Book picks similar to
Vendela in Venice by Christina Björk
childrens
batchelder
travel
read-aloud
Extra Credit
Andrew Clements - 2009
She just doesn’t like doing it. And in February a warning letter arrives at her home. Abby will have to repeat sixth grade—unless she meets some specific conditions, including taking on an extra-credit project to find a pen pal in a distant country. Seems simple enough. But when Abby’s first letter arrives at a small school in Afghanistan, the village elders agree that any letters going back to America must be written well. In English. And the only qualified student is a boy, Sadeed Bayat. Except in this village, it is not proper for a boy to correspond with a girl. So Sadeed’s younger sister will write the letters. Except she knows hardly any English. So Sadeed must write the letters. For his sister to sign. But what about the villagers who believe that girls should not be anywhere near a school? And what about those who believe that any contact with Americans is . . . unhealthy? Not so simple. But as letters flow back and forth—between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of central Asia, across cultural and religious divides, through the minefields of different lifestyles and traditions—a small group of children begin to speak and listen to one another. And in just a few short weeks, they make important discoveries about their communities, about their world, and most of all, about themselves.
Meet Addy: An American Girl
Connie Rose Porter - 1993
But before they can make the escape, the worst happens--Master Stevens decides to sell some of his slaves, including Poppa and Addy's brother, Sam. Addy and Momma take the terrible risk of escaping by themselves, hoping that the family eventually will be together again in Philadelphia. Set during America's own struggle over slavery, the Civil War, Addy's story is one of great courage and love--love of family and love of freedom.
Minnie's Rainbow
Sheila Sweeny Higginson - 2008
Soon, she and her Clubhouse pals begin to see a world of rainbows around them. Young readers will enjoy a hands-on learning experience as they use the included mylar wand to make a rainbow of their very own.The premiere of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse delivered the highest ratings ever for a Playhouse Disney series premiere among Kids 2-5, Girls 2-5, Households, and Total Viewers. It also premiered at #1 among all basic cable networks in its time period for Kids 2-5. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse shows no signs of slowing down as it settles in to its first season. It is the number one show among preschoolers!
Yo Soy Muslim: A Father's Letter to His Daughter
Mark Gonzales - 2017
A child of crescent moons, a builder of mosques, a descendant of brilliance, an ancestor in training. Written as a letter from a father to his daughter, Yo Soy Muslim is a celebration of social harmony and multicultural identities. The vivid and elegant verse, accompanied by magical and vibrant illustrations, highlights the diversity of the Muslim community as well as Indigenous identity. A literary journey of discovery and wonder, Yo Soy Muslim is sure to inspire adults and children alike.
Meet Kirsten: An American Girl
Janet Beeler Shaw - 1986
Kirsten's stories begin with her long, dangerous voyage with her family from Sweden to America. At first, Kirsten finds it difficult to get used to this strange new country. But as she makes friends and discovers what her new land has to offer, she learns the true meaning of home -- and that love is the same in any language.After a long, dangerous journey from Sweden, Kirsten and her family arrive at a tiny farm on the Minnesota frontier.
Understood Betsy
Dorothy Canfield Fisher - 1916
When the year is up and Aunt Frances comes to get her niece, she finds a healthier, prouder girl with a new name--Betsy--and a new outlook on life.Understood Betsy has delighted generations of young readers since it was first published by Henry Holt and Company in 1917.
The Matchbox Diary
Paul Fleischman - 2013
Then I’ll tell you its story." When a little girl visits her great-grandfather at his curio-filled home, she chooses an unusual object to learn about: an old cigar box. What she finds inside surprises her: a collection of matchboxes making up her great-grandfather’s diary, harboring objects she can hold in her hand, each one evoking a memory. Together they tell of his journey from Italy to a new country, before he could read and write — the olive pit his mother gave him to suck on when there wasn’t enough food; a bottle cap he saw on his way to the boat; a ticket still retaining the thrill of his first baseball game.
Listening for Lions
Gloria Whelan - 2005
But when influenza strikes down her missionary parents, she is left vulnerable prey to her family's wicked neighbors. Surrounded by greed and lies, Rachel is entangled in a criminal scheme and sent to England, where she is forced into a life of deception. Like the lion, she must be patient and strong, awaiting the moment when she can take control of her own fate—and find her way home again at last.
Departure Time
Truus Matti - 2007
Once inside, a fox offers her a chair. A suspicious rat acts like he has met her before. But she can't remember anything. Not even her own name.... At the hotel she finds more questions than answers. She hears piano music, but can't find the piano. And what about the pieces of paper flying around the plain? While she tries to mend these pieces together, the pieces in her mind start to come together as well. And then she remembers the question she really wants to be answered. DEPARTURE TIME is an amazing journey of a girl in two stories. There is the girl in the hotel with the fox and the rat. And there is the girl with a father who travels a lot and who suggests to write a story together. A story about talking animals. But she doesn't want to. She is angry with him, because he can't make her birthday in time. Again. The two stories slowly start to intertwine and come together in a surprising ending.
I'm Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups
Chris Harris - 2017
With enthusiastic endorsements from bestselling luminaries as Lemony Snicket, Judith Viorst, Andrea Beaty, and many others, this entirely unique collection offers a surprise around every corner: from the ongoing rivalry between the author and illustrator, to the mysteriously misnumbered pages that can only be deciphered by a certain code-cracking poem, to the rhyming fact-checker in the footnotes who points out when "poetic license" gets out of hand. Adding to the fun: Lane Smith, bestselling creator of beloved hits like It's a Book and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, has spectacularly illustrated this extraordinary collection with nearly one hundred pieces of appropriately absurd art. It's a mischievous match made in heaven!
Bloomability
Sharon Creech - 1998
She feels as if she's being taken out of the country against her will. Certainly no one asked her opinion. Dinnie is used to change-with her family constantly moving from state to state while her father searches for one new "opportunity" after another. But when her aunt and uncle whisk her away to an international school in Lugano, Switzerland, Dinnie feels that this might be one "opportunity"that isn't right for her.Suddenly Dinnie's surrounded by kids from many different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. Home, and her first life, seem so far away. Can she adapt to a new country, a new home, and new friends? Or will it just be easier to close herself off-just survive-and never realize all the "bloomabilities" that are possible?
Just So Stories
Rudyard Kipling - 1902
The Butterfly That Stamped, and How the Alphabet Was Made..
All About Sam
Lois Lowry - 1988
He's Anastasia's pesty but lovable younger brother.This is Sam's big chance to tell things exactly the way he sees them. He has his own ideas about haircuts, nursery school, getting shots, and not eating broccoli. Sam thinks a lot about being bigger and stronger, about secret codes and show-and-tell.Make way for your little brother, Anastasia. Here for the first time is Sam Krupnik's life story. What a life!
Beezus and Ramona
Beverly Cleary - 1955
Sure, other people have little sisters that bother them sometimes, but is there anyone in the world like Ramona? Whether she's taking one bite out of every apple in a box or secretly inviting 15 other 4-year-olds to the house for a party, Ramona is always making trouble--and getting all the attention. Every big sister can relate to the trials and tribulations Beezus must endure. Old enough to be expected to take responsibility for her little sister, yet young enough to be mortified by every embarrassing plight the precocious preschooler gets them into, Beezus is constantly struggling with her mixed-up feelings about the exasperating Ramona.