March/April 2005
— A boy in an orphanage experiences vivid dreams of a jungle that begin bleeding into reality, leading him to discover his connection to an enslaved ancestor.
— A girl sent to an Italian convent school to stop her from painting secretly learns from an old man in the town plaza and ultimately convinces her mother to let...
— Powerful Words by Wade Hudson; Scholastic Inc.: New York, 2004; $19.95 This is a collection of poetry, rap, historical speeches, stories and biographies on the struggles and triumphs of African...
— A boy watches from his hillside home as flood waters from Deer Mountain devastate his village below, imagining the mountain as an angry deity.
— A mother discovers her childhood photo album with her daughter, triggering memories of her last night with best friends before they were separated by different high schools.
— A girl escapes to a secret clearing in the woods where she experiences brief moments of becoming the creatures around her—squirrel, robin, blade of grass.
— A girl climbs an ancient Sequoia on her family's tree farm, watches an osprey soar past, and records the moment in her tree-kept poetry book.
— A girl contemplates her love for New York City while recognizing her mother's longing for San Francisco, exploring different kinds of beauty and belonging.
— The Wanderer by Sharon Creech; HarperCollins: New York, 20oo; $16.99 About a year ago, my friend recommended The Wanderer to the girls in my Mother-Daughter book club. When she described...
— A seventh-grader befriends a new Muslim student and successfully advocates to the school board for her right to wear a hijab after their teacher bans it.