Dear Baobab

Dear Baobab
Author: Cheryl Foggo
Publisher:
Total Pages: 24
Release: 2011
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781897187913

When Maiko has to leave his village in Africa to live with his aunt and uncle in Canada, he misses the giant baobab tree in the middle of his village but makes friends with a small spruce tree in his aunt and uncle's yard.

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree
Author: Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2018-09-04
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0062696742

Based on interviews with young women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram, this poignant novel by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani tells the timely story of one girl who was taken from her home in Nigeria and her harrowing fight for survival. Includes an afterword by award-winning journalist Viviana Mazza. A new pair of shoes, a university degree, a husband—these are the things that a girl dreams of in a Nigerian village. And with a government scholarship right around the corner, everyone can see that these dreams aren’t too far out of reach. But the girl’s dreams turn to nightmares when her village is attacked by Boko Haram, a terrorist group, in the middle of the night. Kidnapped, she is taken with other girls and women into the forest where she is forced to follow her captors’ radical beliefs and watch as her best friend slowly accepts everything she’s been told. Still, the girl defends her existence. As impossible as escape may seem, her life—her future—is hers to fight for.

Fiske Real College Essays That Work

Fiske Real College Essays That Work
Author: Edward Fiske
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2014-07-08
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN: 1402295774

Top College Essays That Show You What Works Introducing the ultimate guide to crafting college essays that truly make an impact! Fiske Real College Essays That Work by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske is packed with invaluable insights and expert advice and empowers you to create standout application essays that capture the attention of college admissions officers. Key Features: Real-life Examples: Explore a curated collection of authentic essays, giving you a clear understanding of what works and why. Expert Guidance: Benefit from Edward B. Fiske's years of experience in the field of education and college admissions, gaining invaluable tips and strategies. Essay Breakdowns: Gain insight into the successful elements of each essay with detailed analyses and explanations. Whether you're a high school student navigating the college application process or an educator seeking to guide students toward writing excellence, Fiske Real College Essays That Work is an indispensable tool. Don't miss out on this opportunity to craft memorable essays that set you apart and open the doors to your dream college.

Memoirs of a Porcupine

Memoirs of a Porcupine
Author: Alain Mabanckou
Publisher: Catapult
Total Pages: 108
Release: 2012-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1593764804

All human beings, says an African legend, have an animal double. Some doubles are benign, others wicked. This legend comes to life in Alain Mabanckou’s outlandish, surreal, and charmingly nonchalant Memoirs of a Porcupine. When Kibandi, a boy living in a Congolese village, reaches the age of 11, his father takes him out into the night and forces him to drink a vile liquid from a jar that has been hidden for years in the earth. This is his initiation. From now on, he and his double, a porcupine, become accomplices in murder. They attack neighbors, fellow villagers, and people who simply cross their path, for reasons so slight that it is virtually impossible to establish connection between the killings. As he grows older, Kibandi relies on his double to act out his grizzly compulsions, until one day even the porcupine balks and turns instead to literary confession. Winner of the Prix Renaudot, France’s equal to the National Book Award, Alain Mabanckou is considered one of the most talented writers today. He was selected by the French journal Lire as one of fifty writers to watch this coming century. And as Peter Carey suggests, he “positions himself at the margins, tapping the tradition founded by Celine, Genet, and other subversive writers.” In this superb and striking story, Mabanckou brings new power to magical realism, and is sure to excite American audiences nationwide.

