Search Results: 19 books from 1 publisher. Learn more

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas

Natasha Yim (author) Grace Zong (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781607346296

In this Chinese American retelling of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," a careless Goldy Luck wreaks havoc on the home of a family of panda bears. She eats up the littlest panda’s rice porridge, breaks his rocking chair, and rumples all the blankets on his futon. When Goldy takes responsibility for her actions, she makes a new friend (and a whole plate of turnip cakes!) just in time for Chinese New Year.

Like Vanessa

Tami Charles (author)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580897778

Middle graders will laugh and cry with thirteen-year-old Vanessa Martin as she tries to be like Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America. In this semi-autobiographical debut novel set in 1983, Vanessa Martin's real-life reality of living with family in public housing in Newark, New Jersey is a far cry from the glamorous Miss America stage. She struggles with a mother she barely remembers, a grandfather dealing with addiction and her own battle with self-confidence. But when a new teacher at school coordinates a beauty pageant and convinces Vanessa to enter, Vanessa's view of her own world begins to change. Vanessa discovers that her own self-worth is more than the scores of her talent performance and her interview answers, and that she doesn't need a crown to be comfortable in her own skin and see her own true beauty.

Friends for Freedom

Suzanne Slade (author) Nicole Tadgell (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781607346517

No one thought Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass would ever become friends. The former slave and the outspoken woman came from two different worlds. But they shared deep-seated beliefs in equality and the need to fight for it. Despite naysayers, hecklers, and even arsonists, Susan and Frederick became fast friends and worked together to change America.

Rickshaw Girl

Mitali Perkins (author) Jamie Hogan (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781607341406

Naima is a talented painter of traditional alpana patterns, which Bangladeshi women and girls paint on their houses for special celebrations. But Naima is not satisfied just painting alpana. She wants to help earn money for her family, like her best friend, Saleem, does for his family. When Naima's rash effort to help puts her family deeper in debt, she draws on her resourceful nature and her talents to bravely save the day. Includes a glossary of Bangla words and an author's note about a changing Bangladesh and microfinance.

Write to Me

Cynthia Grady (author) Amiko Hirao (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580896887

A touching story about Japanese American children who corresponded with their beloved librarian while they were imprisoned in World War II internment camps. When Executive Order 9066 is enacted after the attack at Pearl Harbor, children's librarian Clara Breed's young Japanese American patrons are to be sent to prison camp. Before they are moved, Breed asks the children to write her letters and gives them books to take with them. Through the three years of their internment, the children correspond with Miss Breed, sharing their stories, providing feedback on books, and creating a record of their experiences. Using excerpts from children's letters held at the Japanese American National Museum, author Cynthia Grady presents a difficult subject with honesty and hope.

Princess and the Peas

Rachel Himes (author)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580897181

In this adaptation of The Princess and the Pea, Ma Sally cooks the best black-eyed peas in Charleston County, South Carolina. Her son, John, is a highly eligible bachelor, and three local women vie for his hand in marriage by attempting to cook as well as Ma. At the last minute, a surprise contestant named Princess arrives at the door. Princess and John are well-matched, but Princess has her own ideas. When told she has won John’s hand, she asks him to scrub the pots and pans before she'll give him an answer. Her answer, it turns out, is that she wants to spend some time getting to know John first. Backmatter includes an author’s note and a recipe for Princess’s Black-eyed Peas.

Waiting for Pumpsie

Barry Wittenstein (author) London Ladd (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580895453

In 1959 the Boston Red Sox was the last team in the Major Leagues to integrate. But when they call Elijah “Pumpsie” Green up from the minors, Bernard is overjoyed to see a black player on his beloved home team. And, when Pumpsie’s first home game is scheduled, Bernard and his family head to Fenway Park. Bernard is proud of Pumpsie and hopeful that this historic event is the start of great change in America. This fictionalized account captures the true story of baseball player Pumpsie Green’s rise to the major leagues. The story is a snapshot of the Civil Rights Movement and a great discussion starter about the state of race relations in the United States today.

Esquivel!

Susan Wood (author) Duncan Tonatiuh (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781607348269

Juan Garcia Esquivel was born in Mexico and grew up to the sounds of mariachi bands. He loved music and became a musical explorer. Defying convention, he created music that made people laugh and planted images in their minds. Juan’s space-age lounge music - popular in the fifties and sixties - has found a new generation of listeners. And Duncan Tonatiuh’s fresh and quirky illustrations bring Esquivel’s spirit to life.

A Long Pitch Home

Natalie Dias Lorenzi (author)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580898263

Ten-year-old Bilal liked his life back home in Pakistan. He was a star on his cricket team. But when his father suddenly sends the family to live with their aunt and uncle in America, nothing is familiar. While Bilal tries to keep up with his cousin Jalaal by joining a baseball league and practicing his English, he wonders when his father will join the family in Virginia. Maybe if Bilal can prove himself on the pitcher’s mound, his father will make it to see him play. But playing baseball means navigating relation-ships with the guys, and with Jordan, the only girl on the team—the player no one but Bilal wants to be friends with. A sensitive and endearing contemporary novel about family, friends, and assimilation.

