Tag Archives: Language

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

Kakuma Girls: Sharing Stories Of Hardship And Hope From Kakuma Refugee Camp

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Clare Morneau is a 17-year-old author and speaker who lives in Toronto and is committed to working for real change.  As a student at Havergal College, she founded the Kakuma Toronto Girls Education Partnership. This illuminating book is a compilation of letters of hardship and hope from the girls in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya to girls at a high school in Canada.  The Kakuma girls have incredible hopes and dreams for their future.  They are fighting for their education and will do anything to go to university.  They dream of becoming doctors, engineers, pilots, or journalists and improving their families’ lives.  The book includes beautiful photographs, maps, a chronology, a glossary, and a list of ways to get involved. mjw
Title: Kakuma Girls: Sharing Stories Of Hardship And Hope From Kakuma Refugee Camp
Author: Clare Morneau and contributors
Publisher: Barlow Books, Toronto
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-988025-14-8
Hardcover pages: 184
Age range: 12 up
Genre: Nonfiction, Information Book
Book setting: Kenya
Author’s ethnicity: Canadian
Author’s residence: Toronto
Subjects: Refugee children. Refugees, Sudan, Women

Whisper Of The East: Tales From Arabia

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This magical collection of six folk stories from the fascinating world of the East contains The Secret of the Black Dress from Arabia, Jamil and Jamila from Syria, The Fisherman and the Djinn adapted from A Thousand and One Nights, The Little Camel from Palestine, The Old Pair of Shoes from Arabia, and The Fisherman and the Mermaid from Arabia.  The illustrations in red and teal are reminiscent of screen-printing.  This interactive book concludes with a glossary, a map of the Middle East, suggestions for making your own fairytales, the Arabic script, and drawing and painting ideas.  The final endpapers represent a fairytale alphabet in English and Arabic. mjw
Title: Whisper Of The East: Tales From Arabia
Author: Franziska Meiners
Illustrator: Franziska Meiners
Publisher: North South Books, Inc. New York
Copyright: 2018
Original Language: German
Translator: David Henry Wilson
Original Title: Das Flustern des Orients
Original Publisher: NordSud Verlag AG. Zurich, Switzerland
Original Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4323-3
Hardcover pages: 112
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories, Folktales
Book setting: Arabia, Syria, Palestine
Author’s ethnicity: German
Author’s residence: Cologne
Illustrator’s ethnicity: German
Illustrator’s residence: Cologne
Subjects: Fairytales and folklore, Middle East, Storytelling

One Fun Day With Lewis Carroll: A Celebration Of Wordplay And A Girl Named Alice

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This wonderful picture book is part Lewis Carroll biography and part word game. Nonsense words and phrases take readers through Carroll’s fantasy world. Along the way readers learn about Carroll’s life as a mathematician and his friendship with the Liddell family and the real Alice. The frabjous illustrations breathe new life into the famous characters. A glossary explains the words and ideas invented by Carroll and reveals that nearly two hundred of them appear in the Oxford English Dictionary. A closing note gives more information about Carroll. mjw
Title: One Fun Day With Lewis Carroll: A Celebration Of Wordplay And A Girl Named Alice
Author: Kathleen Krull
Illustrator: Julia Sarda
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright: 2018
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0544348233
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 6-9
Genre: Picture Book Biography
Book setting: England
Author’s ethnicity: U.S.
Author’s residence: U.S.
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Spanish
Illustrator’s residence: Spain 
Subjects: Authors, Books, Charles Dodgson, Language, Literature, Imagination, Wordplay

You Can’t Be Too Careful

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Follow the white rose and the gardener along alternative space-time paths in this study of causality, consequence, and the interconnectedness of life. More than a dozen eccentric characters are introduced – a circus monkey, a fake doctor who wants to play the bagpipes, Rajah the Malodorous, and more. The book expresses serious questions about the dangers of greed and the importance of kindness. Complex colored pencil drawings and torn paper illustrations will make you want to look again at this paradoxical story. mjw
Title: You Can’t Be Too Careful
Author: Roger Mello
Illustrator: Roger Mello
Publisher: Elsewhere Editions.   Brooklyn, NY
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: Portuguese
Translator: Daniel Hahn
Original Title: Todo Cuidado e pouco!
Original Publisher: Companhia das Letras, Sao Paolo
Original Copyright: 1999
ISBN: 978-0-914671-64-0
Hardcover pages: 36
Age range: 5-8
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Brazilian
Author’s residence: Brazil
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Brazilian
Illustrator’s residence: Brazil
Awards: 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award, 2018 Batchelder Honor Award
Subjects: Action, Avarice, Kindness, Greed, Roses

