Tag Archives: Schools

I Have The Right To Be A Child

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Inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, I Have The Right To Be A Child is a picture book that makes young readers ponder about rights of  children. The simplistically beautiful acrylic illustrations perfectly accompany the book’s first person narration. This moving picture book explains the types of rights children around the world should be entitled to. It is important to note that at the end of the book, there is an explanation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This explanation details the specific rights the states who sign the agreement must uphold. There is also a list of states who are party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. There are only three members of the UN who are not party to the Convention. These three countries are Somalia, the United States, and South Sudan. I Have The Right To Be A Child is a perfect book to teach about peace and human rights. It illustrates the type of world we hope to live in and challenges readers to advocate for children’s rights. ema

Title: I Have The Right To Be A Child Author: Alain Serres Illustrator: Aurélia Fronty Publisher: Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press Copyright: 2012 Original Language: French Translator: Helen Minster Original Title: S’ai le droit d’être un enfant Original Publisher: Rue du Monde  Original Copyright: 2009 ISBN: 978-1-55498-149-6 Hardcover pages: 48 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Non-Fiction Picture Book  Book setting: Around the World Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: Paris Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s residence: France Awards: IRA Notable Books for a Global Society List, Selected for Children’s Literary Assembly, 2013 Notable Children’s Books, and USBBY Outstanding International Booklist Subjects: Activism, Children’s Rights, Disabilities, Diversity, Education, Families, Friends, Gender, Human Rights, Peace, Race, United Nations, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Hijab Boutique

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Fifth-grader Farah attends Miss Peabody’s Academy, an exclusive art-centered girls’ school. Her assignment is to talk about her mother for “International Women’s Day” in front of the whole class, but her hijab-wearing, modest, widowed mother is boring, compared to her classmates’ mothers. She worries and even feels guilty until she talks to her mom and discovers a lot about her mom’s past, present, and future. Her mom is planning to open “The Hijab Boutique,” a store selling Muslim headscarves. This first-person perspective of what it is like being of a different religion and culture in the United States educates and fosters understanding about hijab wearing. Black and white pencil drawings give a sense of Farah’s classmates, her home, and hijab fashions in this quick read. mjw

Title: The Hijab Boutique Author: Michelle Khan Illustrator: Eman Salem Publisher: The Islamic Foundation, United Kingdom Copyright: 2011 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-86037-468-8 Paperback pages: 56 Age range: 10-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Los Angeles, U.S. Author’s ethnicity: Indo-Canadian Author’s residence: Toronto Subjects: Hijab, International Women’s Day, Islam, Mothers and daughters, Muslim women, Purdah, School

Red

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A little girl says to Tommy, “You’re blushing…” She points at him and winks at Paul, the biggest bully. The classmates laugh, jeer, and whisper. “Leave me alone!” Tommy sighs. The teasing on the school playground spirals. The bully’s “tongue is as sharp as a knife” and his “fist is as hard as a brick.” The teacher finds out what is going on, but no one dares to speak. Luckily, the little girl is finally brave enough to raise her hand and halt the vicious game. When the bully confronts her later, the other children rally to her side. They have become wiser. Everyone is sometimes shy and bullying is not funny. Pencil, charcoal, ink, aquarelle, acrylic, and collage cartoon illustrations produce an aggressive back and red effect in this subtle, yet powerful book written from the viewpoint of a spectator. mjw

Title: Red Author: Jan De Kinder Illustrator: Jan De Kinder Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. Grand Rapids, Michigan.  U.S. Copyright: 2015 Original Language: Dutch Translator: Laura Watkinson Original Title: Rood, of Waarom Pesten Niet Grappig Is (Red, Or Why Bullying Is Not Funny) Original Publisher: Uitgeverij De Eenhoorn bvba, Belgium Original Copyright: 2013 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5446-9 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: Born in Dendermonde, Belgium Author’s residence: Belgium Illustrator’s ethnicity: Born in Dendermonde. Belgium Illustrator’s residence: Belgium Awards: Nominated for the Child and Youth Jury 2014-2015 (Belgium_ Subjects: Blushing, Bullying, Conduct of life, Difference, Peer pressure, Prejudice, School

