January/February 2015
— A girl finally gets her turn to be Lucia in her Swedish family's St. Lucia Day celebration, but forgets the words to the traditional song at the crucial moment.
— In 1960 China during the Great Leap Forward famine, a hungry boy eats his entire lunch bread on the way to school, remembering his family's lost wealth.
— A young skier investigating dark puddles in cracked ice falls through and fights to survive, his life flashing before him as he struggles toward the surface.
— After losing their mother in a car accident that leaves five-year-old Marcella unconscious, siblings Ellie and Luke wait anxiously in the hospital until Ellie's handmade poster helps welcome Marcella back...
— Three Galactic Soldiers rebel against orders to annihilate the planet Enyo, escaping to broker peace and end an interplanetary war that threatens both civilizations.
— A Japanese boy moves to America in 1956 and faces bullying until a friend named Conrad stands up for him, ultimately getting expelled for defending him in a fight.
— The Silver Donkey, by Sonya Hartnett; Candlewick Press: Somerville, Massachusetts, 2014; $8.99 “As they approached the hollow where the man lay, they were aggrieved to spy him sitting up. Clearly...
— A young poet steps outside into winter, capturing the immediate sensory impact of cold air, snow, ice, and bare trees swaying in the wind.
— A child and grandmother bake bread together in an old kitchen, sharing laughter, sneaking batter, and talking about life while waiting for the loaf to rise.
— Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata; Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing: New York, 2006; $6.99 Once in a blue moon, you come upon a book which you believe is the pure embodiment of...