Tag Archives: Friends

Oh Dear, Geoffrey!

Geoffrey the gangly giraffe has trouble making friends due to his clumsiness. He slips, stumbles, and splashes his way through the African Savannah. He has to stoop to meet the meerkats, elephants, and other animals who are all much shorter than he is. “Oh dear, Geoffrey,” is repeated various times. He is fed up. Then, some young monkeys ask for help getting to the top of the tree where he also befriends a group of birds who have been following him all along. Geoffrey realizes that he can make friends by standing tall and being himself. The author uses onomatopoetic language and a hint of humor to narrate this story. Gouache and collage illustrations help bring Geoffrey’s adorable awkwardness to life. jjr
Title: Oh Dear, Geoffrey!
Author: Gemma O’Neill
Illustrator
: Gemma O’Neill
Publisher
: Templar
Copyright
: 2013
Original language
: English
ISBN
: 978-0-7636-6659-0
Hardcover pages
: 32
Age range
: 3-7
Genre
: Picture Book
Book setting
: Africa
Author’s residence
: Ireland
Subjects
: African Savannah, Animals, Giraffes

Paul Meets Bernadette

Paul Meets Bernadette Book CoverPaul the goldfish swims in circles every day until Bernadette literally drops into his fish bowl. She shows Paul a whole new world beyond the curved glass of his bowl. A banana-shaped boat. A blue teapot mother elephant. A green alarm clock cactus. And a milk carton, orange juice bottle Milwaukee skyline. As Paul examines the intriguing world outside, he becomes equally captured by his new companion. Vibrant oil paintings bring this story about love, friendship, and an active imagination to life. mjw
Title: Paul Meets Bernadette
Author: Rosy Lamb
Illustrator
: Rosy Lamb
Publisher
: Candlewick Press
Copyright
: 2013
Original language
: English
ISBN
: 978-0763661304
Hardcover pages
: 40
Age range
: 4-8
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s residence
: France
Subjects
: Europe, Fishes, France, Friendship, Western Europe

A Suitcase, A Cat, and A Tuba

A Suitcase A Cat and A Tuba Book Cover Lottie keeps her found treasures and secrets locked in a battered brown leather suitcase that was a gift from her grandfather.  Sometimes she wishes there was someone with whom she could share her secrets.  But the other children find Lottie odd and her suitcase ugly.  Leon, the boy next door, sits alone every day in his back garden playing his tuba to Mozart, his cat.  One day, the cat disappears and the music stops.  These two different children become friends.  Lovely drawings with old photos and collage support this delicate story of acceptance and understanding. mjw
Title: A Suitcase, A Cat, And A Tuba
Author: Judith Loske
Illustrator
: Judith Loske
Publisher
: Minedition Michael Neugebauer Publishing Ltd.
Copyright
: 2012
Original language
: German
Translator
: Michael Neugebauer Publishing Ltd
Original title
: Der Koffer, die Katze und die Tuba
Original copyright
: 2012
ISBN
: 978-988-15953-4-8
Hardcover pages
: 32
Age range
: 5-9
Genre
: Picture book
Author’s residence
: Germany
Subjects
: Acceptance, Cats, Europe, Germany, Music, Western Europe

Themba: A Boy Called Hope

Themba A Boy Called Hope Book Cover Young Themba lives in poverty with his mother and younger sister in rural South Africa and dreams of becoming a famous soccer player.  This is a rags to riches story about hope, triumph, and family love, but it is also an eye-opening story about the secretiveness and shame surrounding HIV/AIDS.  The novel was made into an international movie which won the UNICEF Child Rights Award in 2010. mjw
Title: Themba: A Boy Called Hope
Author: Lutz Van Dijk
Publisher
: Aurora Metro Books
Copyright
: 2011
Original language
: German
Translator
: Karin Chubb
Original title
: Themba
Original publisher
: cbj Verlag, Muenchen a division of Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH
Original copyright
: 2006
ISBN
: 978-1-906582-21-0
Paperback pages
: 166
Age range
: 12 up
Genre
: Fiction
Book setting
: South Africa
Author’s residence
: South Africa
Awards
: Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation Shortlist
Subjects
: AIDS, Africa, Bafana, Secrecy, Soccer, South Africa