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

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Fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba’s village in Malawi was hit by a drought in 2001 and 2002. Everyone’s crops failed and Malawi began to starve. William went to the community library, studied old science textbooks, and taught himself English so that he could build a windmill. Those around him thought he was crazy as he turned junkyard scraps into a working windmill that brought electricity to his home and water to his village. The stunning oil paint and cut paper illustrations, which are inspired by African artisan paintings, inform and entertain in this uplifting and inspiring true story about a family banding together to overcome adversity and a young boy becoming a man of science. An author’s note provides a photograph and more information on Kamkwamba’s “Green Machine.” He is a recent graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and hopes to return to Malawi to work on renewable energy. This is the picture book edition of the original adult book and the 2015 middle grade edition of the same title. mjw

Title: The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind Author: William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer Illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers, New York Copyright: 2012 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-8037-3511-8 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 6-8 Genre: Picture book, Biography Book setting: Malawi, Africa Author’s ethnicity: Malawi born Author’s residence: U.S. Illustrator’s ethnicity: Grew up on the Ivory Coast Illustrator’s residence: U.S. Awards: 2013 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books, 2013 NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books Subjects: Ecology, Electric power production, English language learning, Famine, Hunger, Irrigation, Libraries, Mechanical engineers, Recycling, Self-empowerment, Windmills

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To School. . .

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A young boy offers wild excuses to his teacher for why he is late for school. First, giant ants stole his breakfast. Then, there were evil ninjas, an ape who mistook his school bus for a banana, a red-coated girl looking for her grandmother’s house in the woods, Bigfoot, scary majorettes, the Pied Piper, and more. He actually makes it to school on time, but then realizes that he forgot his backpack. The imaginative cartoon illustrations are full of laugh-out-loud details. This parable is written in the same style as I Didn’t Do My Homework Because . . . also by Cali and Chaud. mjw

Title: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To School. . . Author: Davide Cali Illustrator: Benjamin Chaud Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco Copyright: 2015 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-4521-3168-9 Hardcover pages: 44 Age range: 6-9 Genre: Picture book Author’s ethnicity: Swiss Author’s residence: Paris, France Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s residence: Die, France Subjects: Excuses, Humor, Imagination, Tardiness, Teachers

The Tightrope Walkers

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This moving and powerful coming-of-age novel set in the 1960s in downtrodden Tyneside in northern England tells the story of Dominic and Holly from ages five to seventeen. Dom comes from a long line of shipyard workers and is destined to work at the yard if he does not succeed in school. Lovely Holly, the eccentric artist next door, is the daughter of a draughtsman at the yard. Dom is creative, good with words, and has the potential to go to college and escape from a dangerous, dead-end job building ships, but he is tempted away from Holly and school by the wild and wreckless local bad-boy Vincent. As Holly and Dom grow, they walk a homemade tightrope, literally and figuratively, trying to find their balance. Together, they break the bonds that have held their previous generations hostage and find peace and love. Spare poetry, lush descriptions, and Geordie dialect enrich the text. The book was published in the UK as an adult title, but the strong characters, themes, and sense of place will appeal to teens. mjw

Title: The Tightrope Walkers Author: David Almond Publisher: Candlewick Press.  Somerville, Massachusetts Copyright: 2015 Original Language: English Original Publisher: Viking, published for adults Original Copyright: 2014 ISBN: 978-0-7636-7310-9 Hardcover pages: 336 Age range: 14 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Newcastle, England Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: England  Awards: 2013 Eleanor Farjeon Award, 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award Subjects: Coming-of-age, Dreams, England, Life choices, Love, Manhood, Shipbuilding, Tyneside, Young men, Violence

