Book picks similar to
It's Cool to Learn about Countries: Japan by Barbara A. Somervill
cultural
informational-text-social-studies
japan
picture-books
Big Wig: A Little History of Hair
Kathleen Krull - 2011
And it's also an irreverant and playful look at what funny fashion victims we humans have always been!Deserves a permanent spot on every bookshelf. (Get it?)
Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind
Cynthia Grady - 2018
Before they are moved, Breed asks the children to write her letters and gives them books to take with them. Through the three years of their internment, the children correspond with Miss Breed, sharing their stories, providing feedback on books, and creating a record of their experiences. Using excerpts from children's letters held at the Japanese American National Museum, author Cynthia Grady presents a difficult subject with honesty and hope." A beautiful picture book for sharing and discussing with older children as well as the primary audience" -- Booklist STARRED REVIEW "A touching tribute to a woman who deserves recognition" -- Kirkus Reviews"[An] affecting introduction to a distressing chapter in U.S. history and a brave librarian who inspired hope" -- Publisher's Weekly
The Peace Tree from Hiroshima: The Little Bonsai with a Big Story
Sandra Moore - 2015
Many people die, but the Yamaki family and Miyajima survive. One day, a truck comes to take Miyajima away. The little tree is on its way to the National Arboretum in Washington as a gift of friendship from Japan to America. Miyajima is very proud, but also sad to leave the Yamaki family. At the end of the book, Masaru, the elderly grandfather of the family, and his ten-year-old grandson Akira, make a surprise visit to Washington to visit their much missed and beloved family member.
Before She Was Harriet
Lesa Cline-Ransome - 2017
As General Tubman she was a Union spy. As Moses she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad. As Minty she was a slave whose spirit could not be broken.
The Beckoning Cat: Based on a Japanese Folktale
Koko Nishizuka - 2009
When Yohei faces a crisis, the cat remembers his generosity and brings help.
The Griffin and the Dinosaur: How Adrienne Mayor Discovered a Fascinating Link Between Myth and Science
Marc Aronson - 2014
Instead, she loved to wander the prairie seeking wonders and filling her mind with stories.When she found herself in Athens, Greece, she plunged into reading the original versions of ancient myths--especially descriptions of the fabled griffin. As she read, an exciting idea took shape in her mind. Scholars had long treated accounts of the griffin as made-up fantasies. But to Mayor, they seemed to describe something ancient people had actually seen. What could that have been? Mayor's quest to solve that mystery led her from books to ruined temples, from museums to the graves of great tattooed warriors. Finally, after poring over formerly top secret maps, she located the forbidding desert where nomadic gold hunters once entered the lair of the griffin--and she came face-to-face with her quarry.Here is the story of Mayor's detective work, which has helped create a new science in which experts match myths and fossils and begin to see the world through our ancestors' eyes.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
Nikki Grimes - 2008
From the beaches of Hawaii to the streets of Chicago, from the jungles of Indonesia to the plains of Kenya, he has held on to Hope. Even as a boy, Barack knew he wasn't quite like anybody else, but through his journeys he found the ability to listen to Hope and become what he was meant to be: a bridge to bring people together. This is the moving story of an exceptional man, as told by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Bryan Collier, both winners of the Coretta Scott King Award. Barack Obama has motivated Americans to believe with him, to believe that every one of us has the power to change ourselves and change our world.
Hanukkah in Alaska
Barbara Brown - 2013
Daylight is only five hours long. And one girl finds a moose camped out in her backyard, right near her favorite blue swing. She tries everything to lure it away: apples, carrots, even cookies. But it just keeps eating more tree! It’s not until the last night of Hanukkah that a familiar holiday tradition provides the perfect—and surprising—solution.
The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read
Rita Lorraine Hubbard - 2020
At age 15, she was freed, and by age 20, she was married and had her first child. By age 68, she had worked numerous jobs, including cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and selling sandwiches to raise money for her church. At 114, she was the last remaining member of her family. And at 116, she learned to read. From Rita Lorraine Hubbard and rising star Oge Mora comes the inspirational story of Mary Walker, a woman whose long life spanned from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement, and who--with perseverance and dedication--proved that you're never too old to learn.
Mary Cassatt: Extraordinary Impressionist Painter
Barbara Herkert - 2015
She wanted to be an artist in 1860, a time when proper girls certainly weren't artists. It wasn't polite. But Mary herself wasn't polite. She pursued art with a passion, moving to Paris to study, painting what she saw. Her work was rejected by the Salon judges time and time again. One day, the great painter Edgar Degas invited her to join him and his group of independent artists, those who flouted the rules and painted as they pleased—the Impressionists. Mary was on her way."I began to live," said Mary. Today, her paintings hang in museums around the world and she is recognized as one of the most celebrated female artists of all time.
Growing Up Pedro: How the Martínez Brothers Made It from the Dominican Republic All the Way to the Major Leagues
Matt Tavares - 2015
Before Pedro Martinez pitched the Red Sox to a World Series championship, before he was named to the All-Star team eight times, before he won the Cy Young three times, he was a kid from a place called Manoguayabo in the Dominican Republic. Pedro loved baseball more than anything, and his older brother Ramon was the best pitcher he’d ever seen. He’d dream of the day he and his brother could play together in the major leagues—and here, Matt Tavares tells the story of how that dream came true. In a fitting homage to a modern day baseball star, the acclaimed author-illustrator examines both Pedro Martinez’s improbable rise to the top of his game and the power that comes from the deep bond between brothers.
The Naughty Penguin
Amma Lee - 2015
Instead of staying closer to her, he makes trouble with a polar bear and a group of snow bunnies. When he falls into a crack in the ice, his mother asks the polar bear and one of the snow bunnies for help. Will they save Paul? The Naughty Penguin is a story that teaches children to listen to their parents.
The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage
Selina Alko - 2015
That was the year that the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving v. Virginia.This is the story of one brave family: Mildred Loving, Richard Perry Loving, and their three children. It is the story of how Mildred and Richard fell in love, and got married in Washington, D.C. But when they moved back to their hometown in Virginia, they were arrested (in dramatic fashion) for violating that state's laws against interracial marriage. The Lovings refused to allow their children to get the message that their parents' love was wrong and so they fought the unfair law, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court - and won!
Geronimo Stilton Reporter #1: Operation: Shufongfong
Vincent Bonjour - 2018
Meanwhile, at the Mouse Museum, the rare breed of Shufongfong lizards have been kidnapped! Could like Prince and his kingdom in the Bandel jungle have anything to do with this? Geronimo, Thea, Trap, and Benjamin are on the case!
Suicide Forest
Jeremy Bates - 2014
Legend has it that the spirits of those many suicides are still roaming, haunting deep in the ancient woods.When bad weather prevents a group of friends from climbing neighboring Mt. Fuji, they decide to spend the night camping in Aokigahara. But they get more than they bargained for when one of them is found hanged in the morning--and they realize there might be some truth to the legends after all.