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Jamari's drum
Bynum, Eboni//Jackson, Roland
Jamari grows up drawn to the beating of the djembe, the keeper of the peace, the great drum of his Mali village. Jamari grows older and becomes the drummer of the djembe. He eventually gets caught up in other aspects of village life. When the village is once again threatened by the nearby angry mountain, Jamari returns to his post as drummer for village peace.

Turtle summer: A journal for my daughter
Monroe, Mary A.
A young mother writes a journal for her daughter. This scrapbook-journal explains the nesting cycle of loggerhead sea turtles and the natural life along the southeastern coast, including local shore birds, shells, and a sea turtle hospital.

Africa brothers and sisters
Kroll, Virginia
At lunchtime Daddy and Jesse play their favorite game: a question and answer game about people who live in Africa and the ways in which they are connected to Jesse.


Dog biscuit
Cooper, Helen
Bridget ate a biscuit, but it was a dog biscuit. Her babysitter, Mrs. Blair, found out and told her she would turn into a dog. The rest of the day, Bridget could feel things changing and she even starts acting like a dog, but even her mom did not notice. During the night, she goes out and plays with other dogs and is finally happy about eating the dog biscuit until she thinks about her family. She starts howling, until she finds herself back in her bed with her mom by her side. When she confesses, her mom assures her Mrs. Blair was teasing and the next day Mrs. Blair agrees and gives her human treats instead!

A triangle for Adaora: An African book of shapes
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
When Adaora's cousin promises to find a triangle for her, he does'nt realize just how difficult the task might be. As they search through their village, the cousins encounter a variety of other shapes - heart-shaped leaves, circular elephant drums, crescent-shaped plantains - everything but the shape they seek. Just when the children are too tired to look anymore, they find a perfect triangle...and a great surprise to go along with it!

A child story in a south african city
Wulfsohn, Gisele
Presents a day in the life of a child living in Johannesburg, discussing the social life, customs, religion, history, and language of South Africa.

Ogbo: Sharing life in an african village
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
Ogbo are a special part of village life in Nigeria, uniting children of the same age in a lifelong fellowship - a group with whom they celebrate festivals, share day-to-day chores, and face the challenges of growing up. A young girl named Obioma helps us understand what belonging to an ogbo means. Growing, working, and relaxing together, the ogbo weave the fabric of village life.

Here comes our bride
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
Ekinadose wants his Uncle Osaere to get married - then he can go to a wedding. One day, he sees people welcomed into his grandfather's house. They come to collect their bride - and Edinadose will be going, not just to one wedding ceremony, but two!

Emeka's gift: An african counting story
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
As Emeka sets off to visit his grandmother in the next village, he wonders what he can take her for a present. He passes through the market and sees lots of things Granny would like - there were four brooms, five big hats to keep the sun off, six necklaces, eight water pots. But with no money, Emeka can not buy anything. Will Granny understand?

Bintou's braids
Diouf, Sylviane
When Bintou, a little girl living in West Africa, finally gets her wish for braids, she discovers that what she dreamed for has been hers all along.


Supersister
Cadena, Beth
Supersister is always thinking of ways she can help her pregnant mother. In the morning on the way to school, she forgets two things: to tie her mother's shoes and to give her mother a kiss. Throughout the day, she does all her chores and thinks of new ways to help her mother. At the end of the day she forgets the same two things, but when she remembers her mother says, Like I always say, you're going to be a super sister.

Ashanti to zulu: African traditions
Musgrove, Margaret
Explains some traditions and customs of twenty-six African tribes beginning with the letters from A to Z.

My little round house
Baasansuren, Bolormaa Adapted by: Mixter, Helen
Baby Jilu talks through his first year in the world, from when he is born to when he is a year old. he is born into a round world, with a round bed in a round home in Mongolia. His family comes to meet him, and they travel to their autumn quarters. Once snow begins to fall, Jilu's family moves on to their winter campground and soon celebrate Tsagaan Sar, meaning Spring will come again. In the spring, Jilu can ride on the camel saddle with his mother, and he will not have to wear boots again until after summer.

The heart of the lion
Watson, Pete
An American boy comes to understand and admire the rich culture and traditions of West Africa.


The best beekeeper of lalibela: A tale from africa
Kessler, Cristina
In the Ethiopian mountain village of Lalibela, famous for its churches and honey, a young girl determines to find a way to be a beekeeper despite being told that is somethign only men can do.

Home now
Beake, Lesley
How can Sieta feel happy with so many sad pictures inside her head? She remembers her real home far away over the mountains, her parents getting sick, and Aunty taking her to live in a new place she calls Home Now. There Sieta meets another orphan with memories like her own.

The first bear in africa
Ichikawa, Satomi
The animals of the African savanna help Meto as he tries to return the toy bear left behind by a young tourist.