Madeline’s 75th Anniversary Edition

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“In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines…the smallest one was Madeline.” Madeline is also the feistiest and the only redhead. She isn’t afraid of mice, she scoffs at the tiger in the zoo, and she flaunts her appendix scar. Bemelmans’ watercolor and ink illustrations of the Paris Opera, Notre Dame in the rain, and the Tuileries Gardens have become famous. The cheerful humor, charming art, and melodic text have made Madeline a favorite for generations of children. This 75th Anniversary Edition is slip cased and includes a full-color panoramic pop-up spread of Paris. Madeline inspired many sequels, as well as television, movies, and toys. mjw

Title: Madeline’s 75th Anniversary Edition Author: Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) Illustrator: Ludwig Bemelmans Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers, New York Copyright: 2014 Original Language: English Original Publisher: Simon and Schuster Original Copyright: 1939 ISBN: 978-0-670-78540-7 Hardcover pages: 56 Age range: 3-7 Genre: Picture book Book setting: Paris Author’s ethnicity: Austria-Hungary born Author’s residence: New York and Paris Illustrator’s ethnicity: Austria-Hungary born Illustrator’s residence: New York and Paris Awards: 1940 Caldecott Honor Subjects: France, Girls, Paris, Rhyme, Sick

Deep Sea

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Almost four years ago, Stephie, now nearly sixteen, and her eleven-year-old sister Nellie, were sent from Nazi-occupied Vienna to Sweden by their parents. She lives in the city on the mainland and attends school. Nellie lives on a remote island in the Goteborg archipelago with her foster parents. Stephie worries about her education, her sister, her faith, and her parents, who are in a concentration camp in Austria. Smoothly integrated into this delicate coming of age story are details about how neutral Sweden was affected by the war. The present tense, third-person narration gives the novel an unusual impact. This is the third installment in a quartet of books about Stephie’s experiences as a Jewish refugee in Sweden during World War II. The first, Faraway Island, won the 2010 Batchelder Award. The second, The Lily Pond, was a Batchelder Honor Book in 2012. mjw

Title: Deep Sea Author: Annika Thor Publisher: Random House Children’s Books, Delacorte Press, New York Copyright: 2015 Original Language: Swedish Translator: Linda Schenk Original Title: Havets djup Original Publisher: Bonnier Carlsen, Stockholm Original Copyright: 1998 ISBN: 978-0-385-74385-3 Hardcover pages: 229 Age range: 12-16 Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: Sweden Author’s ethnicity: Swedish Author’s residence: Stockholm, Sweden Awards: Author has won the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpries Subjects: Jews, Refugees, Sisters, Sweden, World War II

Nine Open Arms

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A family of nine – three sisters, four brothers, their ever-optimistic father, and their strong-tongued grandmother Oma Mei – move into a run-down, mysterious brick house outside a small village in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands, in 1937. The house stands as long as nine open arms. The first and third parts of the story are narrated by eleven-year-old Fing, who tells of their new school, her father’s money-making schemes, family relationships, “tragical tragedy”, and the mysterious button-chewer, Oompah Hatsi. The middle part, narrated by Oma Mei, is set in the 1860s, and tells the story of the lovers Charley Bottletop and Nienevee, the traveler girl. By the end of this unique Dutch import, all the secrets are revealed and they neatly and believably click into place. Some Dutch words have been left untranslated and are defined in a Slang Words and Character List. A Map and Translator’s Note are also included in this well-crafted, challenging, and quirky story about storytelling. mjw

Title: Nine Open Arms Author: Benny Lindelauf Illustrator: Dasha Tolstikova Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books, New York Copyright: 2014 Original Language: Dutch Translator: John Nieuwenhuizen Original Title: Negen Open Armen Original Publisher: Em. Querido’s Uitgeverij B.V. Original Copyright: 2004 ISBN: 978-1-59270-146-9 Hardcover pages: 264 Age range: 9 up Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery Book setting: Limburg, The Netherlands Author’s ethnicity: Dutch Author’s residence: Rotterdam, The Netherlands Translator’s ethnicity: Dutch Translator’s residence: Australia Awards: 2015 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Subjects: Dwellings, Family life, Grandmothers, Mystery, Romanies, Single-parent families, Sisters