A to Zoo

A to Zoo
Author: Rebecca L. Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 3583
Release: 2018-06-21
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

Whether used for thematic story times, program and curriculum planning, readers' advisory, or collection development, this updated edition of the well-known companion makes finding the right picture books for your library a breeze. Generations of savvy librarians and educators have relied on this detailed subject guide to children's picture books for all aspects of children's services, and this new edition does not disappoint. Covering more than 18,000 books published through 2017, it empowers users to identify current and classic titles on topics ranging from apples to zebras. Organized simply, with a subject guide that categorizes subjects by theme and topic and subject headings arranged alphabetically, this reference applies more than 1,200 intuitive (as opposed to formal catalog) subject terms to children's picture books, making it both a comprehensive and user-friendly resource that is accessible to parents and teachers as well as librarians. It can be used to identify titles to fill in gaps in library collections, to find books on particular topics for young readers, to help teachers locate titles to support lessons, or to design thematic programs and story times. Title and illustrator indexes, in addition to a bibliographic guide arranged alphabetically by author name, further extend access to titles.

The Black Atlantic Reconsidered

The Black Atlantic Reconsidered
Author: Winfried Siemerling
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2015-05-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0773582134

Readers are often surprised to learn that black writing in Canada is over two centuries old. Ranging from letters, editorials, sermons, and slave narratives to contemporary novels, plays, poetry, and non-fiction, black Canadian writing represents a rich body of literary and cultural achievement. The Black Atlantic Reconsidered is the first comprehensive work to explore black Canadian literature from its beginnings to the present in the broader context of the black Atlantic world. Winfried Siemerling traces the evolution of black Canadian witnessing and writing from slave testimony in New France and the 1783 "Book of Negroes" through the work of contemporary black Canadian writers including George Elliott Clarke, Austin Clarke, Dionne Brand, David Chariandy, Wayde Compton, Esi Edugyan, Marlene NourbeSe Philip, and Lawrence Hill. Arguing that black writing in Canada is deeply imbricated in a historic transnational network, Siemerling explores the powerful presence of black Canadian history, slavery, and the Underground Railroad, and the black diaspora in the work of these authors. Individual chapters examine the literature that has emerged from Quebec, Nova Scotia, the Prairies, and British Columbia, with attention to writing in both English and French. A major survey of black writing and cultural production, The Black Atlantic Reconsidered brings into focus important works that shed light not only on Canada's literature and history, but on the transatlantic black diaspora and modernity.

The Black Prairie Archives

The Black Prairie Archives
Author: Karina Vernon
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
Total Pages: 586
Release: 2020-02-19
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1771123753

The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology recovers a new regional archive of “black prairie” literature, and includes writing that ranges from work by nineteenth-century black fur traders and pioneers, all of it published here for the first time, to contemporary writing of the twenty-first century. This anthology establishes a new black prairie literary tradition and transforms inherited understandings of what prairie literature looks and sounds like. It collects varied and unique work by writers who were both conscious and unconscious of themselves as black writers or as “prairie” people. Their letters, recipes, oral literature, autobiographies, rap, and poetry- provide vivid glimpses into the reality of their lived experiences and give meaning to them. The book includes introductory notes for each writer in non-specialist language, and notes to assist readers in their engagement with the literature. This archive and its supporting text offer new scholarly and pedagogical possibilities by expanding the nation’s and the region’s archives. They enrich our understanding of black Canada by bringing to light the prairies' black histories, cultures, and presences.

Deserts

Deserts
Author: Nancy F. Castaldo
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2004-04-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1613741553

This activity guide introduces children to the wild and often misunderstood environment of the desert and the people and cultures that thrive in and around them. Information is included on all types of deserts—hot and dry, coastal, semiarid, and polar. Kids learn what defines a desert and the creative ways plants and animals have adapted to survive in harsh desert environments. Also discussed are urban sprawl and its effects on desert habitats and how children can help protect this delicate environment by conserving energy and reducing consumption of petroleum-based products. Engaging activities include drawing a petroglyph, making a coral snake bracelet, frying prickly pears, conducting a gerbil study, and making sand art.