Jubela
Kessler, Cristina
When a baby rhino leaves his mother, he must rely on his own resources to survive until he is adopted by an old female rhino.

My great-grandmother's gourd
Kessler, Cristina
Residents of a Sudanese village rejoice when a traditional water storage method is replaced by modern technology, but Fatima's grandmother knows there is no substitute for the reliability of the baobab tree.

Through tsavo: A story of an east African savanna
Bull, Schuyla
Follows a herd of elephants, including a playful young calf, as it slowly makes its way to Tsavo National Park in Kenya to the Mzima River during a long, dry season.

Bashi, elephant baby
Radcliffe, Theresa
As the sun rises over the African plain, the mother elephant and her newborn calf, Bashi, follow the herd down to the watering hole. But they are not alone, for the water has drawn some lionesses to the edge to drink and they are looking hungrily at Bashi.

What the animals were waiting for
London, Jonathan
The story of the dramatic cycles of life on the African savanna, one of the last great, wild places on earth.

The day gogo went to vote: South africa, 1994
Batezat Sisulu, Elinor
Thembi and her beloved great-grandmother, who has not left the house for many years, go together to vote on the momentous day when black South Africans are allowed to vote for the first time.

Memorial
Crew, Gary
Storytime is a great time to recollect and gain lessons on past events. Take a stand with a young boy as he tries to preserve a memory.

The patchwork path: A quilt map to freedom
Stroud, Bettye
Hannah and her father are slaves who decide to escape to freedom. They use the patterns in the quilt made by her mother, who passed away, to follow the Underground Railroad.

Napi
Ramirez, Antonio
Napi and her Mazateca Indian family live in a village on the bank of a river. As Napi relaxes in the garden and listens to her grandfatherʼs stories, she notices the vibrant colors in the trees, village, river, and animals around her. Napi dreams of being a heron, flying softly above her world.

My first Chinese New Year
Katz, Karen
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year! A Chinese child is getting ready for the Chinese New Year by decorating the walls with red, making an alter to honor ancestors, getting a new dress to wear, and getting a haircut to start the new year off fresh and new. They eat a New Year Eve feast for good health and enjoy the New Year parade with lion dancers, drummers, and the dragon! Then, they wish each other Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Something to tell the grandcows
Spinelli, Eileen
Hoping to have a wonderful adventure to tell her grandcows, Emmadine volunteers to go to the South Pole in 1933. Emmadine learns a lot of interesting facts about Antarctica. After being there for a while, Emmadine misses the other animals on the farm. When she returns home from her adventure, her grandcows are very impressed with her experiences on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition

The balloon sailors
Swanson, Diana
When bickering princes take the throne, the kingdom is split in two by a wall so that each brother rules half. The kingdom is divided and it is illegal for people to cross the wall. Since Tamala and Abalon are forbidden to see their grandmother and cousin on the other side of the wall, they decide to float over it in a hot air balloon. They work with their parents to collect materials, build the balloon, and wait for the perfect weather conditions. The family departs during the night, escapes military fire from soldiers, and surprises their relatives in the morning. This adventure is loosely based on the true story of two East German families sailing over the Berlin Wall in their own hot air balloon in 1979.

The biggest soap
Shaefer, Carole
Kessy loved to listen to stories told by his Mama and his cousins on laundry days. One laundry day, Kessy is asked to go to the store and bring back the biggest piece of laundry soap. Kessy returns and tells his story about the biggest soap.

The monster behind the wall
Herbert, Barbara N.
Danny moves to a new house and discovers a monster on the other side of their garden wall. The monster throws Dannyメs soccer ball back to him, talks, plays, and eats candy with Danny. At school the next day, Danny plays soccer and gets tripped. Both boys yell nasty names at each other. Then, Danny goes home to talk to the monster, Fred, but he wasnメt there. Later, a huge thunderstorm tears down the wall, and Danny sees that モFredヤ is the child that tripped him during soccer. They become fast friends, tear the wall down, and play soccer together

Michael Rosen's sad book
Rosen, Michael
Michael Rosen discusses sadness. He describes his sadness about the death of his son. Sometimes being sad makes him feel angry. Sometimes, he likes to talk about it. Other times, he wants to keep his sadness to himself. Rosen writes about his personal sadness and the various ways he tries to cope with this feeling.

Going north
Harrington, Janice N
Goodbye, Alabama, hello, Lincoln, Nebraska! This family moves from the South to the North so that the papa can find a better job. During their trip up North the family endures a couple struggles, such as the children not wanting to leave their home, the baby crying, and getting restless, and lastly, almost running out of gas! They make it to Nebraska and realize they are together and need to be brave and pioneering.