Metal Man

Aaron Reynolds (author), Paul Hoppe (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580891516

Devon visits the Metal Man at his fiery workshop every day, despite the scorching heat of the city where he lives. At the Metal Man's shop, sparks fly from his welding torch as he cuts and melts together old pieces of junk into works of art. Devon is fascinated by the Metal Man's creations. Then one day, the Metal Man lets Devon put his own imagination to work. Aaron Reynolds's urban voice and the gritty illustrations of Paul Hoppe bring an exciting beat and pulse to the story of a young boy discovering his own voice and vision in art with a kind mentor to lead the way.

Fiona's Luck

Teresa Bateman (author), Kelly Murphy (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781570916434

The greedy Leprechaun King has locked away all the luck in Ireland and the whole country has fallen in to despair. Through clever charades, Fiona outwits the Leprechaun King and restores luck to the land. Luminous illustrations add to the magic and wonder of this original folktale.

The Ugly Vegetables

Grace Lin (author), Grace Lin (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781570914911

It's easy to appreciate a garden exploding with colorful flowers and fragrances, but what do you do with a patch of ugly vegetables? Author/illustrator Grace Lin recalls such a garden in this charming and eloquent story. The neighbors' gardens look so much prettier and so much more inviting to the young gardener than the garden of "black-purple-green vines, fuzzy wrinkled leaves, prickly stems, and a few little yellow flowers" that she and her mother grow. Nevertheless, mother assures her that "these are better than flowers." Come harvest time, everyone agrees as those ugly Chinese vegetables become the tastiest, most aromatic soup they have ever known. As the neighborhood comes together to share flowers and ugly vegetable soup, the young gardener learns that regardless of appearances, everything has its own beauty and purpose.

The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred

Samantha R. Vamos (author), Rafael López (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580892421

A bilingual celebration with a delicious ending. This is the story of how the farm maiden and all the farm animals worked together to make the rice pudding that they serve at the fiesta. With the familiarity of "The House That Jack Built," this story bubbles and builds just like the ingredients of the arroz con leche that everyone enjoys. Cleverly incorporating Spanish words, adding a new one in place of the English word from the previous page, this book makes learning the language easy and fun. Rafael López covers each page with vibrant, exuberant color, celebrating tradition and community. Back matter includes a glossary of Spanish words and a recipe for arroz con leche, perfect for everyone to make together and enjoy at story time.

Subway Ride

Heather Lynn Miller (author), Sue Ramá (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580891110

Down, down, down. Step down below to see the world. A fantastical journey introduces young readers to subway travel. Five children pay the fare, pass through the gates, and zip through the tunnels of subway stations in ten cities around the globe. The trip around the world underscores how travel and cultural connections create community. Back matter includes information about the ten stations mentioned: Atlanta, Cairo, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Moscow, New York City, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. This book is good for your brain because: Early childhood literacy, Multiculturalism, Transportation

The Patch

Justina Chen Headley (author), Mitch Vane (illustrator) (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580891707

The kids at school want to know why Becca is wearing glasses and a patch. Instead of telling them she has amblyopia, Becca leads her friends imaginative adventures to explain her new fashion accessory. Mitch Vane's illustrations capture the spunky exuberance of this resourceful heroine.

Whale Snow

Debby Dahl Edwardson (author), Annie Patterson (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781570913945

Amiqqaq is excited when his family catches a bowhead whale. As his family prepares to celebrate the traditional Iñupiaq whaling feast, Amiqqaq learns about the spirit-of-the-whale.

Priscilla & the Hollyhocks

Anne Broyles (author), Anna Alter (illustrator) (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781570916755

Priscilla is only four years old when her mother is sold to another master. All Priscilla has to remember her mother by are the hollyhocks she planted by the cow pond. At age ten, Priscilla is sold to a Cherokee famiily and continues her life as a slave. She keeps hope for a better life alive by planting hollyhocks wherever she goes. At last, her forced march along the Trail of Tears brings a chance encounter that leads to her freedom. Includes an author's note with more details about this fascinating true story as well as instructions for making hollyhock dolls.

What Will You Be, Sara Mee?

Kate Aver Avraham (author), Ann Sibley O'Brien (illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580892117

Will she be an artist? A cook? A writer? Sara Mee is turning one, and her family and friends gather for her tol, or first-birthday celebration. Food and presents abound, but most exciting of all is the traditional Korean prophecy game, called the toljabee, which predicts what Sara Mee will be when she grows up. A book for all cultures, What Will You Be, Sara Mee? celebrates siblings, community, and the blending of traditions. This book is good for your brain because: Multicultural, World History, Korean Traditions & Customs

The Golden Bull

Marjorie Cowley (author)

Publisher: Charlesbridge ISBN: 9781580891820

5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia during a terrible drought, Jomar and Zefa's father must send his children away to the city of Ur because he can no longer feed them. At fourteen, Jomar is old enough to apprentice with Sidah, a master goldsmith for the temple of the moongod, but there is no place for Zefa in Sidah's household. Zefa, a talented but untrained musician, is forced to play her music and sing for alms on the streets of Ur.