreams that became nightmares.  The terrorist group attacked her village and killed most of her family.  Before the abduction, she had a promising future of getting a university scholarship and becoming a teacher.  The book is written in poetic vignettes that tell how the girls were forced to follow their captors’ radical beliefs.  The narrator was forced to marry a man who used her for her body. But she refused to be brainwashed.  An enlightening afterword by Italian journalist Viviana Mazza gives more information about the kidnapping.  References and resources are also included. mjw

Title: Buried Beneath The Baobab Tree Author: Adobe Tricia Nwaubani Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-06-269672-4 Hardcover pages: 336 Age range: 14 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Nigeria Author’s ethnicity: Nigerian Author’s residence: Abuja, Nigeria Subjects: Africa, Girls, Human rights, Prejudice and racism, Survival, Violence

Mangoes, Mischief, And Tales Of Friendship: Stories From India

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This book includes eight original trickster tales inspired by traditional Indian folktales. Ten-year-old Prince Veera and his best friend, Suku, are given the opportunity to preside over King Bheema’s court.  They have to deal with a greedy merchant who charges people for enjoying the smells of his sweets. They also have to settle a dispute between a man and his neighbor to whom he sells a well – but not the water in it. Veera and Suku manage to outsmart the King’s trickiest subjects and how to be wise and just. The clever, black and white illustrations are done in acrylic, poster color, and watercolor. mjw

Title: Mangoes, Mischief, And Tales Of Friendship: Stories From India Author: Chitra Soundar Illustrator: Uma Krishnaswamy Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English Original Title:  A Dollop Of Ghee And A Pot Of Wisdom and A Jar Of Pickles And A Pinch Of Justice Original Copyright: 2010 and 2016 in the U.K. ISBN: 978-1-5362-0067-6 Hardcover pages: 192 Age range: 6-9 Genre: Fiction, Folktales, Short stories Book setting: India Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: London Illustrator’s ethnicity: Indian Illustrator’s residence: Chennai, London  Subjects: Asia, Bravery, Folktales, Justice, Myths, Royalty, Short stories, Trickster tales

Astrid The Unstoppable

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Nicknamed “the little thunderbolt,” ten-year-old Astrid likes to spend her days skiing, sledding, singing, and drinking hot chocolate with her grumpy best friend and godfather, Gunnvald.  She is the only child living in the village of Glimmerdal and she wishes there were other children in the town.  When two children unexpectedly show up, and then another strange woman appears, Astrid’s life suddenly gets very exciting.  This hilarious book will charm fans of Pippi Longstocking and Heidi. A map of Glimmerdal sets the scene. mjw

Title: Astrid The Unstoppable Author: Maria Parr Illustrator: Katie Harnett Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2018 Original Language: Norwegian Translator: Guy Puzey Original Title: Tonje Glimmerdal Original Publisher: Det Norske Samlaget. Oslo Original Copyright: 2009 ISBN: 978-1-5362-0017-1 Hardcover pages: 320 Age range: 9-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Norway Author’s ethnicity: Norwegian Author’s residence: Norway Translator’s ethnicity: Grew up in Scotland Translator’s residence: Scotland Subjects: Girls, Humor, Norway, Rural children, Songs

The Bridge Home

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Eleven-year-old Viji and her younger sister Rukku who has intellectual and developmental disabilities have run away into the harsh streets of Chennai to get away from their abusive father.  The girls find shelter and friends on an abandoned bridge.  Two homeless boys, Muthi and Arul, and the girls survive by scavenging the city’s garbage heaps and by selling the bead necklaces that Rukku makes.  The four bond into a family of sorts.  They are often hungry and scared, but they have each other and their dog Kutti. When the rainy season comes, Rukku and Muthi get sick and Viji and Arul have to make decisions about who they can trust to help them.  The courage and strength of the children is an inspiration. mjw

Title: The Bridge Home Author: Padma Venkatraman Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books Copyright: 2019 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-5247-3811-2 Hardcover pages: 208 Age range: 10-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Chennai, India Author’s ethnicity: Born in Chennai, India Author’s residence: U.S. Awards: 2020 South Asia Book Award Subjects: Asia, Domestic violence, Homelessness, Lower caste children, Runaways, Sisters

Mary Poppins

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Based on the original 1934 novel by P.L. Travers, this picture book version has beautiful soft pastel and colored pencil illustrations that take readers back to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane in London to meet Mary Poppins and the Banks children.  There is a tea party on the ceiling, a visit to the night zoo, and a trip to the star shop.  This is the perfect introduction to everyone’s favorite nanny. mjw

Title: Mary Poppins Author: P.L.Travers (1899-196), adapted ny Amy Novesky Illustrator: Genevieve Godbout Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English Original Copyright:  1934 ISBN: 978-1-328-91677-8 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Picture Book, Fantasy Book setting: London Author’s ethnicity: English Illustrator’s ethnicity: Born and raised in Quebec Illustrator’s residence: Montreal Subjects: Fantasy; London, England: Magic: Nannies

Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert

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Sophie Johnson is a self-confessed unicorn expert.  She has seventeen unicorns that are really all her toys and pets that she has dressed up with unique unicorn horns. But Sophie doesn’t see the real unicorn hiding in plain sight.  Magical illustrations capture the unicorns, rainbows, and fun in Sophie’s world. mjw

Title: Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert Author: Morag Hood Illustrator: Ella Okstad Publisher: Aladdin, New York Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English Original Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK Ltd. Original Copyright: 2018 ISBN: 978-1-534431614 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 5-8 Genre: Picture Book, Fantasy Author’s ethnicity: Scotland Author’s residence: Edinburgh Illustrator’s ethnicity: Norway Illustrator’s residence: Trondheim  Subjects: Make believe, Pets, Toys, Unicorns

When Morning Comes

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It is Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1976, and there is a secret movement of students plotting against the apartheid government.  This compelling account is written from the points of view of four young people in Soweto, the black township.  Zanele is the black female student organizer.  She works as a nightclub singer.  Meena is a South Asian girl who works in her father’s shop.  Jack is an affluent white student, who is about to go to Oxford and Thabo is a teen gang member.  The Soweto Uprising was the beginning of the end of apartheid.  A historical note and a glossary are very helpful. mjw

Title: When Morning Comes Author: Arushi Raina Publisher: Tradewind Books, Vancouver Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English  Original Publisher: Tradewind Books Original Copyright: 2016 ISBN: 978-1-926890-14-2 Paperback pages: 232 Age range: 14 up Genre: Historical Fiction Book setting: Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa Author’s ethnicity: Grew up in Johannesburg Author’s residence: Canada Awards: 2018 Children’s Africana Book Award for Older Readers Subjects: Ant-apartheid movements, High school students, Race relations, Resistance to government

The Stars At Oktober Bend

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Alice is fifteen, but to everyone else, she is forever twelve.  She has acquired brain injury.  She can speak, but her words don’t come out right and her electrics don’t work.  She writes poetry – beautifully and anonymously.  Her first person narration has no capital letters and is very fragile. Manny is a boy who discovers her poetry. He was a boy soldier in Sierra Leone. He suffers from PTSD.  This is an incredible love story of two teens and their pains. mjw

Title: The Stars At October Bend Author: Glenda Millard Publisher: Candlewick Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English Original Copyright: 2016 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9272-8 Hardcover pages: 288 Age range: 12 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Australia Author’s ethnicity: Australian Author’s residence: Australia Subjects: Child soldiers, Mute persons, Orphans, People with mental disabilities, Sexual abuse, Sierra Leone, Teenage refugees, Violence, Wounds and injuries

40 Things I Want To Tell You

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Amy (a.k.a. Bird) writes an online advice column full of top tips for teens.  She has trouble taking her own advice.  She seems to have the perfect boyfriend, best friend, parents, and future at Oxford University.  But after one mistake, everything falls apart and her life changes forever. The book is beautifully written and hard to put down. mjw

Title: 40 Things I Want To Tell You Author: Alice Kuipers Publisher: Harper Trophy, Canada Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-44340-588-1 Paperback pages: 304 Age range: 14 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: London, England Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Saskatoon Awards: Saskatchewan Book Award for Young Adult Literature  Subjects: Blogs, Teenagers, Teen pregnancy

Get On Your Bike

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William and Bobby are having an argument and William shouts, “Go on!  Just get on your bike and leave!”  So Bobby, a panda, gets on his bike and leaves.  He rides all through the busy town and country paying close attention to all the stop lights.  As he rides he cools down and sees how needless the argument was.  The prominent multimedia artwork really makes the book. Each double page spread is loaded with things to look at and Bobby, in his red and white hoodie, is not always easy to find. mjw

Title: Get On Your Bike Author: Joukje Akveld Illustrator: Philip Hopman Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.  Grand Rapids, MI Copyright: 2018 Original Language: Dutch Translator: Laura Watkinson Original Title: Ga Toch Fietsen! Original Publisher: Em. Querido’s Kinderboeken Uitgervij Original Copyright: 2014 ISBN: 978- 0-8028-5489-6 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Netherlands Author’s ethnicity: Dutch Author’s residence: Netherlands Illustrator’s ethnicity: Dutch Illustrator’s residence: Netherlands Subjects: Bicycles, Conflict resolution, Emotions, Feelings, Pandas

Island Born

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Lola goes to a school where all the students are from faraway places.  Lola is from the Dominican Republic.  Her teacher wants the class to draw pictures of where their families immigrated from, but Lola can’t remember.  She was just a baby when she came here.  With the help of family and friends and their memories, she draws a lively picture of La Isla.  She also discovers a lot about her culture and heritage.  The digitally created illustrations are vibrant and bold. There is a Spanish edition called Lola. mjw

Title: Island Born Author: Junot Diaz Illustrator: Leo Espinosa Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers, NY Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English Spanish Title: Lola ISBN: 978-0735-2298-60 Hardcover pages: 48  Age range: 5-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Born in the Dominican Republic Author’s residence: U.S. Illustrator’s ethnicity: Bogota, Colombia Illustrator’s residence: U.S. Awards: Author has won a Pulitzer Prize Subjects: Central and South America, Hispanic and Latino, Multigenerational, School