The Charlotte & William Bloomberg Medford Public Library
April, 10 2025 15:42:06
Michael Rosen's Sad Book
By Rosen, Michael
With unmitigated honesty, a touch of humor, and sensitive illustrations by Quentin Blake, Michael Rosen explores the experience of sadness in a way that resonates with us all.Sometimes I'm sad and I don't know why.It's just a cloud that comes along and covers me up.Sad things happen to everyone, and sometimes people feel sad for no reason at all. What makes Michael Rosen sad is thinking about his son, Eddie, who died suddenly at the age of eighteen. In this book the author writes about his sadness, how it affects him, and some of the things he does to cope with it - like telling himself that everyone has sad stuff (not just him) and trying every day to do something he can be proud of. Expressively illustrated by the extraordinary Quentin Blake, this is a very personal story that speaks to everyone, from children to parents to grandparents, teachers to grief counselors.
Publisher: n/a
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763625973
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Print book
FIREBOAT
By Kalman, Maira
A portion of the proceeds from Fireboat The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey will be donated to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund. For more information or to make a donation, please visit httpwww.ttof.org.This is the inspiring true story of the John J. Harveya retired New York City fireboat reinstated on September 11, 2001. Originally launched in 1931, the Harvey was the most powerful fireboat of her time. After the September 11 attacks, with fire hydrants at Ground Zero inoperable and the Hudson Rivers water supply critical to fighting the blaze, the fire department called on the Harvey for help. There were adjustmentsforcing water into hoses by jamming soda bottles and wood into nozzles with a sledgehammerand then the fireboats volunteer crew pumped much-needed water to the disaster site.
Publisher: n/a
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9780399239533
|
Hardcover
Valentina and Monster
By Ruiz, Ãngeles
One morning, Valentina spots something strange: a monster selling cotton candy on her street. But Valentina isnt scared. This monster is friendly and has pink, fluffy furperfect for hugs. Valentina and Monster quickly become friends, but tragedy soon arrives. This story of loss and grief shows how to hold onto the love from others long after they are gone.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781478870593
|
Hardcover
Willa and the Whale
By Morris, Chad
When her marine biologist mother dies, thirteen-year-old Willa turns to an unlikely source of comfort - a humpback whale who communicates with her.
Publisher: n/a
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9781629727318
|
Hardcover
Music Is a Rainbow
By Collier, Bryan
The music turned into color and light and filled the room.A young boy remembers quietly watching his father read the paper and sip a cup of coffee. He remembers his sweet momma, who lovingly pressed away the wrinkles on his clothes. Then one day, his father is gone and his momma falls ill. But through his love of music he feels his father's warm hugs and his mother's kisses. He learns to relax, shine, and dream as the music fills his soul.From four-time Caldecott honoree Bryan Collier comes a moving and gorgeously illustrated exploration of healing the soul through music.
Publisher: n/a
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9780316537421
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Hardcover
Place Hand Here
By Yamasaki, Katie
A magnificent story of community, family, and love from internationally renowned muralist and picture book creator Katie Yamasaki.A young boy passes a painting of a hand on a wall in his neighborhood and watches others placing their own hands against it. The act means something different for each of them: Ms. Iris tells him it is a link to her home country; for Devin, it connects him to his older sister, who just left for college; for Savannah, it reminds her of her grandmother who passed away. The boy thinks of those who are on the other side of the mural, of loved ones lost or lonely or far away, and of his own mother, who is currently incarcerated. While he waits for her to come home, the hand is there to connect them to each other and remind them that they are not alone.
Publisher: n/a
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9781324017035
|
Hardcover
The Tunnel
By Howden, Sarah
A spare, powerful story about taking space to process difficult feelings After something bad happens, a boy feels sad and gray. Mom and Aunt Cheryl try to talk about it, but he feels like running away. So he picks up a shovel and starts digging a tunnel from his room, deep down and into the backyard. Out there, far from the lights of the house, it's dark enough that he could disappear. But the quiet distance also gives him the space he needs to see his family's love and start returning home. As he heads back, the journey upward is different. He notices familiar details and tunes into his senses. The tunnel isn't so scary this time. The boy emerges into his room just as Mom peeks in. When she notices a twig in his hair, he is ready to talk about the tunnel and finds warmth in her gentle acknowledgment: "You came back.
