Puppet

Puppet by Eva Wiseman
The year is 1882. A young servant girl named Esther disappears from a small Hungarian village. Several Jewish men from the village of Tisza Eszvar face the ‘blood libel’ — the centuries-old calumny that Jews murder Christian children for their blood. A fourteen-year-old Jewish boy named Morris Scharf becomes the star witness of corrupt authorities who coerce him into testifying against his fellow Jews, including his own father, at the trial.

Girls Against Girls: Why We Are Mean to Each Other and How We Can Change

Girls Against Girls: Why We Are Mean to Each Other and How We Can Change by Bonnie Burton
This guide for teenage girls explains why girls can sometimes be mean to each other, what to do if you are a victim of bullying, and the importance of treating other girls with respect.

Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown

Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown by Malathi Michelle Iyengar, Jamel Akib (Illustrator)
When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Tan, sienna, topaz, or tamarind? Poet Malathi Michelle Iyengar sees a whole spectrum of beautiful shades of brown. The author adds this note: "When I was a little girl in North Carolina, I hated waiting for the school bus. Every day at the bus stop a group of older kids would call me names and make fun of my brown skin, saying brown was a dirty, ugly color. I longed to trade my complexion for peachy-pink. I still remember sitting in the bathtub and hoping that if I just scrubbed hard enough the brown would go away. As I got older I began discovering wonderful stories and poems written by and about proud brown people. When I read their words, I didn't feel ugly or dirty anymore...Today, when I look in the mirror, I feel happy and lucky to see a brown face smiling back at me. Because, from tan to tamarind, brown is a beautiful color..."
Brown
My face.
Milk-tea brown.
I am brown. I am beautiful.
Brown.
Your face.
Sienna brown
or cocoa brown,
café con leche brown or
radiant ocher brown.
Our hands, our fingers.
Cinnamon brown
or rich coffee brown,
sandalwood brown or rosy adobe brown.
Our ankles, our feet.
Nutmeg brown
or mocha brown,
dark chocolate brown
or tawny golden brown.
Our eyes.
Luminous topaz brown
or sweet cappuccino brown,
shiny sepia brown
or twinkling brown.
Our hair.
Spruce brown
or bay brown,
russet brown or
deep tamarind brown.
We are brown. We are beautiful.

A Friend

A Friend written and illustrated by Anette Bley
Examines traits of friends and how their acts make the world a better place in which to live.

Duck! Rabbit!

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Tom Lichtenheld

Is it a duck or a rabbit? Depends on how you look at it! Readers will find more than just Amy Krouse Rosenthal's signature humor here, there's also a subtle lesson for kids who don't know when to let go of an argument. A smart, simple story that will make readers of all ages eager to take a side.

The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System

The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System by Jack Prelutsky, Jimmy Pickering (Illustrator)

The nation's first children's poet laureate fills a galaxy with weird, scary planets: his 19 poems describe places and creatures you wouldn't want to visit.

The Vermeer Interviews: Conversations with Seven Works of Art

The Vermeer Interviews: Conversations with Seven Works of Art by Bob Raczka, Johannes Vermeer

In this look at seven paintings by Jan Vermeer, author Bob Raczka takes on the role of interviewer and the people in the paintings become his willing subjects. Find out more about the author, Bob Raczka, and his books on his website.

The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Birding Poems

The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Birding Poems by Michael J. Rosen, Stanley Fellows (Illustrator)
A joyful primer on the pleasures of bird-watching merges haiku, notes for identifying species, and exquisite watercolor illustrations.In spare and graceful words, poet and birder Michael J. Rosen captures the forecasting call of the mysterious cuckoo as well as essential characteristics of more than twenty commonly seen North American birds. This artfully compiled field notebook — enriched by the evocative artwork of watercolorist Stan Fellows — captures the excitement of recognizing a bird, whether a darting kingfi sher, a wandering wild turkey, or a chirpy house sparrow.

A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing and Shout

A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing and Shout selected by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka
A collection of lively rhymes and tricky tongue twisters, poems for more than one voice, bilingual poems--from classic Shakespeare and Lear to anonymous rhymes to contemporary riffs on everything under the sun.