The Story Of The Blue Planet

The Story of the Blue Planet Book Cover In this cautionary ecological parable, best friends Hulda and Brimir, live on a beautiful, tranquil blue planet that is inhabited by children who never grow old.  One day, a grown-up, Gleesome Goodday, “Dream Come True Maker and joy bringer,” crashes his spaceship on the beach.  He sprinkles all the children with sun-activated fly powder, nails the sun in the sky so it can always be play time, and charges them a bit of their youth. When the children fly to the other side of the planet and see sickly, pale, dying children, they realize the Goodday is not all that he seems. mjw
Title: The Story Of The Blue Planet
Author: Andri Snaer Magnason
Illustrator
: Aslaug Jonsdottir
Publisher
: Seven Stories Press
Copyright
: 2012
Original language
: Icelandic
Translator
: Julian Meldon D’Arcy
Original title
: Sagan Af Blaa Hnettinum
Original publisher
: Forlagio
Original copyright
: 1999
ISBN
: 978-1-60980-428-2
Hardcover pages
: 96
Age range
: 7-10
Genre
: Eco-lit
Author’s residence
: Iceland
Illustrator’s residence
: Iceland
Awards
: Icelandic Children’s Book Prize
Subjects
: Adventure, Best friends, Conduct of life, Europe, Iceland, Interpersonal relations, Northern Europe

The Lynching Of Louie Sam

The Lynching of Louie Sam Book Cover In 1884, in Washington Territory just miles from the British Columbia border, 15-year-old George Gillies and his siblings discover a local white settler murdered.  Suspicion falls on 14-year-old Louie Sam, a member of the Stó:lo tribe. George and his friend Pete secretly follow a lynch mob into Canada, where Louie Sam is seized and hanged.  But, George and his father have doubts about Louie Sam’s guilt.  Based on the only recorded lynching to occur on Canadian soil, this is a gripping story about racism, injustice, mob mentality, and discrimination.  A final note provides historical facts. mjw
Title: The Lynching Of Louie Sam
Author: Elizabeth Stewart
Publisher
: Annick Press, Toronto
Copyright
: 2012
Original language
: English
ISBN
: 978-1-55451-438-0
Paperback pages
: 288
Age range
: 12 up
Genre
: Historical fiction
Book setting
: British Columbia, Canada
Author’s ethnicity
: Canadian
Author’s residence
: Canada
Awards
: 2013 Notable Books forA Global Society, 2103 Best Books for Kids and Teens – Canadian Children’s Book Center
Subjects
: British Columbia, Decision making, Historical fiction, Justice, Mystery, Native peoples, Racism

Here I Am

Here I Am Book Cover This semi-autobiographical wordless graphic novel illustrates the story of a young boy who emigrates with his family from an Asian land to New York City.  Facial expressions, body language, and colors in the whimsical, abstract watercolor and digital art depict his transition and triumph in discovering his new place in a foreign landscape.  An author’s note describes her journey at age four from Korea to Washington D.C.  This universal tale would be useful with immigrant populations in any community. mjw
Title: Here I Am
Author: Patti Kim
Illustrator: Sonia Sanchez
Publisher
: Picture Window Books, an imprint of Capstone
Copyright
: 2014
Original language
: English
ISBN
: 978-1-4048-8299-7
Hardcover pages
: 40
Age range
: 5-10
Genre
: Picture book, Graphic novel
Book setting
: Asia and New York City
Author’s ethnicity
: Korea
Author’s residence
: U.S.
Illustrator’s ethnicity:  Spanish
Illustrator’s residence:  
Spain
Subjects
: Acceptance, Emigration. Friendship. Immigration. Stories without words, United States