Publisher: n/a
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9781771474276
|
Hardcover
The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden
By Smith, Heather
When the tsunami destroyed Makio's village, Makio lost his father . . . and his voice. The entire village is silenced by grief, and the young child's anger at the ocean grows. Then one day his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, begins a mysterious project - building a phone booth in his garden. At first Makio is puzzled; the phone isn't connected to anything. It just sits there, unable to ring. But as more and more villagers are drawn to the phone booth, its purpose becomes clear to Makio: the disconnected phone is connecting people to their lost loved ones. Makio calls to the sea to return what it has taken from him and ultimately finds his voice and solace in a phone that carries words on the wind. The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden is inspired by the true story of the wind phone in Otsuchi, Japan, which was created by artist Itaru Sasaki. He built the phone booth so he could speak to his cousin who had passed, saying, "My thoughts couldn't be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind." The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the town of Otsuchi, claiming 10 percent of the population. Residents of Otsuchi and pilgrims from other affected communities have been traveling to the wind phone since the tsunami.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781459821033
|
Hardcover
The Journey
By Sanna, Francesca
With haunting echoes of the current refugee crisis this beautifully illustrated book explores the unimaginable decisions made as a family leave their home and everything they know to escape the turmoil and tragedy brought by war. This book will stay with you long after the last page is turned.From the author: The Journey is actually a story about many journeys, and it began with the story of two girls I met in a refugee center in Italy. After meeting them I realized that behind their journey lay something very powerful. So I began collecting more stories of migration and interviewing many people from many different countries. A few months later, in September 2014, when I started studying a Master of Arts in Illustration at the Academy of Lucerne, I knew I wanted to create a book about these true stories. Almost every day on the news we hear the terms "migrants" and "refugees" but we rarely ever speak to or hear the personal journeys that they have had to take. This book is a collage of all those personal stories and the incredible strength of the people within them.Francesca Sanna is an Italian illustrator and graphic designer who moved to Switzerland to follow her dream to work as an illustrator. She graduated in 2015 from the Lucerne School of Art and Design with a Master of Design with focus on Illustration. The Journey is her first picture book.
Publisher: n/a
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9781909263994
|
Print book
The Invisible String
By Karst, Patrice
For Adults too!A steady best-seller and The Invisible String is reaching all over the World! With over 1 MILLION copies sold, this accessible, bestselling picture book phenomenon about the unbreakable connections between loved ones has healed a generation of readers--children and adults alike."Thats impossible", said twins Jeremy & Liza after their Mom told them theyre all connected by this thing called an Invisible String. "What kind of string"? They asked with a puzzled look to which Mom replied, "An Invisible String made of love." Thats where the story begins. A story that teaches of the tie that really binds. The Invisible String reaches from heart to heart. Does everybody have an Invisible String? How far does it reach, anyway? Does it ever go away? Read all about it! THE INVISIBLE STRING is a very simple approach to overcoming the fear of loneliness or separation with an imaginative flair that children can easily identify with and remember. Here is a warm and delightful lesson teaching young and old that we arent ever really alone and reminding children (and adults!) that when we are loved beyond anything we can imagine. "People who love each other are always connected by a very special String, made of love. Even though you cant see it with your eyes, you can feel it deep in your heart, and know that you are always connected to the ones you love."Thus begins this heart-warming and reassuring story that addresses the issue of "separation anxiety" (otherwise known as the sense of existential aloneness) to children of all ages.Specifically written to address childrens fear of being apart from the ones they love, The Invisible String delivers a particularly compelling message in todays uncertain times that though we may be separated from the ones we care for, whether through anger, or distance or even death, love is the unending connection that binds us all, and, by extension, ultimately binds every person on the planet to everyone else. Parents and children everywhere who are looking for reassurance and reaffirmation of the transcendent power of love, to bind, connect and comfort us through those inevitable times when life challenges us!Lets tell the whole world that we are ALL connected by Invisible Strings!Adopted byMilitary Library Services & Foster Care AgenciesRecommended byBereavement Support Groups and Hospice Centers
Publisher: n/a
|
9780875167343
|
Hardcover
We Are Lions!
