Tag Archives: Travel

A Grain Of Rice

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Thirteen-year-old Yen and her family live in rural Vietnam. A flood destroys their village.  Famine and persecution because they are of Chinese ancestry lead the family to flee from their war-torn homeland after the fall of Saigon.  They become boat people and are eventually rescued by the Malaysian Coast Guard. There is a glossary of Vietnamese words. The story is based on events from the author’s childhood. mjw
Title: A Grain Of Rice
Author: Nhung N. Tran-Davies
Publisher: Tradewind Books. Vancouver
Copyright: 2018
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-926890-25-8
Paperback pages: 154
Age range: 12 up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book setting: Vietnam
Author’s ethnicity: Vietnamese
Author’s residence: Edmonton, Alberta. Canada 
Subjects: Famine Food, Persecution, Poverty, Prejudice, Refugees

Maison Rouge: Memories Of A Childhood In War

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Liliane Leila Juma was sixteen years old when her home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was destroyed by rebel soldiers.  In her memoir, she tells about her life before and after her family was torn apart by militia invasions and civil war.  Through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Leila and her family were able to relocate to Canada.  An introduction gives facts about Congo.  A helpful map of the region is included. mjw
Title: Maison Rouge: Memories Of A Childhood In War
Author: Liliane Leila Juma
Publisher: Tradewind Books. Vancouver
Copyright: 2020
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-926890-30-2
Paperback pages: 126
Age range: 12 up
Genre: Nonfiction, Information Book, Biography
Book setting: Congo
Author’s ethnicity: Congolese
Author’s residence: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Subjects: Canada, Civil war, Congo (Democratic Republic), Invasion, Refugees, Social conditions, Survival

Cherry Blossom And Paper Planes

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Adin and Dina are best friends.   They live on a farm and share a love of cherries, climbing the trees to eat the fruit, and saving the pits to plant around the village.  When Adin moves to the city, Dina misses him and her summer becomes long and lonely.  Adin is lonely, too, in the city.  Dina’s father takes her to the city to visit Adin.  They climb to a balcony on Adin’s apartment building and fold paper airplanes that can hold the cherry pits.  They send the planes into the air.  After a long winter apart, spring arrives and the blossoming cherry trees seem to provide a trail between the two best friends.  The rich illustrations that are hand-drawn using gouache and pen gently depict the green and yellow village and the city Adin and his mother move to.  This is a sensitive story about the power of friendship. mjw
Title: Cherry Blossom And Paper Planes
Author: Jef Aerts
Illustrator: Sanne te Loo
Publisher: Floris Books
Copyright: 2020
Original Language: Dutch
Translator: Polly Lawson
Original Title: Kersenhemel
Original Publisher: Em Querido’s Uitgeverij
Original Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 978-178250-561-7
Hardcover pages: 48
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Author’s ethnicity: Belgian
Author’s residence: Belgium
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Dutch
Subjects: Cherry blossoms, Cities, Farms, Paper planes, Farms

Clara The Rhino

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Based on a true story, this book is about the friendship between an orphaned rhinoceros from India and a Dutch sea captain in the mid 18thcentury.  Captain Douwe van der Meer decides to take Clara the rhino from India to Holland.  No one in Europe has ever seen a rhino and the Captain is sure that she will be a sensation.  The voyage from India to Holland takes many weeks and Clara eats 100 pounds of hay every day.  She especially likes oranges.   Clara wins the hearts of everyone as she and the Captain travel all over Europe. Her image appears on posters, coins, statuettes, and art in museums.  She finally returns to Holland where the Captain provides Clara a home of her own.  A map shows Clara’s extensive travels through Europe.  Bold, colorful artwork enhances the story.  Another book, Clara: The (Mostly) True Story Of The Rhinoceros Who Dazzled Kings, Inspired Artists, And Won The Hearts Of Everyone…While She Ate Her Way Up And Down A Continent was written by Emily Arnold McCully in 2016. mjw
Title: Clara The Rhino
Author: Katrin Hirt
Illustrator: Laura Fuchs
Publisher: North South Books, Inc.
Copyright: 2020
Original Language: German
Translator: David Henry Wilson
Original Title: Ein Nashorn namens Clara
Original Publisher: NordSud Verlag.  Zurich, Switzerland
Original Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4395-0
Hardcover pages: 48
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book
Book setting: India, Holland, France, Italy
Author’s ethnicity: German
Author’s residence: Tubingen, Germany
Illustrator’s ethnicity: German
Illustrator’s residence: Hamburg, Germany 
Subjects: Boats and ships, European history, Netherlands, Rhinoceroses

Panthera Tigris

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A highly educated scientist whose knowledge is astounding realizes that he knows nothing about Bengal tigers.  He reads every book about tigers that he can find and concludes that he must travel to the Indian jungle to learn more.  After his long journey, he asks a local hunter to be his guide.  He proceeds to tell the guide all he knows about tigers. He doesn’t stop talking and the guide never gets a word in.  When confronted by a magnificent tiger, the guide climbs the nearest tree and the scientist learns that the guide’s practical experience is best.  The tale is inspired by Swami Prajnanpad, a modern Indian guru and philosopher (1891-1974).  Fine lined drawings splashed with greens, browns, and neon orange complement the humorous text.  They include complicated diagrams and anatomical details. mjw
Title: Panthera Tigris
Author: Sylvain Alzial
Illustrator: Helene Rajcak
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Copyright: 2019
Original Language: French
Translator: Vineet Lal and Sarah Ardizzone
Original Title: Panthera Tigris
Original Publisher: Rouergue. Paris
Original Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 978-0-802855299
Hardcover pages: 32
Age range: 5-9
Genre: Picture Book
Book setting: India
Author’s ethnicity: Born in Monaco
Author’s residence: Paris
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: Paris
Subjects: Bengal tigers, Humor, Scientific expeditions

