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Time to pray
Addasi, Maha
Yasmin visits her grandma for an unexpected visit that was very special. Yasmin learns about the traditional Muslim prayers. Yasmin receives a special gift that will help her remember the visit forever.

Chanukah in chelm
Adler, David A.
Mendal, the caretaker of the Chelm synagogue must find a table to set the menorah on. He searches the synagogue and cannot find one. Rabbi Nachman sends him to a carpenter to get one. Preparation for Hanukkah in this town of Chelm is remarkably eventful and fun.

Thank you for me!
Bauer, Marion
Join in with this storybook rhyme about exploring the body parts and what they do! From your hands, to your feet, and from your ears to your nose, learn about body actions and senses through rhyme, alliteration and a fun steady beat!

Names for snow
Beach, Judi K.
A rabbit asks his mother what is snow? and she responds with several different descriptions of snow and the many names there are for it.

One candle
Bunting, Eve
A Jewish family spends Hanukkah that same way every year. Traditions are passed from generation to generation. After a family meal, grandma and great-aunt Rose tell their story. One very special candle is lit in honor of their memories.

Namaste!
Cohn, Diana
Nima Sherpa lives next to Mount Everest, and her father guides people to the top of the mountains once a year. Before he leaves, he tells Nima that he will have a story for her when he returns and asks Nima if she will have a story for him. As Nima walks around the village thinking of what her story could be, she greets everyone with Namaste, just as her mom taught her. She struggles with her story until she realizes that she spreads sweetness everytime she says Namaste.

The lord's prayer
D'Aulaire, Ingri//D'Aulaire, Edgar
This story depicts Jesus giving the Lord's prayer to his disciples at the last supper.

Rumi: Whirling dervish
Demi
Born in Afghanistan in the thirteenth century, Rumi settled in Turkey and became the greatest mystical poet who ever lived. Although he began his adult life as a highly respectable scholar, he found his true calling after becoming the disciple of a mysterious holy man, Shamsuddin, who taught him for three years. From Shams he learned to listen for the sacred sound of God within himself. When his creative spirit was awakened, he recited more than 50,000 rhymed couplets. He wrote about the love that resides in the soul of everyone regardless of religion or background. He founded the order of the whirling dervishes who believed their spinning dances put them in touch with God and brought peace and love into the world. Although Rumi died 800 years ago, his poems are more widely read now than ever. To honor the 800th anniversary of his birth, the United Nations declared 2007 the year of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi.

I lost my tooth in africa
Diakite, Penda
Amina and her parents take a trip to Mali to visit family. On the way, Amina realizes that her tooth is loose! While visiting her father's family, Amina loses the tooth and places it under a calabash tree. She receives a hen and a rooster from the African Tooth Fairy.

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.

Hush harbor: Praying in secret
Evans, Freddi Williams
Simmy is both excited and nervous for his job as Scout during the community meeting. Simmy is excited because this means the elders trust him, but he is nervous because slaves are not supposed to gather and sing together. Simmy must be very careful and listen for the master during the meeting.

Prayer for a child
Field, Rachel
Before she goes to bed, a little girl asks for blessings for the things and people around her.

Sunday week
Johnson, Dinah
A community describes each day of their weekly routine. The community is constantly looking forward to their Sunday traditions. Sunday is rich with family time, the Lord, and storytelling.


Davy's day
Lenski, Lois
On Davy's day, he goes through his daily routine. Davy makes choices about the things he will do during the day. Also, he takes care of himself by taking a bath on his own, dressing himself, and getting out of bed.

Hill of fire
Lewis, P. Thomas
Bored of his day-to-day lifestyle, a farmer complains to his wife and son how nothing ever hannpens. One day while plowing, the farmer comes across an explosion coming from his field. It turns out to be a volcano erupting and the farmer's field becomes a place in history.

Gray fox
London, Jonathan
The life cycle of the gray fox is shown including a caring little boy who lays the fox to rest and says a prayer for his spirit.

You and me and home sweet home
Lyon, George Ella
A young girl helps her family build a new home. The family celebrates the new milestone by sharing a meal together. The family then adjusts to the new house together.

The matzah that papa brought home
Manushkin, Fran
A little girl and her family celebrate the Passover Seder in repeating rhyme form. The family feasts on matzah, bitter herbs, green vegetables, and haroset.

The stars in my geddoh's sky
Matze, Claire Sidhom
Alex enjoys a brief but special visit of his grandfather to the United States from the Middle East. They spend a lot of time together as Alex learns of his grandfather's homeland, customs, religion, and language.