By Mattsson, Jens
I am a lion, and my big brother is one, too ... until one day, he gets sick.The narrator and his big brother have the best game in the world together. They are dangerous lions on the savannah! One day, big brother doesn't want to run around anymore. His stomach hurts. He has to see the doctor and take medicine, and even has to stay at the hospital. Lions don't want to be trapped by wires and tubes! The narrator instigates a hunt, and the brothers run around the hospital together, chasing gazelles and startling the wildebeest. But big brother is very sick and can't keep up. Lions can't cry, his little brother insists. But they can miss the rest of their pride. With Mom and Dad, the narrator tries to comfort his sibling. Soon, he knows, the two lions will go hunting again.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781773067018
|
Hardcover
Today Is Different
By Moua, Doua
Standing together makes all of us stronger.Mai, a young Hmong girl, and Kiara, a young Black girl, are best friends. They do everything together -- riding the bus, eating lunch, playing at recess. But one day Kiara misses school and Mai goes looking for answers. When she learns that her best friend is protesting an act of police violence against the Black community, Mai decides to join the protest too. Her parents at first want to protect her by keeping her at home, but she shows them that standing together makes all of us stronger.Written by author and actor Doua Moua, who played Po in Disney's live-action Mulan, this picture book provides an inspiring look at the value of allyship and solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781728430294
|
Hardcover
Branches of Hope
By Magee, Ann
The branches of the 9/11 Survivor Tree poked through the rubble at Ground Zero. They were glimpses of hope in the weeks after September 11, 2001. Remember and honor the events of 9/11 and celebrate how hope appears in the midst of hardship. The Survivor Tree found at Ground Zero was rescued, rehabilitated, and then replanted at the 9/11 Memorial site in 2011. This is its story.In this moving tribute to a city and its people, a wordless story of a young child accompanies the tree's history. As the tree heals, the girl grows into an adult, and by the 20th anniversary of 9/11, she has become a firefighter like her first-responder uncle. A life-affirming introduction to how 9/11 affected the United States and how we recovered together.
Publisher: n/a
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9781623541323
|
Hardcover
When the Wind Came
By Andrews, Jan
A spare and beautiful story of resilience.It's a normal day, at first, for a girl on her family farm. But then the wind starts. It blows harder and harder and harder. Her mother grabs her baby brother. Her father opens the root cellar door. They pile in and sit in darkness. But when they emerge, their home is gone. Through a series of short sentences, many beginning with "I remember . . .," readers experience the girl's emotional trajectory of shock, terror, sadness and, finally, hope - and even laughter.Sometimes, the winds come for children. And when they do, a story like When the Wind Came can make all the difference.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781525303395
|
Hardcover
Spectacularly Beautiful
By Lucas, Lisa
A young refugee living in America learns to see herself as beautiful, in spite of physical and emotional scars from her troubled homeland, thanks to a gifted teacher.Spectacularly Beautiful tells the story of Shahad, a refugee who has moved to a new country and started at a new school with her new teacher, Ms. Truong. Shahad comes to school every day with perfectly braided hair tied in ribbons. But her hair can't hide the scars on her face and leg that are painful reminders of the country she fled, making her feel less than beautiful, and different from her peers. When a class project proves difficult for Shahad, Ms. Truong helps her come to see that her scars are only part of her story, and that she is not just beautiful...she is spectacularly beautiful.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781576878910
|
Hardcover
The Breaking News
By Reul, Sarah Lynne
When devastating news rattles a young girl's community, her normally attentive parents and neighbors are suddenly exhausted and distracted. At school, her teacher tells the class to look for the helpers -- the good people working to make things better in big and small ways. She wants more than anything to help in a BIG way, but maybe she can start with one small act of kindness instead . . . and then another, and another.Small things can compound, after all, to make a world of difference.The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul touches on themes of community, resilience, and optimism with an authenticity that will resonate with readers young and old.