Little Bee

Little Bee by Chris Cleave
A haunting novel about the tenuous friendship that blooms between two disparate strangers--one an illegal Nigerian refugee, the other a recent widow from suburban London. "...You know it is not a good idea to collect stories, I said. Sarah shook her head. I don't agree. I think it's the only way we'll make you safe..."/page 253

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems by Deborah Ruddell, Joan Rankin (Illustrator)
Take a lighthearted romp through four seasons in the forest with these whimsical poems.
Woodchuck's Wake-Up Morning
She snoozed away the winter
in the darkness, all alone.
There's grumbling in her stomach
and she's chilly to the bone.
Her fur is flat and crusty.
Her swollen eyelids sting.
She's starving for a salad
and a heaping plate of spring.

Faith

Faith by Maya Ajmera, Cynthia Pon, Magda Nakassis

Faith explores through full-color photographs the many ways in which the world celebrates and practices religious belief, highlighting the common threads—praying and meditating, chants and songs, holy books, cleansing, holy places, holidays and festivals, important events, dress, food and drink, and helping others. Spare text accompanies the pictures of children and identifies the specific religion and practices. Concluding notes for adults to share with youngsters provide more information on each one.

All the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem: An Inappropriate Book for Young Ladies (Or, Frankly, Anybody Else)

All the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem: An Inappropriate Book for Young Ladies (Or, Frankly, Anybody Else) written and illustrated by Laurie Rosenwald
Here’s a look at life from artist and professional nonconformist Laurie Rosenwald, who insists that she doesn’t want to tell anyone what to do. But when you are as irreverent as she is people sort of DO want to know what you think. All the Wrong People Have Self Esteem is for young women and, frankly anyone else, who asks good questions about life and then likes to laugh at the answers.

Every Human Has Rights : A Photographic Declaration for Kids

Every Human Has Rights : A Photographic Declaration for Kids by National Geographic Editors, Foreword by Mary Robinson
National Geographic has joined the Every Human Has Rights campaign by released a new childrens book to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The book uses images and accessible text to help children learn their human rights.

Every Human Has Rights - Campaign Highlights from Every Human Has Rights on Vimeo.

Not All Animals Are Blue: A Big Book of Little Differences

Not All Animals Are Blue: A Big Book of Little Differences by Béatrice Boutignon

Pictures help children spot differences in colors, movement, attitude and even discoveries.

Her Mother's Face

Her Mother's Face by Roddy Doyle, Freya Blackwood (Illustrator)
Siobhan and her father continue to feel sad in the years following the death of Siobhan's mother, until Siobhan follows the advice of a mysterious woman. "At first , all she could see was her own face. But she stayed ther, looking. And, after a few minutes, she began to imagine another girl, very like herself, but not exactly the same. The hair a little different, the mouth a little smaller, the lips a little darker. And she could make her look a little older, and a little more, And Siobhan knew. She was able to imagine her mother's face...And Siobhan felt happy for the first time since her mother had died..."

The Composer Is Dead

The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Carson Ellis, musical score by Nathaniel Stookey
An inspector seeks to solve a murder mystery at the symphony by questioning each of the musical instruments.

Darwin: With Glimpses into His Private Journal & Letters

Darwin: With Glimpses into His Private Journal & Letters by Alice B. McGinty, Mary Azarian (Illustrator)

Filled with the fascinating words of Charles Darwin—designed as handwritten entries—this picture book biography reveals the assembling of a profound idea: the survival of the fittest. Two hundred years after his birth, 150 years after the publication of his ORIGIN OF SPECIES, this thought-provoking, splendidly illustrated account invites us into the private thoughts, hopes and fears of a soul who forever changed the way we see the world.

"Whenever I have found out that I have blundered, or that my work has been imperfect, and when I have been contemptuously criticized, and even when I have been overpraised, so that I have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself...I have worked as hard and as well as I could, and no man can do more than this...

Response

Response by Paul Volponi
When an African American high school student is beaten with a baseball bat in a white neighborhood, three boys are charged with a hate crime.

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone, Foreword by Margaret A. Weitekamp

Profiles thirteen women who challenged social norms and government policies to prove they could be exceptional astronauts.