World Geography

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.

It's 1993, and Generation X pulses to the beat of Kurt Cobain and the grunge movement. Sixteen-year-old Maggie Lynch is uprooted from big-city Chicago to a windswept town on the Irish Sea. Surviving on care packages of Spin magazine and Twizzlers from her rocker uncle Kevin, she wonders if she'll ever find her place in this new world. When first love and sudden death simultaneously strike, a naive but determined Maggie embarks on a forbidden pilgrimage....

Celebrated for her nonfiction books aimed at young readers and listeners, award-winning author Suzanne Tripp Jurmain illuminates historical figures in fun and engaging ways. Worst of Friends draws listeners into the earliest days of America's history to profile the friendship and rivalry that grew between Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both of whom would go on to become president of the United States.

Set in 1853 in Japan, this novel follows Yoshi, a Japanese boy who dreams of someday becoming a samurai. Unfortunately, as part of the serving class, Yoshi can never become a warrior. He is taken up by Manjiro, the protagonist of Preus' Heart of a Samurai, and becomes his servant and secret watchdog. Meanwhile, Commodore Matthew Perry and his USS Susquehanna squadron of steamships arrive in Edo Bay....

Suzanna and her father, Peter, head to Andros Island, a diving paradise in the Caribbean. There, she learns the basics of scuba diving and eventually swims with fifteen reef sharks in this lively true underwater adventure.

In this story from India, a farmer's three lazy sons don't want to work. They sit around dreaming of making a lot of gold. When their mother tells them of gold buried in a field, they ask her how to bring the gold to the surface. Through clever suggestions, their mother explains how to thed the fields as they discover the true riches offered by hard work. Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

Since emigrating from Bangladesh, 14-year-old Nadira and her family have been living in New York City on expired visas, hoping to realize their dream of becoming legal U.S. citizens. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly being Muslim means you are dangerous - a suspected terrorist. When Nadira's father is arrested and detained at the U.S.-Canadian border, Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, are told to carry on as if everything is the same. The teachers at Flushing High don't ask any questions, but Aisha falls apart....

In early 1968 the grisly on-the-job deaths of two African-American sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, prompted an extended strike by that city's segregated force of trash collectors. Workers sought union protection, higher wages, improved safety, and the integration of their work force. Their work stoppage became a part of the larger civil rights movement and drew an impressive array of national movement leaders to Memphis, including, on more than one occasion, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King added his voice to the struggle in what became the final speech of his life.

The Big Ratchet is the story of the ratchets: the technologies and innovations, big and small, that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket. Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. The Big Ratchet is the story of how it happened.

In this story, a poor boy's dream of having a drum takes him on an unlikely path. He meets several people who guide him along the way. In time, he learns to make his own magic in this world. Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

Emmy Award-winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk brings his electrifying energy to world folktales (African, Eastern European, Appalachian, and Irish traditions), to the delight of all ages. From Anansi, the African trickster, to Jack, the bumbling, lucky, persevering Everyman of traditional stories, Norfolk's characters instruct while they entertain.

A stray kitty gets a job in a sumo stable, chasing mice in exchange for food. But when eating like a sumo wrestler slows our feline hero down, he realizes he must train like a wrestler, too. Through hard work and perseverance - and with a little help from a big buddy - SumoKitty is born! A funny and heartwarming story inspired by the Japanese saying, "Fall down seven times, stand up eight."

Otto and Sheed are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction. And as the summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little bit more time for fun, even as they bicker over what kind of fun they want to have. That is, until a mysterious man appears with a camera that literally freezes time.

The barren, beautiful Cumbrian fells provide the bewitching setting for the adventures of Bell and Harry, two children who find enchanting wonder at every turn as they explore the hollow land. Everyday challenges give a daring edge to this rural work and play. There are ancient mysteries to explore and uncover, like the case of the Egg Witch, and everyone is curious about the Household Name, a wildly famous Londoner moving in to the jewel of the territory, Light Trees Farm.

The fishermen on Lesvos call her Kanella because of her cinnamon color. She's a scrawny, nervous stray - intimidated by the harbor cats and the other dogs that compete for handouts on the pier. One spring day, a dinghy filled with weary, desperate strangers comes to shore. Other boats follow, crowded with refugees who are homeless and hungry. Kanella knows what that is like, and she follows them as they are taken to a temporary refugee camp set up in the parking lot of an abandoned nightclub. There she comes to trust a bearded man - an aid worker.

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated Central American country. Because of its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, it must endure volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Hurricanes also sweep in from the Caribbean. However, El Salvadorians don’t let these events quiet their vibrant culture. This book introduces El Salvador’s landscape, cuisine, wildlife, heritage, and much more!

It’s the start of a new year, and Holly-Mei Jones is determined to make the most of it. She has amazing friends, a great field hockey team, and Hong Kong at her doorstep. This semester is going to be perfect . . . right? Maybe not. Despite their closeness last year, Holly-Mei’s friend group seems to be splintering. Desperate to bring everyone together, she ropes her friends into competing as a team in an inter-school tournament across the city.

Les vacances d’été viennent tout juste de débuter quand Juliette et sa mère s’envolent vers Paris. Même si elle aurait préféré passer ses après-midi au bord de la piscine avec son amie Gina, Juliette est plutôt contente de contempler la ville du haut de la tour Eiffel, de se promener en bateau-mouche sur la Seine, de faire du magasinage aux Galeries Lafayette, et de se lier d’amitié avec trois garçons ! Et pourtant, dans les plus ténébreux souterrains de la Ville Lumière, l’adolescente vivra une aventure terrifiante…

Pu Yi, a spoiled but lonely child emperor, learns to ride a bicycle with the help of his tutor, hoping it will impress his aloof father.

On this adventure we're going to need to turn the sound up as we're learning all about musical instruments! From the instruments you can make in your own house, to some of the most talented musicians around the world, we're going to have a musical blast and learn more about what music means in different cultures.