Soccer Star

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In an impoverished favela in Brazil, young Felino’s enthusiasm for soccer is infectious. He works on a fishing boat and visits his friends, who also cannot attend school because they must work to support their families. His little sister Maria longs to play soccer with Felino’s team, but their rule is no girls. But when the team’s goalie injures his wrist, they call Maria from the sidelines. No “useless old rule” will keep his team of hopeful soccer stars from a win. Digitally colored drawings dramatically portray the Brazilian setting in this uplifting story. Portuguese words are smoothly integrated and are easy to translate through context. This is a timely picture book, since the 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. mjw

Title: Soccer Star Author: Mina Javaherbin Illustrator: Renato Alarcao Publisher: Candlewick Press,  Somerville, Massachusetts Copyright: 2014 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-7636-6056-7 Hardcover pages: 40 Age range: 5-8 Genre: Picture book Book setting: Brazil Author’s ethnicity: Iranian Author’s residence: California, U.S. Illustrator’s ethnicity: Brazilian Illustrator’s residence: Brazil Subjects: Brazil, Brothers and sisters, Poverty, School, Sexism, Soccer, Sports

So Much for Democracy

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Twelve-year-old Astrid has moved from Canada to Ghana with her parents and two younger siblings so that her father can help organize the 1979 national election. Difficulties at school, the oppressive heat, the threat of disease, soldiers on the roads, and her mother’s overprotectiveness are some of the many challenges Astrid faces. She is a strong, kind, and courageous character with good sense. The beauty of the land and the relationships the Ghanaians have with each other and with Astrid’s family are honestly presented. A brief historical note on Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings’ coup provides background information about an event relatively unknown in the United States.mjw

Title: So Much for Democracy Author: Kari Jones Publisher: Orca Book Publishers. Canada Copyright: 2014 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-4598-0481-4 Paperback pages: 175 Age range: 9-12 Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: Accra, Ghana Author’s ethnicity: Australian Author’s residence: British Columbia, Canada Subjects: Conflict, Coups, Elections, Ghana

Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust

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In this touching and powerful graphic novel told in flashbacks, Dounia tells her story to her granddaughter Elsa. At about age six, in Paris, Dounia found herself shunned by her teachers and classmates when she attended school wearing the yellow star, which identified her as Jewish. After police took her parents away in a scary nighttime raid, neighbors hid her from the Nazis in their apartment for as long as they could. She eventually was taken by Resistance workers to a farm in the French countryside, where she was protected by a loving family, and after the war ended, was reunited with her mother. Honest and direct words and full-color graphics mingle seamlessly to make this heart-breaking subject accessible to children. An Afterword explains that 84% of Jewish children living in France survived because of people who were willing to risk their own lives to hide and protect children from the Nazis and collaborating French police. mjw

Title: Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust Author: Loic Dauvillier Illustrator: Marc Lizano, Color: Greg Salsedo Publisher: First Second/Roaring Brook, New York Copyright: 2014 Original Language: French Translator: Alexis Siegel Original Title: L’Enfant Cachee Original Publisher: Le Lombard Original Copyright: 2012 ISBN: 978-1-59643-873-6 Hardcover pages: 76 Age range: 10 up Genre: Graphic novel, Historical fiction Book setting: Paris Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: France Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s residence: France Awards: 2015 Mildred L. Batchelder Award = Older reader category, 2015 Sydney Taylor Award, 2015 NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Subjects: Comics, Grandmothers, Graphic novels, Hidden children, Holocaust, Jewish, Multigenerational, Nazis, Paris