The barking mouse
Sacre, Antonio
A Spanish speaking mouse family goes on a picnic. The parents spend the day showing each other affection while the brother and sister go play. While they are playing, the come across a cat. The cat scared everyone, except the mother mouse who saves them by speaking another language.

The silence in the mountains
Rosenberg, Liz
Iskander and his family live in Lebanon until war breaks out. Then, they are forced to flee the country they love to live in American where there is no war. However, Iskander is homesick. To help him feel better, each of his family members do something special to make him feel better.

So happy!
Henkes, Kevin
A magic seed was planted, a rabbit wandered, and a little boy just wanted something to do. Just before it began to rain the seed became thirsty, the rabbit was lost, and the little boy was bored. The rain brought happiness to the boy and left the rabbit wet and scared. As the seed grew, the boy built a bridge to reach it and the rabbit used it to cross the creek to return to his family. The little boy returned home with the flower that grew from the seed as a present to his mother.

La La Rose
Ichikawa, Satomi
La La Rose and her girl, Clementine, are the best of friends. The do everything together! One day, their afternoon at the Luxembourg Gardens goes awry when La La Rose mistakenly gets left behind. She is forced to face the world alone and can only hope to be reunited with Clementine.

A slimy story
Knudsen, Michelle
Dan runs into a problem when he has no money and no time to buy his mom a birthday present. He canメt think of anything and feels hopeless. One day, a bully puts a slimy, gross worm in Danメs pocket on the walk to school. His teacher, Mrs. Stewart, places the worm in a jar, and all the children become interested. Dan even starts to like the worm and decides to give it to his mom to help her garden. She thinks the worm is a great gift.

The two Tyrones
Hudson, Wade
Tyrone Rashon Williams goes to school on the first day, excited about his new sneakers that he bought himself. He is disappointed when he gets there and finds that everyone has the same ones, and there is a new student, Tyrone Rashon Williams. Tyrone must deal with both of his problems, and get things back to normal.

Sumi's first day of school ever
Pak, Soyung
On Sumiメs first day of school, she experiences loneliness because she doesnメt know anyone and doesnメt understand the language of the other children. She also thinks school is a scary and mean place because the other children are loud and one boy even sticks his tongue out at her! Eventually, Sumiメs nice teacher makes her feel comfortable in her new environment. After meeting a new friend at recess, Sumi recognizes that school is not as lonely, scary, or mean as she originally thought.

Death in a nut
Maddern, Eric
Jackメs mother tells him she is dying. He stops the grim reaper from taking her by fighting him. He realizes death has to occur to survive, because he needs to eat. Grim reaper allows Jackメs mother to live longer.

Apples to oregon
Hopkinson, Deborah
Loosely based on a true pioneer story, this tale describes the trip of apples across the country. When Papa decides to travel the Oregon Trail, he refuses to leave his beloved fruits, especially the apples. Building a wagon to carry his trees, the family forges rivers, endures hailstorms and droughts, and deals with nasty Jack Frost. Papa has the help of his children (and their clothing) to save his trees.

Zathura:  A space adventure
VanAllsburg, Chris
Danny and Walter Budwing have a typical brotherly relationship. It isnメt until Danny finds an old game that takes the boys away to another galaxy that the brothers finally reach a new appreciation for one another.

Sometimes my mommy gets angry
Campbell, Bebe Moore
When Annie wakes up in the morning, she is relieved to find her euphoric mother in the kitchen. They share a healthy breakfast, then her mother helps her get ready for school. After a fun day at school, Annie comes home to an angry and yelling mother. Annie copes by calling her grandmother to talk about her feelings. She takes care of herself and maintains a positive attitude with happy thoughts. She uses effective strategies to accept her motherメs bipolar disorder.

A sweet smell of roses
Johnson, Angela
One morning, after a night of rain, Minnie and her sister sneak out of the house to join many men and women to march for freedom and equality. When they arrive at the beginning of the march, the girls walk with many others keeping their eyes straight ahead and their feet steady. Despite the criticism and yells from people standing by, the girls continue to march. As the day passes, more people join the march to where Dr. Martin Luther King gives his famous speech about peace, love, and equality for all.

John Philip Duck
Polacco, Patricia
Edward and his father work at a hotel and return home on the weekends. One weekend, Edward finds a motherless duckling near the pond. Edward is permitted by his father to take the duck to work, only if he keeps it out of the hotel managerメs sight. When the manager discovers the duck, Edward saves the day by showing the manager how he has trained the duck to march to music by John Philip Sousa. Edward trains many more ducks to live in the hotel fountain.

Desser the best ever cat
Smith, Margaret
A little girl learns all about the hardships of losing a pet. However, her love for Desser is not lost in his death. Instead, she chooses to keep her memories of Desser alive. Even after Ginger, the new kitten, joins the family the little girl still chooses to remember Desser as the best ever cat