Feed My Dear Dogs

Feed My Dear Dogs
Author: Emma Richler
Publisher: Vintage Canada
Total Pages: 514
Release: 2010-08-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307370992

In Feed My Dear Dogs, Emma Richler returns to the life of the Weiss family, first introduced to readers in her debut–and much-celebrated–book, Sister Crazy, through a series of interconnected stories narrated by Jemima (Jem) Weiss. The Weisses are a tight unit of seven: father Yaakov, a gruff sportswriter whose love for his children is manifest in his stern instructions and impromptu boxing lessons; mother Frances, a wise and gentle beauty adored by her family, almost to the point of obsession by her husband; Ben, the most heroic of the siblings, by virtue of birth-order and also for knowing the answer to all questions; Jude, Jem’s almost-twin, who is only fifteen months older than she and the most serious of the children, careful to point out the anti-Semitic leanings of Jem’s literary heroes; Jem, the narrator, who would prefer to never leave the comforting confines of her family; delicate yet hilarious Harriet, Jem’s only sister, who can sound like a little old lady or a sultry vixen, depending on what movie she’s quoting; and Gus, the frail little boy who completes the circle at the beginning of the book with his birth and arrival home from the hospital. Feed My Dear Dogs beings with the family in London, where eight-year-old Jem and her sister attend a convent school to the consternation of most of the nuns, since not only are the Weiss children not Catholic, but, most perplexingly, they are half-Jewish. Not surprisingly, Jem prefers home to school. At home she is surrounded by the books she loves, (particularly Tintin and Le Morte d’Arthur) and the comforts only a big, happy family can provide. Soon, however, the family departs for Canada –“Dad’s country,” as the children see it–where together they begin a new life, shuttling between a Montreal townhouse and a country home, and adapting to their new land –even creating the “Weiss on Ice” hockey team. No matter where the family is, each member is fiercely loyal to home. From the use of short notes: “Out. Back soon. – Jude” to a simple “I’ll be up in my room!” yelled down the stairs, to Yaakov’s frantic bellowing of “Frances!” through the house, the family keeps close tabs on its members, which also allows Jem to subconsciously control it: “. . . my universe still the Universe, a place I wander with a slight swagger.” But the comfort and security of family can’t last forever, Jem learns in high school, as Jude plans an extensive travel itinerary for himself and Ben contemplates moving out on his own. Meanwhile, Jem’s burgeoning feminism pits her against her father and brothers while she battles with a burden of guilt over the near-drowning death of her youngest brother. Spiraling into a breakdown by the story’s tragically beautiful end, Jem discovers that families simply can not remain fixed, like the stars in the galaxies, unchanged forever. Intermingled through the story of the Weiss family are Jem’s (and her siblings’) encyclopedic knowledge of history, literature, film, religion and language. Richler also interweaves the almost mythic life story of Frances, the family’s matriarch, into the book, and provides glimpses into Jem’s troubled mind through a series of present-day conversations with her therapist, all of which serve to create a fully drawn portrait of Jem, her mother and the bond between them and the family as a whole.

The Temporary Gentleman

The Temporary Gentleman
Author: Sebastian Barry
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2015-04-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0143127128

A stunning new novel from the two-time Man Booker shortlisted author of The Secret Scripture. Sebastian Barry's latest novel, A Thousand Moons, is now available. Irishman Jack McNulty is a “temporary gentleman”—an Irishman whose commission in the British army in World War II was never permanent. Sitting in his lodgings in Accra, Ghana, in 1957, he’s writing the story of his life with desperate urgency. He cannot take one step further without examining all the extraordinary events that he has seen. A lifetime of war and world travel—as a soldier in World War II, an engineer, a UN observer—has brought him to this point. But the memory that weighs heaviest on his heart is that of the beautiful Mai Kirwan, and their tempestuous, heartbreaking marriage. Mai was once the great beauty of Sligo, a magnetic yet unstable woman who, after sharing a life with Jack, gradually slipped from his grasp. Award-winning author Sebastian Barry’s The Temporary Gentleman is the sixth book in his cycle of separate yet interconnected novels that brilliantly reimagine characters from Barry’s own family.