Preschool (Ages 0-4)
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Title/Author: My Colors, My World / Mis Colores, Mi Mundo/Maya Christina Gonzales
Description: The Mojave Desert seems to be filled with nothing but boring sand! However, Maya dreams of filling it with bright, beautiful and bold colors. With the help of her bird friend, she searches everywhere to find color in her world. She discovers that Mother's flowers are purple, cactus's are green, the sunset is hot pink and Papi's hair is shiny black. She finally finds all the beautiful colors she's been looking for! You can read this book in English, Spanish or both!
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Primary (Grades K-2)
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Title/Author: Bintou's Braids/Sylviane A. Diouf
Description: Bintou dreams of growing up like her big sister so that she too can have beautiful braids, instead of the tufts and cornrows that she has to have as a little girl. Then, when Bintou rescues two boys from drowning by running back to the village to alert the elders, she is awarded braids to recognize her heroism. This story is a great glimpse of Western African customs and shows how children everywhere desire to be treated as grown up.
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Intermediate (Grades 3-5)
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Title/Author: Silent Music/James Rumford
Description: Ali lives in Baghdad. He loves soccer, "parent-rattling" music, dancing, Arabic and calligraphy. When his city is under attack, he feels inspired by his hero, Yakut, a thirteenth century calligrapher who also lived in Baghdad during a time of war. Ali describes how he used his art during the bombings of 2003 to calm him and bring him a sense of peace in a very scary time.
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Middle School (Grades 6-8)
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Title/Author: Red Glass/Laura Resau
Description: Sophie is a free spirited girl, unattached to anything except her family and her books. Then, Pablo, a six-year-old boy who was the lone survivor of a group trying to cross from Mexico to the United States comes to live with her family. Sophie grows to love little Pablo, but after a year they find his extended family back in Mexico. Sophie and her family members travel with Pablo to Mexico where he has to make the decision to stay in Mexico or continue living with Sophie's family. Along this journey, a terrible accident occurs, forcing Sophie to make dangerous decisions that help her realize that life is beautiful, risky and fun. This is a great story about family, culture, relationships and the tough choices we all have to make.
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Title/Author: A Group of One/Rachna Gilmore
Description: Tara Mehta, a Canadian-born girl of Indian heritage, struggles from the start of the book with her two cultures. Tara is resentful of her Indian heritage and hates to be identified as different based on her appearance. She argues she is a "regular Canadian" like the other kids in her class.
Naniji, Tara's feisty grandmother who fought with Ghandhi in the Indian Independence Movement, slowly changes Tara's perspective on her own culture after she comes to stay with Tara's family. Clashing with Tara's mother because of her "Westernized" attitude, Naniji makes an effort to educate her grandchildren on the family's history. Eventually, Tara changes her attitude and decides to share Naniji's story with her class, taking the risk of receiving negative reactions from her peers. Tara ultimately realizes she needs to change her own idea, and other's ideas, of what being a "regular Canadian" actually means.
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High School (Grades 9-12)
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Title/Author: Nation/Terry Pratchett
Description: Entire civilizations were destroyed when a tsunami hit the islands of an ocean similar the the Pacific, wiping out nearly everything including the village Mau came from. He is the only one from his people, the Nation, to survive. A girl, Ermintrude, is on her way to meet her father, the Governor of the nearby Sunday Islands. She believes herself to be the soul survivor on Mau's island. The pair meets after Ermintrude, reinventing herself as Daphne, sees the smoke of Mau's fire and they find shelter together. Soon, refugees start arriving and Daphne and Mau care for the tired and hungry survivors. As they all struggle to keep their small group safe and fed, a group of multineers arrive. Mau defeats them and the reader begins to think that all is safe in their new community - until they discover a long-hidden secret that will literally turn their world upside down...
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Executive Residence