Rainbow Joe and Me by
Illustrated by Maria Diaz Strom. Eloise likes colours. Her friend, Rainbow Joe, likes colours too. But Rainbow Joe is blind, so Eloise tells him about the colours she mixes and the fantastic animals she paints. When Rainbow Joe says he can also imagine and mix colours, Eloise is puzzled. How can a blind man see colours? she wonders. An endearing story that celebrates friendship and the power of imagination. Illustrated throughout in full colour. ages 3 years and over.
The Pirate of Kindergarten by
Doubles are good for lots of things—double scoops of ice cream, double features at the movies. But double vision is NOT a good kind of double. In fact, it can make kindergarten kind of hard. Ginny sees double chairs at reading circle and double words in her books. She knows that only half of what she sees is real, but which half? The solution to her problem is wondrously simple: an eye patch! Ginny becomes the pirate of kindergarten.With the help of her pirate patch, Ginny can read, run, and even snip her scissors with double the speed! Vibrant illustrations from Lynne Avril capture the realities of what Ginny sees both before and after.
The Deaf Musicians by
Poor Lee! He used to be a jazzman who could make the piano go yimbatimba- TANG--zang-zang. But now he's lost his hearing, and the bandleader had to let him go. So Lee goes to a school for the deaf to learn sign language. There, he meets Max, who used to play the sax. Riding the subway to class, they start signing about all the songs they love. A bass player named Rose joins in and soon they've got a little sign language band. And in no time they're performing for audiences in the subway, night after night. Living legend and Kennedy Center honoree Pete Seeger, renowned poet Paul DuBois Jacobs, and Coretta Scott King honor winner R. Gregory Christie present a jazzy riff on the power of music, overcoming obstacles, and all the different ways to hear the world. So, who will listen to a deaf musician? Everyone!
Kami and the Yaks by
Just before the start of a new trek, a Sherpa family discovers that their yaks are missing. Young Kami, anxious to help his brother and father maintain their livelihood, sets off by himself to find the wandering herd. A spunky deaf child who is unable to speak, Kami attempts to summon the yaks with his shrill whistle. Failing to rout them, he hustles up the steep mountainside to search the yaks' favorite grazing spots. On the way he encounters the rumblings of a fierce storm which quickly becomes more threatening. Surmounting his fear of being alone in the midst of treacherous lightning and hail, Kami uses his heightened sense of observation to finally locate the yaks. Reunited with their animals, the astonished family is once again able to transport their gear and guide the mountain climbers into the majestic terrain.
Back to Front and Upside Down by
It's the principal Mr. Slipper's birthday, and while the rest of the class gets busy writing cards for the occasion, Stan becomes frustrated when his letters come out all in a muddle. Stan is afraid to ask for help, until a friend assures him that nobody's good at everything. And after lots and lots of practice, Stan's letters come out the right way round and the right way up. This delightful book deals with a common childhood frustration and will remind readers that practice pays off and that everyone has to ask for help sometimes. Watch the trailer:
The Noisy Paint Box by
A Caldecott Honor Book Vasya Kandinsky was a proper little boy: he studied math and history, he practiced the piano, he sat up straight and was perfectly polite. And when his family sent him to art classes, they expected him to paint pretty houses and flowers--like a proper artist. But as Vasya opened his paint box and began mixing the reds, the yellows, the blues, he heard a strange sound--the swirling colors trilled like an orchestra tuning up for a symphony! And as he grew older, he continued to hear brilliant colors singing and see vibrant sounds dancing. But was Vasya brave enough to put aside his proper still lifes and portraits and paint . . . music? In this exuberant celebration of creativity, Barb Rosenstock and Mary GrandPr#65533; tell the fascinating story of Vasily Kandinsky, one of the very first painters of abstract art. Throughout his life, Kandinsky experienced colors as sounds, and sounds as colors--and bold, groundbreaking works burst forth from his noisy paint box. Backmatter includes four paintings by Kandinsky, an author's note, sources, links to websites on synesthesia and abstract art.
Waiting for Mr. Goose by
Someone is always telling Stephen to slow down, sit still, or pay attention. He often feels as if he can't do anything right. But at the pond near his home, there is no one to stop Stephen from running and from swinging from the willow trees. He also watches the geese and wishes he could be wild and free, too.One day Stephen sees a goose limping; there's a metal trap on its leg. A man from the nature center tries but fails to catch the goose, and tells Stephen that eventually the trap will damage the goose's leg. Stephen tries to catch the goose, too, but scares it away. Finally, Stephen thinks of a plan that will mean being patient. "I'm not good at waiting", he tells his parents. His dad says, "Maybe you'll surprise yourself".
Seal Surfer by
Ben, a young disabled boy, loves the ocean. One afternoon, when he witnesses the birth of a seal, the boy’s bond with the sea grows even deeper. Season after season, Ben watches the young pup do many of the same things he loves to do: swim, fish, bask in the sun--and surf! Ben and the seal glide with the swells, watching for good waves together. But danger looms, and soon Ben will have to rely on his ocean friend not only for companionship but for his very survival.
Sosu's Call by
Sosu is all alone in his family's compound when disaster strikes. The waters are rising, and most of the people of the village are in the fields. The only ones left are the very old and the very young. And Sosu, who cannot walk. Somehow he manages to make his way through the rising waters up the hill to the drum shed, where he sounds the alarm and saves the village.A book about differences, about acceptance, about what it means to be "normal." A book about the people and the lives that take place on the other side of the world, and in our own backyard.
Susan Laughs by
Susan laughs, she sings. she rides, she swings. She gets angry, she gets sad, she is good, she is bad... Told in rhyme, this story follows Susan through a series of familiar activities. She swims with her father, works hard in school, plays with her friends -- and even rides a horse. Lively, thoughtfully drawn illustrations reveal a portrait of a busy, happy little girl with whom younger readers will identify. Not until the end of the story is it revealed that Susan uses a wheelchair. Told with insight, and without sentimentality, here is an inspiring look at one spunky little girl whose physical disability is never seen as a handicap.