Grandpa's gamble
Michelson, Richard
A brother and sister are tired of always having to be quiet so as not to interrupt Grandpa Sam while he is praying. The children think they have a very boring grandfather. Grandpa Sam overhears the children and tells them the story of his life. He was born a Jew in Poland and to escape persecution he came to the United States. He learns to gamble to make a living but when his daughter becomes very ill he decides to lead an honest, humble life and pray every morning and night. The children are now amazed by their Grandpa Sam's story and respect his prayer time.

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.

Welcome dede!: An African naming ceremony
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
Amarlai has a new baby cousin and he can't wait for her to be given a name. A tradtional African name will tell people where she comes from and which child she is in the family.

The keeping quilt
Polacco, Patricia
When a Russian family moves to America they decide that in order to keep their heritage, a quilt that has been added on to by generation after generation, will be their way of keeping them together.

The promise quilt
Ransom, Candice
A little girl, living in the mountaintops of Virginia, wants to go to school. Her father promises to send her when she is old enough, but he goes off to fight in the civil war. During the war the school and books are burned. Find a special way to build a new school.

Freedom river
Rappaort, Doreen
John Ripley shows courage and perseverence in Southern Ohio through his actions. John crosses the Ohio River into the slave state of Kentucky to help other African Americans escape to freedom. John listens to nature as he rows a slave family across the Ohio River to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

The dream quilt
Ryan, Celeste
Michael has bad dreams with many animals flooding his thoughts. A special quilt from the cedar chest is pulled out to play a game with his mother each night. A square from the quilt is chosen for sending a letter into dreamland. Michael's mother kisses him good night, and Michael has a wonderful dream. After Granny Rose comes to visit, Michael starts to dream in rainbows.

We

We

Schertle, Alice
Describes the emergence of humankind out of Africa, charting the course of human development from seven million years ago to today, highlighting the development of diversity among peoples and our ability to invent and discover.

Silver threads
Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk
Ivan and Anna flee from Ukraine and sail to Canada where they are promised land for farming. They begin a new life, but Canada soon joins World War I. Ivan tries to fight for Canada in the war, but they take him as a prisoner instead. Years pass and Anna waits alone until Ivan finally returns to the farm from an internment camp

Irene jennie and the christmas masquerade: The johnkankus
Smalls, Irene
Irene Jennie, a young girl living on a plantation, is sad when she can't spend Christmas with her parents. She prays for things to change and a Christmas parade cheers her up. As she watches the parade with her godmother, she receives a nice surprise.

Just the two of us
Smith, Will
A father talks of ongoing love for his son from the moment he is born. As his child grows, the father tries to teach him how to be a man and also tells him how he will always be there for him. Having this child is the father's proof that his dreams have come true.

The magic kite
Stanbridge, Bobette
A kite travels to America through time and watches America change and grow. Katy the kite spends time with a young girl in a city until it becomes too busy to fly. A Native American medicine man teaches Katy to speak to mother earth, father sky, angels, and fairies.

Eating
Swain, Gwenyth
Food is eaten in different ways around the world and is prepared by different families. Real life photos glimpse into multiple eating customs and habits around the globe.

Annushka's voyage
Tarbescu, Edith
When Tanya and Annushka's mother dies, their father has no choice but to leave Russia for the streets paved with gold. Several years later, the girls' father sends two tickets for their own voyage to America. Before the girls leave, their grandmother gives them each a Sabbath candlestick which will light their way to the New World. Tanya and Annushka's voyage is filled with many sick and sleepless nights. The girls unite with their father by raising their candlesticks.

Little cliff and the porch people
Taulbert, Clifton
As Cliff grows up, he is entrusted more and more to do things on his own. Cliff's great-grandmother has him run an errand for her and along the way Cliff continually gets stopped by neighbors. Each of the neighbors assists Cliff in accomplishing his errand.

Papa's pastries
Toscano, Charles
Miguel and his father set out to sell their homemade pastries in the near by villages. Since money was scarce, Miguel's father decided that kindness was more important than money and was later repaid.

Coming on home soon
Woodson, Jacqueline
A girl says goodbye to her mother who is heading to find work in the city. The girl waits everyday for her mother's letter that says she will be coming home. All the while, the girl remembers her mother loves her more than snow or rain.

Raising yoder's barn
Yolen, Jane
A boy and his family lose their barn to a fire but their Amish community works together to raise the barn again.