Samira Surfs

Samira Surfs
Author: Rukhsanna Guidroz
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2021-06-29
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1984816209

A middle grade novel in verse about Samira, an eleven-year-old Rohingya refugee living in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, who finds strength and sisterhood in a local surf club for girls. Samira thinks of her life as before and after: before the burning and violence in her village in Burma, when she and her best friend would play in the fields, and after, when her family was forced to flee. There's before the uncertain journey to Bangladesh by river, and after, when the river swallowed her nana and nani whole. And now, months after rebuilding a life in Bangladesh with her mama, baba, and brother, there's before Samira saw the Bengali surfer girls of Cox's Bazar, and after, when she decides she'll become one. Samira Surfs, written by Rukhsanna Guidroz with illustrations by Fahmida Azim, is a tender novel in verse about a young Rohingya girl's journey from isolation and persecution to sisterhood, and from fear to power.

The Last Days of Café Leila

The Last Days of Café Leila
Author: Donia Bijan
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2018-04-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1616208031

“A glorious treat awaits you at the literary table of Donia Bijan.” —Adriana Trigiani Set against the backdrop of Iran’s rich, turbulent history, this exquisite debut novel is a powerful story of food, family, and a bittersweet homecoming. When we first meet Noor, she is living in San Francisco, missing her beloved father, Zod, in Iran. Now, dragging her stubborn teenage daughter, Lily, with her, she returns to Tehran and to Café Leila, the restaurant her family has been running for three generations. Iran may have changed, but Café Leila, still run by Zod, has stayed blessedly the same—it is a refuge of laughter and solace for its makeshift family of staff and regulars. As Noor revisits her Persian childhood, she must rethink who she is—a mother, a daughter, a woman estranged from her marriage and from her life in California. And together, she and Lily get swept up in the beauty and brutality of Tehran. Bijan’s vivid, layered story, at once tender and elegant, funny and sad, weaves together the complexities of history, domesticity, and loyalty and, best of all, transports readers to another culture, another time, and another emotional landscape.

Leila

Leila
Author: Heather Neff
Publisher: Booksurge Publishing
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2009-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781439241424

Sold into slavery as a child, Leila struggles through years of sexual and physical abuse before escaping to freedom and reclaiming her humanity in this modern-day slave narrative set in Morocco.

A Song of Frutas

A Song of Frutas
Author: Margarita Engle
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2021-08-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1534444890

From Pura Belpré Award–winning author Margarita Engle comes a lively, rhythmic picture book about a little girl visiting her grandfather who is a pregonero—a singing street vendor in Cuba—and helping him sell his frutas. When we visit mi abuelo, I help him sell frutas, singing the names of each fruit as we walk, our footsteps like drumbeats, our hands like maracas, shaking… The little girl loves visiting her grandfather in Cuba and singing his special songs to sell all kinds of fruit: mango, limón, naranja, piña, and more! Even when they’re apart, grandfather and granddaughter can share rhymes between their countries like un abrazo—a hug—made of words carried on letters that soar across the distance like songbirds.

In the Country of Others

In the Country of Others
Author: Leila Slimani
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2021-08-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0525507590

The award-winning, #1 internationally bestselling new novel by the author of The Perfect Nanny that “lays bare women’s intimate, lacerating experience of war” (The New York Times Book Review) After World War II, Mathilde leaves France for Morocco to be with her husband, whom she met while he was fighting for the French army. A spirited young woman, she now finds herself a farmer’s wife, her vitality sapped by the isolation, the harsh climate, and the mistrust she inspires as a foreigner. But she refuses to be subjugated or confined to her role as mother of a growing family. As tensions mount between the Moroccans and the French colonists, Mathilde’s fierce desire for autonomy parallels her adopted country’s fight for independence in this lush and transporting novel about race, resilience, and women’s empowerment.

No Kimchi For Me!

No Kimchi For Me!
Author: Aram Kim
Publisher: Holiday House
Total Pages: 20
Release: 2017-09-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0823439194

Yoomi loves Grandma's cooking—except for stinky, spicy kimchi, the pickled cabbage condiment served at Korean meals. "You can't eat it because you're a baby," her brothers tease. And they don't play with babies. Determined to prove she's not a baby, Yoomi tries to find a way to make kimchi taste better—but not even ice cream can help. Luckily, Grandma has a good idea, and soon everyone has a new food to enjoy. Celebrating family, food, and growing up, this story about a Korean-American family will appeal to picky eaters and budding foodies alike. Aram Kim's lively art is filled with expressive characters and meticulous details—and of course, mouth-watering illustrations of traditional Korean dishes and ingredients. Backmatter includes information about kimchi and how it's made, and best of all, a recipe for Grandma's kimchi pancakes to try yourself! For more about Yoomi and her family, don't miss Let's Go to Taekwondo! by Aram Kim. A Junior Library Guild Selection!

