Summer of Discovery -- Our Connected World

Illustrations and easy-to-read text celebrate the bonds of love that connect us all.

Nadia loves fun facts. Here are a few about her: She collects bobbleheads -- she has 77 so far; She moved from Egypt to America when she was six years old; The hippo amulet she wears is ancient... as in it's literally from ancient Egypt; She's going to win the contest to design a new exhibit at the local museum. Because how cool would that be?! (Okay, so that last one isn't a fact just yet, but Nadia has plans to make it one.) But then a new kid shows...

Pen pals Molly and Olive are both having relationship problems in their third grade classes--Molly is struggling with Jenna, a new girl, who seems to think that name calling is a way to fit in, and Olive has joined a gymnastics team which is putting a strain on her friendship with Emma, whom she has know for years.

Tara Feinstein, proud of both her East Indian and Jewish heritage, questions what it means to have a bat mitzvah and deals with her own doubts about her faith.

Maya, who lives in the dusty desert, opens her eyes wide to find the colors in her world, from Papi's black hair and Mami's orange and purple flowers to Maya's red swing set and the fiery pink sunset. Presented in English and Spanish.

A family reminisces while gathered together to make a panel for the AIDS Memorial Quilt in memory of a beloved uncle.

For Ren, home is his grandmother's little house, and the lush forest that surrounds it. Home is a place of magic and wonder, filled with all the fantastical friends that Ren dreams up. Home is where his imagination can run wild. For Ava, home is a brick and cement city, where there's always something to do or see or hear. Home is a place bursting with life, where people bustle in and out like a big parade. Home is where Ava is never lonely because...

Twelve-year-old Quijana is a biracial girl, desperately trying to understand the changes that are going on in her life; her mother rarely gets home before bedtime, her father suddenly seems to be trying to get in touch with his Guatemalan roots (even though he never bothered to teach Quijana Spanish), she is about to start seventh grade in the Texas town where they live and she is worried about fitting in--and Quijana suspects that her parents are...

Even though he brings exotic gifts home when he returns, a young girl misses her father, who travels around the world as a photojournalist.

"Susan and her sister, Rebecca, love watching their mother write letters to people in other camps. Their mother has one precious pencil, and she keeps it safe in her box for special things. One afternoon, Anaana leaves the iglu to help a neighbour, and Susan, Rebecca, and their brother Peter are left with their father. They play all their regular games but are soon out of things to do-until Ataata brings out the pencil! As Susan draws and draws, the...