Michael Rosen's Sad Book
By Rosen, Michael
With unmitigated honesty, a touch of humor, and sensitive illustrations by Quentin Blake, Michael Rosen explores the experience of sadness in a way that resonates with us all.Sometimes I'm sad and I don't know why.It's just a cloud that comes along and covers me up.Sad things happen to everyone, and sometimes people feel sad for no reason at all. What makes Michael Rosen sad is thinking about his son, Eddie, who died suddenly at the age of eighteen. In this book the author writes about his sadness, how it affects him, and some of the things he does to cope with it - like telling himself that everyone has sad stuff (not just him) and trying every day to do something he can be proud of. Expressively illustrated by the extraordinary Quentin Blake, this is a very personal story that speaks to everyone, from children to parents to grandparents, teachers to grief counselors.
FIREBOAT
By Kalman, Maira
A portion of the proceeds from Fireboat The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey will be donated to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund. For more information or to make a donation, please visit httpwww.ttof.org.This is the inspiring true story of the John J. Harveya retired New York City fireboat reinstated on September 11, 2001. Originally launched in 1931, the Harvey was the most powerful fireboat of her time. After the September 11 attacks, with fire hydrants at Ground Zero inoperable and the Hudson Rivers water supply critical to fighting the blaze, the fire department called on the Harvey for help. There were adjustmentsforcing water into hoses by jamming soda bottles and wood into nozzles with a sledgehammerand then the fireboats volunteer crew pumped much-needed water to the disaster site.
Valentina and Monster
By Ruiz, Ãngeles
One morning, Valentina spots something strange: a monster selling cotton candy on her street. But Valentina isnt scared. This monster is friendly and has pink, fluffy furperfect for hugs. Valentina and Monster quickly become friends, but tragedy soon arrives. This story of loss and grief shows how to hold onto the love from others long after they are gone.
Willa and the Whale
By Morris, Chad
When her marine biologist mother dies, thirteen-year-old Willa turns to an unlikely source of comfort - a humpback whale who communicates with her.
Music Is a Rainbow
By Collier, Bryan
The music turned into color and light and filled the room.A young boy remembers quietly watching his father read the paper and sip a cup of coffee. He remembers his sweet momma, who lovingly pressed away the wrinkles on his clothes. Then one day, his father is gone and his momma falls ill. But through his love of music he feels his father's warm hugs and his mother's kisses. He learns to relax, shine, and dream as the music fills his soul.From four-time Caldecott honoree Bryan Collier comes a moving and gorgeously illustrated exploration of healing the soul through music.
Place Hand Here
By Yamasaki, Katie
A magnificent story of community, family, and love from internationally renowned muralist and picture book creator Katie Yamasaki.A young boy passes a painting of a hand on a wall in his neighborhood and watches others placing their own hands against it. The act means something different for each of them: Ms. Iris tells him it is a link to her home country; for Devin, it connects him to his older sister, who just left for college; for Savannah, it reminds her of her grandmother who passed away. The boy thinks of those who are on the other side of the mural, of loved ones lost or lonely or far away, and of his own mother, who is currently incarcerated. While he waits for her to come home, the hand is there to connect them to each other and remind them that they are not alone.
The Tunnel
By Howden, Sarah
A spare, powerful story about taking space to process difficult feelings After something bad happens, a boy feels sad and gray. Mom and Aunt Cheryl try to talk about it, but he feels like running away. So he picks up a shovel and starts digging a tunnel from his room, deep down and into the backyard. Out there, far from the lights of the house, it's dark enough that he could disappear. But the quiet distance also gives him the space he needs to see his family's love and start returning home. As he heads back, the journey upward is different. He notices familiar details and tunes into his senses. The tunnel isn't so scary this time. The boy emerges into his room just as Mom peeks in. When she notices a twig in his hair, he is ready to talk about the tunnel and finds warmth in her gentle acknowledgment: "You came back.
