Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion

Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion
Author: Jane Barclay
Publisher: Tundra Books
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2011-11-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1770491279

Much has been written about war and remembrance, but very little of it has been for young children. As questions come from a young grandchild, his grandpa talks about how, as a very young man, he was as proud as a peacock in uniform, busy as a beaver on his Atlantic crossing, and brave as a lion charging into battle. Soon, the old man’s room is filled with an imaginary menagerie as the child thinks about different aspects of wartime. But as he pins medals on his grandpa’s blazer and receives his own red poppy in return, the mood becomes more somber. Outside, the crowd gathered for the veterans’ parade grows as quiet as a mouse, while men and women — old and young — march past in the rain. A trumpet plays and Grandpa lays a wreath in memory of his lost friend. Just then, the child imagines an elephant in the mist. “Elephants never forget,” he whispers to his grandpa. “Then let’s be elephants,” says the old man, as he wipes water from his eyes and takes his grandson’s hand. Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion has relevance to a growing number of families, as new waves of soldiers leave home.

JoJo the Giant

JoJo the Giant
Author: Jane Barclay
Publisher: Tundra Books
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2012-01-10
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0887769764

Children are eager to grow bigger, and JoJo is no exception. He always asks his mother the same question: “How much did I grow today?” No matter how often his mother assures him that good things come in small packages, he is desperate to be bigger. After all, he wants to run in a race to win a pair of red Rocket Racer shoes. But how can he compete against bullies who are much bigger than he is? A delightful surprise ending illustrates how true growth is not always measured in inches. Jane Barclay’s heartwarming story explores a theme that speaks to every child. Esperança Melo’s wonderful art complements the text to create a charming book that’s bound to become a favorite.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Author: C.S. Lewis
Publisher: Wyatt North Publishing, LLC
Total Pages: 101
Release: 2018-04-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

C. S. Lewis was a British author, lay theologian, and contemporary of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Little Canada

Little Canada
Author: Matt Napier
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2012-06-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1410310361

Toddlers will delight in this board book highlighting well-known Canadian symbols and traditions, including famous buildings and wildlife. Rhyming riddles frame the questions, while brightly painted clues help the youngest book lover figure out the answer.

A Bear in War

A Bear in War
Author: Stephanie Innes
Publisher: Pajama Press Inc.
Total Pages: 22
Release: 2012-09-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1927485126

During World War One, a young girl slips her teddy bear into a care package for her father, a medic posted to the trenches of France. Although her father dies in the battle of Passchendaele, his belongings are shipped back to his family, along with the toy bear, which today sits in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. In 1915, 37-year-old Lawrence Browning Rogers enlisted in the Fifth Canadian Mounted Rifles, leaving behind his wife, two children, and their farm in East Farnham, Quebec. Over the next two and a half years, the family exchanged hundreds of letters, and daughter Aileen sent her beloved Teddy overseas to keep her father safe. Teddy returned home safely, but Lieutenant Rogers did not. He was killed in the battle of Passchendaele. Eighty-five years later, Lawrence's granddaughter found Teddy, the letters, and other war memorabilia packed away in a briefcase. And she discovered a moving story of one family's love and sacrifice - a story shared by the families of so many soldiers who have lost their lives in the defense of their country. Accompanied by family photographs and Brian Deines' poignant art, A Bear in War is more than one family's testament to a brave soldier. It is a gentle introduction to war, to Remembrance Day, and to the honor of those who have served their countries.

Inside Out & Back Again

Inside Out & Back Again
Author: Thanhha Lai
Publisher: Univ. of Queensland Press
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0702251178

Moving to America turns H&à's life inside out. For all the 10 years of her life, H&à has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by, and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. H&à and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, H&à discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape, and the strength of her very own family. This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.

Strong as a Bear

Strong as a Bear
Author: Katrin Stangl
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781592701988

A graphically strong yet wonderfully tender book of idioms comparing people and animals.

Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni's Ice Machine

Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni's Ice Machine
Author: Monica Kulling
Publisher: Tundra Books
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2016-01-05
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1770497978

When Frank Zamboni, along with his brother and cousin, opened their own skating rink in 1940 in Paramount, California, it could take an hour and a half for a crew to resurface the ice. They had to level the surface by shaving down the pits and grooves with a tractor, remove the shavings, wash the ice and find a way to give the rink its shining finish. Skaters became exasperated with the wait, so Frank was determined to do something about it. Could he turn a ninety-minute job for five men into a ten-minute task for only one? Working in the shed behind his ice rink, Frank drew designs and built models of machines he hoped would do the job. For nine years, he worked on his invention, each model an improvement on the one before. Finally, in 1949, Frank tested the Model A, which "cleaned the ice in one sweep around the rink." The rest is history.

Beneath the Lion's Gaze: A Novel

Beneath the Lion's Gaze: A Novel
Author: Maaza Mengiste
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2011-01-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0393076776

"An important novel, rich in compassion for its anguished characters." —The New York Times Book Review This memorable, heartbreaking story opens in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1974, on the eve of a revolution. Yonas kneels in his mother’s prayer room, pleading to his god for an end to the violence that has wracked his family and country. His father, Hailu, a prominent doctor, has been ordered to report to jail after helping a victim of state-sanctioned torture to die. And Dawit, Hailu’s youngest son, has joined an underground resistance movement—a choice that will lead to more upheaval and bloodshed across a ravaged Ethiopia. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze tells a gripping story of family, of the bonds of love and friendship set in a time and place that has rarely been explored in fiction. It is a story about the lengths human beings will go in pursuit of freedom and the human price of a national revolution. Emotionally gripping, poetic, and indelibly tragic, Beneath The Lion’s Gaze is a transcendent and powerful debut.

We'll Never Forget

We'll Never Forget
Author: Jean Miso
Publisher:
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2012-10
Genre: Remembrance Day (Canada)
ISBN: 9780986693823