Fatima's Great Outdoors

Fatima's Great Outdoors
Author: Ambreen Tariq
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2021-03-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1984816950

An immigrant family embarks on their first camping trip in the Midwest in this lively picture book by Ambreen Tariq, outdoors activist and founder of @BrownPeopleCamping Fatima Khazi is excited for the weekend. Her family is headed to a local state park for their first camping trip! The school week might not have gone as planned, but outdoors, Fatima can achieve anything. She sets up a tent with her father, builds a fire with her mother, and survives an eight-legged mutant spider (a daddy longlegs with an impressive shadow) with her sister. At the end of an adventurous day, the family snuggles inside one big tent, serenaded by the sounds of the forest. The thought of leaving the magic of the outdoors tugs at Fatima's heart, but her sister reminds her that they can keep the memory alive through stories--and they can always daydream about what their next camping trip will look like. Ambreen Tariq's picture book debut, with cheerful illustrations by Stevie Lewis, is a rollicking family adventure, a love letter to the outdoors, and a reminder that public land belongs to all of us.

Sing a Song of Seasons

Sing a Song of Seasons
Author: Nosy Crow
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018-10-09
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1536202479

Sing a Song of Seasons is a lavishly illustrated collection of 366 nature poems — one for every day of the year. Filled with familiar favorites and new discoveries written by a wide variety of poets, including William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, John Updike, Langston Hughes, N. M. Bodecker, Okamoto Kanoko, and many more, this is the perfect book for children (and grown-ups!) to share at the beginning or the end of the day.

The Flower Year

The Flower Year
Author:
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-04-25
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9781780679549

The Flower Year is a flower coloring book celebrating of a year of of flowers, birds, butterflies and small creatures to color in, adding up to a year's worth of coloring enjoyment. The Flower Year is a hardcover book, with intricate illustrations by Leila Duly, a textile print designer. Duly's work is inspired by old Victorian etchings, unique vintage finds and the English countryside. Leila's first book was Floribunda: A Flower Coloring Book, published by Laurence King in 2016 followed by Floribunda, A Flower Coloring Journal and a calendar. "Beautiful, silken ivory pages in these smaller sized, hardback books. Laurence King Publishing produce top quality journals and this Journal, and Book, are right up there. As you'll see from the video, the Journal has a few blank pages between the drawings. The Flower Year has interesting quotes on the title page for each month and at the back is a pictorial index to the images that lists the plants in each drawing. You'll be referring to this a lot as you research your flowers and leaves. Pencils will be fine but make sure you test any water based pens on an inconspicuous page. The covers continue the soft pink covers that we associate with Leila." Prue, Colour + Blog "This is a very beautiful book filled from cover to cover with detailed images of delicate flowers. Every page is different, it never feels like you're coloring the same picture twice because there is so much variety. There are single page drawings, pages with a collection of single flowers along with their names and larger pictures that cover a double page. I particularly liked the index pages at the back of the book which gives you the names of all of the plants used in the pictures. I would definitely recommend, it's my new favorite." Amazon reviewer

The Unrequited

The Unrequited
Author: Saffron Kent
Publisher:
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2017-07-12
Genre:
ISBN: 9781548048334

NOTE: Please be aware that this book deals with sensitive topics like cheating. 18+ Only. Layla Robinson is not crazy. She is suffering from unrequited love. But it's time to move on. No more stalking, no more obsessive calling. What she needs is a distraction. The blue-eyed guy she keeps seeing around campus could be a great one-only he is the new poetry professor-the married poetry professor.Thomas Abrams is a stereotypical artist-rude, arrogant, and broody-but his glares and taunts don't scare Layla. She might be bad at poetry, but she is good at reading between the lines. Beneath his prickly fa�ade, Thomas is lonely, and Layla wants to know why. Obsessively.Sometimes you do get what you want. Sometimes you end up in the storage room of a bar with your professor and you kiss him. Sometimes he kisses you back like the world is ending and he will never get to kiss you again. He kisses you until you forget the years of unrequited love; you forget all the rules, and you dare to reach for something that is not yours.