Who will earn the honor in this story?The First Laugh Ceremony is a celebration held to welcome a new member of the community. As everyone--from Baby's nima (mom) to nadi (big sister) to cheii (grandfather)--tries to elicit the joyous sound from Baby, readers are introduced to details about Navajo life and the Navajo names for family members. Back matter includes information about other cultural ceremonies that welcome new babies and children, including man yue celebration (China), sanskaras (Hindu) and aquiqa (Muslim).

    But in the course of this picture book from Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Vaunda Michaux Nelson, a young girl finds a way to express her affection for this prickly, independent woman.

    Running away to the forest, she encounters a woodsman with a secret passion...for baking.A mashup of Cinderella and The Gingerbread Man, this funny and fast-paced fairytale features a medieval baking contest, a ravenous queen and a ginger-bottomed prince!

    The author includes additional pages of information about diverse New Years traditions and special foods. Full color.

    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.

    Eli knows it’s important if he’s allowed to miss one second of school, his “hard-earned right.”Inspired by true events and told through the eyes of a young boy, this is the deeply moving story about what is regarded as the first Memorial Day on May 1, 1865. Eli dresses up in his best clothes, Mama gathers the mayflowers, Papa straightens his hat, and together they join the crowds filling the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, with bouquets, crosses, and wreaths. Abolitionists, missionaries, teachers, military officers, and a sea of faces Black, Brown, and White, they march as one and sing for all those who gave their lives fighting for freedom during the Civil War.With poignant prose and celebratory, powerful illustrations, A Day for Rememberin’ shines light on the little-known history of this important holiday and reminds us never to forget the people who put their lives on the line for their country. The book is illustrated by award-winning illustrator Floyd Cooper and includes archival photos in the back matter, as well as an author’s note, bibliography, timeline, and index.

    Each family member is excited to try. Momma makes breakfast, Dad makes a blanket, and sister Rosie sings a song. But the littlest pig, Luca, struggles to come up with an idea. What can he make?

    Bright, sunny illustrations show the precious intimacy between parents and their children; the new mother glows with affection, and the new father reads aloud to their young son.Time passes, and the boy grows up; the beloved rocker is moved to the attic and gathers dust. But when the boy becomes a man, the cycle begins anew. He and his wife have a baby girl, and the rocking chair is needed again.Legendary artists Leo and Diane Dillon are two of the greatest illustrators of our time. This is their final collaboration, inspired by their own rocking chair. It is a tender tribute to the enduring power of family love-passed from generation to generation.Here is a book for all ages to cherish. It serves as a loving reminder of those who have gone before us-and those who are still to come. A touching, multi-generational story about the lasting power of family.

    First, to sing in the school Christmas choir. Second, to have a Christmas tree like the one in the department store window. And third, to feel she belongs somewhere.As a daughter of immigrants in 1930s California, Ming is often treated differently than other children at school. She’s pointedly not invited to sing in the Christmas choir. At home, when Ming lobbies her parents for a Christmas tree, her mother scolds her for trying to be American. Ming doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere: she’s not quite American enough at school, not quite Chinese enough at home.Seeing his daughter’s unhappiness, Pop takes her into the mountains to visit a wise old friend. Always happy for an adventure with her kind father, Ming hopes to persuade Pop to bring home a mountain pine to be their Christmas tree. But he has something else in mind, something that will help Ming draw strength from nature, from their Chinese heritage, and from deep and enduring family ties.

    The little drummer boy comes along, although he is too poor to bring a present fit for a king. Instead, he plays a song on his drum for the Christ Child. Within the little drummer boy's seemingly simple gift lies the true spirit of Christmas. Ezra Jack Keats' vivid, jewel-toned artwork perfectly illustrates this classic holiday carol. Music for the song appears at the back of the book. "Keats evocatively portrays this story." -Publishers Weekly

    ?Quietly beautiful watercolor illustrations draw a visual distinction between the frigid blue Pennsylvania night and the golden light of ancient Israel, which is further reflected in the warm glow of the Hanukkah candles.? ?"School Library Journal"

    “What are you going to be?” the children ask one another. Kimin says he will be his grandfather. “Going as an old man is not very scary,” they tease. What the children don’t know is that Kimin’s grandfather was a Korean mask dancer. And Kimin doesn’t know that the mask holds a secret for him.With vibrant illustrations, Yangsook Choi joins Korean and American folk traditions in her story about a boy who finds a link to his grandfather, behind the mask. Behind the Mask is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

     Illustrated by Benrei Huang.

    In letters to her cousin, a young Jewish girl chronicles her family's flight from Russia in 1919 and her own experiences when she must be left in Belgium for a while when the others immigrate to America.

    Slipped out of his lair. Looked. Listened. Sniffed. There was something in the air… Usually Fox sleeps in the day and hunts alone at night, but today something strange is happening. Two by two, different animals pass by - mice and tortoises, leopards, wolves, and birds. Fox decides to follow along on this mysterious journey. It leads to a boat resting on a dusty plain - and to someone Fox never expected. A beautiful retelling of the story of Noah's Ark, sure to please.