The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden
By Smith, Heather
When the tsunami destroyed Makio's village, Makio lost his father . . . and his voice. The entire village is silenced by grief, and the young child's anger at the ocean grows. Then one day his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, begins a mysterious project - building a phone booth in his garden. At first Makio is puzzled; the phone isn't connected to anything. It just sits there, unable to ring. But as more and more villagers are drawn to the phone booth, its purpose becomes clear to Makio: the disconnected phone is connecting people to their lost loved ones. Makio calls to the sea to return what it has taken from him and ultimately finds his voice and solace in a phone that carries words on the wind. The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden is inspired by the true story of the wind phone in Otsuchi, Japan, which was created by artist Itaru Sasaki. He built the phone booth so he could speak to his cousin who had passed, saying, "My thoughts couldn't be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind." The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the town of Otsuchi, claiming 10 percent of the population. Residents of Otsuchi and pilgrims from other affected communities have been traveling to the wind phone since the tsunami.
The Journey
By Sanna, Francesca
With haunting echoes of the current refugee crisis this beautifully illustrated book explores the unimaginable decisions made as a family leave their home and everything they know to escape the turmoil and tragedy brought by war. This book will stay with you long after the last page is turned.From the author: The Journey is actually a story about many journeys, and it began with the story of two girls I met in a refugee center in Italy. After meeting them I realized that behind their journey lay something very powerful. So I began collecting more stories of migration and interviewing many people from many different countries. A few months later, in September 2014, when I started studying a Master of Arts in Illustration at the Academy of Lucerne, I knew I wanted to create a book about these true stories. Almost every day on the news we hear the terms "migrants" and "refugees" but we rarely ever speak to or hear the personal journeys that they have had to take. This book is a collage of all those personal stories and the incredible strength of the people within them.Francesca Sanna is an Italian illustrator and graphic designer who moved to Switzerland to follow her dream to work as an illustrator. She graduated in 2015 from the Lucerne School of Art and Design with a Master of Design with focus on Illustration. The Journey is her first picture book.
The Invisible String
By Karst, Patrice
For Adults too!A steady best-seller and The Invisible String is reaching all over the World! With over 1 MILLION copies sold, this accessible, bestselling picture book phenomenon about the unbreakable connections between loved ones has healed a generation of readers--children and adults alike."Thats impossible", said twins Jeremy & Liza after their Mom told them theyre all connected by this thing called an Invisible String. "What kind of string"? They asked with a puzzled look to which Mom replied, "An Invisible String made of love." Thats where the story begins. A story that teaches of the tie that really binds. The Invisible String reaches from heart to heart. Does everybody have an Invisible String? How far does it reach, anyway? Does it ever go away? Read all about it! THE INVISIBLE STRING is a very simple approach to overcoming the fear of loneliness or separation with an imaginative flair that children can easily identify with and remember. Here is a warm and delightful lesson teaching young and old that we arent ever really alone and reminding children (and adults!) that when we are loved beyond anything we can imagine. "People who love each other are always connected by a very special String, made of love. Even though you cant see it with your eyes, you can feel it deep in your heart, and know that you are always connected to the ones you love."Thus begins this heart-warming and reassuring story that addresses the issue of "separation anxiety" (otherwise known as the sense of existential aloneness) to children of all ages.Specifically written to address childrens fear of being apart from the ones they love, The Invisible String delivers a particularly compelling message in todays uncertain times that though we may be separated from the ones we care for, whether through anger, or distance or even death, love is the unending connection that binds us all, and, by extension, ultimately binds every person on the planet to everyone else. Parents and children everywhere who are looking for reassurance and reaffirmation of the transcendent power of love, to bind, connect and comfort us through those inevitable times when life challenges us!Lets tell the whole world that we are ALL connected by Invisible Strings!Adopted byMilitary Library Services & Foster Care AgenciesRecommended byBereavement Support Groups and Hospice Centers
We Are Lions!