A Place To Belong

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World War II is over and Hanako and her family – her father, her mother, and little brother Akira – are moving to Japan.  They have been in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans in America.  They have renounced their citizenship so they can leave the camp and return to Japan to live with Hanako’s grandparents on a tenant farm outside of Hiroshima.  They barely survive.  Hanako struggles to fit in as an outsider in her new home.  This is a moving book interspersed with black and white drawings. mjw
Title: A Place To Belong
Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Illustrator: Julia Kuo
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Copyright: 2019
Original Language: English 
ISBN: 978-1-481446648
Hardcover pages: 416
Age range: 10-14
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book setting: Hiroshima, Japan
Author’s ethnicity: Japanese
Author’s residence: California, U.S.
Subjects: Emigration and immigration, Hiroshima, Multigenerational family life, Japan, Japan history 1945

Old Man Of The Sea

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A young boy narrates this adventure tale about his grandpa’s travels all over the world – the story of his life.  He first tells about Europe with fairy tale castles and groves of olive trees.  The ocean calls and grandpa sails to Africa where he dances to the rhythm of drums.  He feels the pull of the ocean and ends up in Asia where he eats spices and visits ancient temples.  He returns to the sea and Oceania and finally ends up in America where he marries, works hard, has children, and makes a family.  For the first time in his life, he forgets to go back to the sea.  The digitally rendered watercolor paintings include maps of the continents. mjw
Title: Old Man Of The Sea
Author: Stella Elia
Illustrator: Weberson Santiago
Publisher: Lantana Publishing. London
Copyright: 2019
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-91137-354-4
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 5-8
Genre: Picture Book
Book setting: Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, America
Author’s ethnicity: Brazilian
Author’s residence: Brazil
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Brazilian
Illustrator’s residence: Brazil
Awards: Illustrator has won the 2009 Trofeu HQ Mix Award for Best Illustrator in Brazil
Subjects: Adventure, Boats, Continents, Maps, Multigenerational, Sailing, Sailors, Ships, Storytelling

The Dark And The Light

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Shaggy is a furry creature who lives in darkness and who longs to visit the light. In the light lives Sparkle, who is fascinated yet fearful of the darkness. The two meet at the edge of the dark and light and soon become friends, meeting in the grey-blue inbetween.  When Shaggy visits Sparkle for the first time he brings a parasol to shield the light and when Sparkle visits him she brings a flashlight. While each is initially scared of entering the other’s world, their bond as friends helps them overcome their fears and enforces the importance of compromise. Cyanotype prints beautifully illustrate the contrast from dark to light in stunning indigos, navy blues, and brilliant whites. mm
Title: The Dark And The Light
Author: Kerstin Hau
Illustrator: Julie Völk
Publisher: NorthSouth Books
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780735843851
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Picture book
Author’s ethnicity: German
Author’s residence: Darmstadt, Germany
Illustrator’s ethnicity: Austrian
Illustrator’s residence: Vienna, Austria
Subjects: Darkness, Friendship, Light

Who Built That? Modern Houses

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Who Built That? Modern HousesPart-biography, part-introduction to modern homes; this book offers up an incredible amount of information about the lives and design styles of architects such as Gerrit Rietveld and Frank Lloyd Wright. Primary color pen illustrations clearly depict the materials and floor layouts of each architect’s unique design and creative voice. mm

 

Title: Who Built That? Modern Houses
Author: Didier Cornille
Illustrator: Didier Cornille
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press, New York
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9781616892630
Hardcover pages: 75 
Age range: 10-13
Genre: Nonfiction, Information books
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: Le Mans, France
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s residence: Le Mans, France 
Subjects: Architecture, Color, Design, Houses

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

The Hen Who Sailed Around The World: A True Story

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For the last two years, 24-year-old French sailor Guirec Soudee has been sailing the world with his red hen Monique.  Monique never suffers from seasickness.  She keeps him company and provides him with a constant source of food – eggs.  Over the course of the adventure she laid 1,040 eggs! They are currently crossing the Pacific Ocean.  Guirec has documented their journeys with his remarkable and comical photographs and you can follow him online at guirecsoudee.com.  His first book The Transatlantic Voyage Of Monique was released in France.  A map of the voyages is included.  mjw
Title: The Hen Who Sailed Around The World: A True Story
Author: Guirec Soudee
Illustrator: Guirec Soudee
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Copyright: 2018
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-316-44884-0
Hardcover pages: 40
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Nonfiction, Information book, Travel literature
Book setting: Around the world
Author’s ethnicity: French
Illustrator’s ethnicity: French
Subjects: Chickens, Human-animal relationships, Northwest Passage, Photographs, Sailing, Survival

Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought For Her American Dream

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National bestselling author Julissa Arce tells of her journey from Taxco, Mexico, to growing up undocumented in Texas.  As a young girl, she, her two sisters, her nanny, and her grandmother were left behind in Taxco for months at a time, while her parents worked in America, hoping to build a home for the family.  At age eleven, her parents brought her to Texas where she secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant.  She worked tirelessly, achieved academic excellence, overcame cultural barriers, and ultimately climbed to a successful career on Wall Street. Eight pages of black and white photographs complement this compelling story. mjw
Title: Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought For Her American Dream
Author: Julissa Arce
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Copyright: 2018
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-316-48174-8
Hardcover pages: 240
Age range: 11-14
Genre: Autobiography
Book setting: Mexico, Texas
Author’s ethnicity: Mexican
Author’s residence: Los Angeles, U.S.
Subjects: Biography, Illegal aliens, Immigrants, Mexican American women, Social justice, Texas