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Zazoo

Richard Mosher

Zazoo, almost 14, lives with her adoptive grandfather, who brought her from Vietnam to his village in France when she was just two years old. They have many things in common, including a love of poetry - and a tangled history that Zazoo is only now beginning to understand. She has
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Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale

Verna Aardema - Dial
Format: Hardcover

A retelling of a traditional West African tale that reveals how the mosquito developed its annoying habit.
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Madeline

Ludwig Bemelmans - Puffin
Format: Paperback

A little French girl living in a boarding school causes much excitement when she must have an appendectomy
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Trouble with Trolls

Jan Brett - G.P. Putnam's Sons
Format: Print book

Treva's trouble with trolls begins when she climbs Mount Baldy with her dog Tuffi. The trolls who live there long for a dog, and they try to kidnap him. But Treva is brave and quick-thinking. She outwits one troll after another until she reaches the very top of the mountain, where five...
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S is for Shamrock: An Ireland Alphabet (Discover the World)

Eve Bunting - Sleeping Bear Press
Format: Hardcover

Small in size (less than 400 by 200 miles) the country of Ireland holds a big place in world and human history. And many from around the globe proudly lay claim to ancestral ties there. S is for Shamrock: An Ireland Alphabet gives readers a guided A-Z tour of this small island country whose...
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Jouanah: A Hmong Cinderella

Jewell Reinhart Coburn

Ten ethnic versions of Cinderella story from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Middle East are summarized and worked into lessons for the middle and upper grades. Each story is accompanied by a Booktalk for review, a Motifs & Ideas for discussion, a Connection to a subje
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The Empty Pot

Demi. - H. Holt
Format: Hardcover

A long time ago in China there was a boy named Ping who loved flowers. Anything he planted burst into bloom.The Emperor loved flowers too. When it was time to choose an heir, he gave a flower seed to each child in the kingdom. "Whoever can show me their best in a year's time,"...
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Strega Nona: An Old Tale Retold

Tomie dePaola
Format: Hardcover

When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works in this classic Caldecott Honor book from Tomie dePaola.Strega Nona - "Grandma Witch" - is the source for potions, cures, magic, and comfort in her Calabrian...
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Nadia's Hands

Karen English - Boyds Mills Press
Format: Hardcover

Saturday is Auntie Laila's wedding day and Nadia has been chosen as flower girl. The morning of the ceremony, Auntie Amina prepares Nadia's hands in the traditional way. Using henna, a natural dye, she creates intricate designs, called mehndi, on Nadia's hands. But Nadia is worried....
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The Story about Ping

Marjorie Flack - Viking Press
Format: Print book

Since 1933, The Story About Ping has captivated generations of readers, but never before has it been available in a mass-market paperback format. No one can deny the appeal of the book's hero, Ping, the spirited little duck who lives on a boat on the Yangtze River. Ping's misadventures...
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Koala Lou

Mem Fox - HMH Books for Young Readers; 1 edition
Format: Hardcover

When Koala Lou’s mother becomes so busy that she forgets to tell her firstborn how much she loves her, Koala Lou enters the Bush Olympics, intending to win an event and her mother’s love all at one time. “A first-rate choice for bedtime, story hour, or reading aloud.”--The...
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A Story, a Story

Gail E Haley - Atheneum
Format: Audio CD

Many African stories, whether or not they are about Kwaku Ananse the "spider man," are called, "Spider Stories." This book is about how that came to be. The African storyteller begins: "We do not really mean, we do not really mean that what we are about to say is true....
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Twenty Heartbeats

Dennis Haseley - Roaring Brook Press; 1st ed edition
Format: Print book

A SIMPLE STORY LAYERED WITH MEANING; stunning layered artwork by an acknowledged master.A wealthy Chinese man dreamt of a painting of his favorite horse. He sought out a man named Homan, known as a great painter of horses and commissioned the portrait. Then he waited…and waited…and...
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Elephant Dance

Theresa Heine - Barefoot
Format: Print book

Ravi and Anjali are fascinated by their grandfather s stories of India, where the sun is like a ferocious tiger, the wind is like a wild horse, and monsoon rains cascade from the sky like waterfalls. Ravi particularly loves to hear about the festival of Divaali, where parading elephants...
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Peek!: A Thai Hide-and-Seek

Minfong Ho - Candlewick Press
Format: Hardcover

Papa calls on all the creatures of the jungle to help find his baby in this tender, noisy, and gloriously illustrated game of hide-and-seek."Jut-Ay, Baby, peek-a-boo,Want to play? Where are you?"Baby knows that Jut-Ay means morning has come, and it's time to play. But where...
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Grandma Calls Me Beautiful

Barbara M Joosse - Chronicle Books
Format: Paperback

A Hawaiian grandmother tells her granddaughter a favorite story about how much she loves her. Includes a glossary with definitions and explanations of Hawaiian words and customs.
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Can You Say Peace?