Daytime Visions : An Alphabet

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daytime visionsThis surrealistic alphabet book consists of letters, written in upper and lower case, manuscript, and cursive and a series of unconnected phrases. Some make sense (D shows a downpour and K is a kiwi), but many are obscure (X is for “XX chromosome and I am expanding” and R shows two birds – “never meant to be rude.”) This is not a book for teaching the alphabet, but one that tells stories for each letter. Square pages with mixed media collage illustrations of cut paper, charcoal sketches, and broad brushstrokes on thick paper provide the interpretations for the letters. The author/illustrator is also a well-known cartoonist, graphic artist, singer, and composer in Argentina. mjw
Title: Daytime Visions: An Alphabet
Author: Isol (Marisol Misenta)
Illustrator: Isol (Marisol Misenta)
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books, New York
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: Spanish
Translator: Isol and Elisa Amado
Original Title: Abecedario a mano (Libros Para Ninos series)
Original Publisher: Fondo de Cultura Economica
Original Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59270-195-7
Hardcover pages: 56
Age range: 2-7
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Argentine
Author’s residence: Buenos Aires
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Argentine
Illustrator’s residence: Buenos Aires
Awards: 2013 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, twice a finalist for the Hans Christian Andersen Award – 2006 and 2008
Subjects: Alphabets, Animals

Water’s Children: Celebrating The Resource That Unites Us All

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Twelve young people from different countries around the world describe what water means to them. It is a burst of laughter for children playing in a lake in Quebec. It is a perfect crystal of snow to the Inuktitut child. It is the opening flower of springtime to a girl in Germany. And it is a bowl of rice to Chinese children. All the children convey the universal truth that water is life. The poetic text is accompanied by expressive artwork that examines the importance of water throughout the world. On the final page, a guide identifies the languages in which the phrase “water is life” appears in watermarks embedded in the illustrations. mjw
Title: Water’s Children: Celebrating The Resource That United Us All
Author: Angele Delaunois
Illustrator: Gerard Frischeteau
Publisher: Pajama Press.  Toronto, Canada
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: French
Translator: Erin Woods
Original Title: Les Enfants de l’eau
Original Publisher: Editiions de L;lsatis
Original Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77278-015-4
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: Canada
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French 
Illustrator’s residence: Canada
Subjects: Earth science, Oceans and seas, Water, Water supply

Hello World: A Celebration Of Languages And Curiosities

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Learn to say hello in more than 150 languages in this oversize lift-the-flap atlas. Six continents (not Antarctica) are included. A pronunciation guide, the name of the language, and the number of speakers in the region are found under each flap. Native American Hand Talk and American Sign Language are also introduced. Colorful, engaging maps and delightful national costumes celebrate global languages in this fascinating book. mjw
Title: Hello World: A Celebration Of Languages And Curiosities
Author: Jonathan Litton
Illustrator: L-Atelier Cartographik
Publisher: 360 Degrees, an imprint of Tiger Tales. Wilton, CT
Copyright: 2016
Original Language: English
Original Publisher: Caterpillar Books
Original Copyright: 2106
ISBN: 978-1-944530-00-6
Hardcover pages: 16
Age range: 7-10
Genre: Picture Book Information Book, Nonfiction
Subjects: Atlas, Foreign language learning, Languages, Salutations

Birthdays Around The World

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Birthday celebrations of seventeen kids from around the world are shared in this fun information book. Shinobu from Japan dresses in a kimono. Mercedes in Peru eats cake and purple pudding called mazamorra morada. Alana and Kainoa have a luau in Hawaii. And Dimitry in Russia eats blini with caviar and dumplings. A note to parents and teachers gives activities for children, like locating the countries mentioned on a map, sending cards, and making a birthday paper chain. A glossary is included. The author has also written Children Around the World, Families Around the World, and School Days Around the World. mjw
Title: Birthdays Around The World
Author: Margriet Ruurs
Illustrator: Ashley Barron
Publisher: Kids Can Press.  Toronto, Canada
Copyright: 2017
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-77138-624-1
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 3-7
Genre: Picture Book, Information Book
Author’s ethnicity: Canadian
Author’s residence: British Columbia
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian
Illustrator’s residence: Toronto, Ontario
Subjects: Birthdays, Celebrations

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