By Mattsson, Jens
I am a lion, and my big brother is one, too ... until one day, he gets sick.The narrator and his big brother have the best game in the world together. They are dangerous lions on the savannah! One day, big brother doesn't want to run around anymore. His stomach hurts. He has to see the doctor and take medicine, and even has to stay at the hospital. Lions don't want to be trapped by wires and tubes! The narrator instigates a hunt, and the brothers run around the hospital together, chasing gazelles and startling the wildebeest. But big brother is very sick and can't keep up. Lions can't cry, his little brother insists. But they can miss the rest of their pride. With Mom and Dad, the narrator tries to comfort his sibling. Soon, he knows, the two lions will go hunting again.
Today Is Different
By Moua, Doua
Standing together makes all of us stronger.Mai, a young Hmong girl, and Kiara, a young Black girl, are best friends. They do everything together -- riding the bus, eating lunch, playing at recess. But one day Kiara misses school and Mai goes looking for answers. When she learns that her best friend is protesting an act of police violence against the Black community, Mai decides to join the protest too. Her parents at first want to protect her by keeping her at home, but she shows them that standing together makes all of us stronger.Written by author and actor Doua Moua, who played Po in Disney's live-action Mulan, this picture book provides an inspiring look at the value of allyship and solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
Branches of Hope
By Magee, Ann
The branches of the 9/11 Survivor Tree poked through the rubble at Ground Zero. They were glimpses of hope in the weeks after September 11, 2001. Remember and honor the events of 9/11 and celebrate how hope appears in the midst of hardship. The Survivor Tree found at Ground Zero was rescued, rehabilitated, and then replanted at the 9/11 Memorial site in 2011. This is its story.In this moving tribute to a city and its people, a wordless story of a young child accompanies the tree's history. As the tree heals, the girl grows into an adult, and by the 20th anniversary of 9/11, she has become a firefighter like her first-responder uncle. A life-affirming introduction to how 9/11 affected the United States and how we recovered together.
When the Wind Came
By Andrews, Jan
A spare and beautiful story of resilience.It's a normal day, at first, for a girl on her family farm. But then the wind starts. It blows harder and harder and harder. Her mother grabs her baby brother. Her father opens the root cellar door. They pile in and sit in darkness. But when they emerge, their home is gone. Through a series of short sentences, many beginning with "I remember . . .," readers experience the girl's emotional trajectory of shock, terror, sadness and, finally, hope - and even laughter.Sometimes, the winds come for children. And when they do, a story like When the Wind Came can make all the difference.
Spectacularly Beautiful
By Lucas, Lisa
A young refugee living in America learns to see herself as beautiful, in spite of physical and emotional scars from her troubled homeland, thanks to a gifted teacher.Spectacularly Beautiful tells the story of Shahad, a refugee who has moved to a new country and started at a new school with her new teacher, Ms. Truong. Shahad comes to school every day with perfectly braided hair tied in ribbons. But her hair can't hide the scars on her face and leg that are painful reminders of the country she fled, making her feel less than beautiful, and different from her peers. When a class project proves difficult for Shahad, Ms. Truong helps her come to see that her scars are only part of her story, and that she is not just beautiful...she is spectacularly beautiful.
The Breaking News
By Reul, Sarah Lynne
When devastating news rattles a young girl's community, her normally attentive parents and neighbors are suddenly exhausted and distracted. At school, her teacher tells the class to look for the helpers -- the good people working to make things better in big and small ways. She wants more than anything to help in a BIG way, but maybe she can start with one small act of kindness instead . . . and then another, and another.Small things can compound, after all, to make a world of difference.The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul touches on themes of community, resilience, and optimism with an authenticity that will resonate with readers young and old.