Karen Katz - Henry Holt
Format: Print book

Children everywhere wish for peaceInternational Peace Day is September 21. On this day and every day throughout the year, children all over the world wish for peace. Karen Katz takes readers on a bright and colorful journey around the globe to meet some of these children and learn about...
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A Little Peace (Barbara Kerley Photo Inspirations)

Barbara Kerley - National Geographic Children's Books
Format: Hardcover

The latest National Geographic Children's Books title by Barbara Kerley, A Little Peace, gives a richly evocative and thought-provoking view of the world our children will inherit. Wise words and moving images offer a unique and enriching experience for every young reader. According...
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Trouble

Jane Kurtz - Guilliver Books
Format: Hardcover

Tekleh is curious. Tekleh likes adventure. And trouble always seems to find him, no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. One day Teklehs father decides that a gebeta (also known as mancala) board will help keep Tekleh occupied--and out of trouble. "Time and place will...
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The Story of Ferdinand

Munro Leaf - Viking Books
Format: Hardcover

In Spain lives a big and strong bull whose name is Ferdinand. Unlike the other bulls, Ferdinand does not like to fight. He would rather sit in the shade of his favorite cork tree and smell the flowers.
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The Storytellers

Ted Lewin - Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
Format: Print book

It is early morning, and the haunting cry of the muezzin drifts in the air above the city of Fez, Morocco. Abdul and his grandfather are walking to work-past souk after souk of carpet sellers and weavers, leatherworkers and metalsmiths, then out through the ancient gate. Spreading a carpet...
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Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding

Lenore Look - Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover

Jennys favorite uncle Peter is getting married and everyone is happy happy -- everyone that is except Jenny While her family runs about getting ready for the traditional Chinese wedding -- preparing for the tea ceremony exchanging good-luck money called hungbau helping the bride with her many...
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Emeka's Gift: An African Counting Book

Ifeoma Onyefulu

On his way to visit his grandmother in the next village, young Emeka counts the things in the market that Granny would like as a present, even though he has no money to buy any of them. By the author of A Is for Africa.
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Babushka Baba Yaga

Patricia Polacco

She was the last of her kind. A creature of legends. A being of the forest. AAnd? stories . . . were told of her - stories of the terrible, horrible Baba Yaga.In truth, Baba Yaga was kind, and very lonely. And as she watches the babushkas of the village delig
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What Can You Do With a Rebozo?

Carmen Tafolla - Tricycle Press
Format: Hardcover

What can you use to dress up, play hide-and-seek, carry baby brother, and DANCE with?A rebozo!In a playful celebration of a vibrant culture, a young girl and her family show all the things they do in their daily lives with a rebozo, a traditional Mexican woven shawl. Lively prose and rich...
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Wabi Sabi

Mark Reibstein - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Library Binding edition
Format: Audiobook

Wabi Sabi, a little cat in Kyoto, Japan, had never thought much about her name until friends visiting from another land asked her owner what it meant. At last, the master Says, "That's hard to explain." And That is all she says.This unsatisfying answer sets Wabi Sabi on a journey...
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The Gigantic Turnip

Aleksei Tolstoy - Barefoot Books
Format: Hardcover

This hilarious retelling of the classic Russian tale about a farmer whose turnip is impossible to pull from the ground uses simple vocabulary and is ideal for reading aloud. Its cumulative theme will soon have young readers gleefully joining in, and Irish artist Niamh Sharkey s wonderfully...
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Grandfather Tang's Story

Ann Tompert - Crown Publishers
Format: Book

Illus. in full color. "Drawing on a Chinese form of storytelling with seven shapes cut from a square of paper, Tompert recounts the tale of two fox fairies. Parker's pen-and-watercolor art adds drama, while the tangram insets will motivate children to try their own versions. Ingenious."--Bulletin,...
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Mei-Mei Loves the Morning

Margaret Tsubakiyama - Albert Whitman & Company
Format: Hardcover

Tsubakiyama's simple story, set in a contemporary city in China, depicts a typical morning in the life of young Mei-Mei and her grandfather. The warm and engaging watercolor illustrations bring this intergenerational story to life. Full color.
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Yoko

Rosemary Wells - Hyperion; 1st edition
Format: Hardcover

Mmm, Yoko's mom has packed her favorite for lunch today—sushi! But her classmates don't think it looks quite so yummy. "Ick!" says one of the Franks. "It's seaweed!" They're not even impressed by her red bean ice cream dessert. Of course,...
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Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia

Jeanette Winter - Beach Lane Books; 1 edition
Format: Hardcover

Luis loves to read, but soon his house in Colombia is so full of books there's barely room for the family. What to do? Then he comes up with the perfect solution--a traveling library! He buys two donkeys--Alfa and Beto--and travels with them throughout the land, bringing books and reading...
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The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq

Jeanette Winter - HMH Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition
Format: Hardcover

In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was Read.--Alia Muhammad Baker Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian in Basra, Iraq. For fourteen years, her library has been a meeting place for those who love books. Until now. Now war has come, and Alia fears that the library--along with...
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King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

Audrey Wood - Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers
Format: Audio CD

In this delightful story, the king refuses to leave his bathtub and rule the kingdom. "Beauty aside, this also has a panache and sly wit that will please children and their parents, who will be called on to peruse the book again and again."--Booklist
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Shanghai Messenger

Andrea Cheng - Lee & Low Books; First Edition edition
Format: Paperback

Grade 3-6–Eleven-year-old Xiao Mei is on her way to China to meet her extended family. She was initially reluctant to make the trip, wondering if she would be accepted because she is only half Chinese, but her grandmother, Nai Nai, tells stories of family members that pique her curiosity....
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Extra Credit

Andrew Clements - Atheneum Books for Young Readers; English Language edition
Format: Hardcover

It isn't that Abby Carson can't do her schoolwork. She just doesn't like doing it. And in February a warning letter arrives at her home. Abby will have to repeat sixth grade - unless she meets some specific conditions, including taking on an extra-credit project to find a pen pal in a distant...
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The Conch Bearer

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - Roaring Brook Press
Format: Hardcover

Action, adventure, and magic are combined in this exotic, compelling quest fantasy by a distinguished author of adult fiction and poetry. Set in contemporary India, the story opens in a poor section of Calcutta, where 12-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell imbued with mystical...
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Stowaway

Karen Hesse

In the summer of 1768, an eleven-year-old butcher's apprentice named Nicholas Young climbed aboard a ship, hid himself from captain and crew, and waited to be carried far away from the life he hated in London. Nick didn't know it, but the ship he chose -- H.M.S. Endeavour<
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A Million Shades of Gray

Cynthia Kadohata - Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Format: Paperback

YTin is brave. . No one in his village denies that - his mother may wish that hed spend more time on school work than on elephant training, but still she knows that it takes a great deal of courage and calm to deal with elephants the way that YTin does. He is almost the best trainer in the village...
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Grace Lin - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover

A Newbery Honor WinnerA New York Times BestsellerThis stunning fantasy inspired by Chinese folklore is a companion novel to Starry River of the Sky and the New York Times bestselling and National Book Award finalist When the Sea Turned to Silver In the valley...
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A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story

Linda Sue Park - Clarion Books
Format: Hardcover

A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about a girl in Sudan in 2008 and a boy in Sudan in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours' walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes...
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Heart of a Samurai

Margi Preus - Amulet Books
Format: Book

In 1841, a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan's borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way. Manjiro, a fourteen-year-old...
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The Dreamer

Pam Munoz Ryan - Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover

Pura Belpr Award WinnerA tender, transcendent, and meticulously crafted novel from Newbery Honoree, Pam Muoz Ryan, and three-time Caldecott Honoree, Peter Ss!From the time he is a young boy, Neftal hears the call of a mysterious voice. Even when the neighborhood children taunt him, and when...
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A King's Ransom

Jude Watson - Scholastic Inc.; Library edition edition
Format: Hardcover

Amy and Dan are in a race for their lives . . . and the enemy may be even closer than they think.When seven members of their family were kidnapped by a sinister organization known as the Vespers, thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, vowed theyd stop at nothing to bring...
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