Grandfather's Story Cloth

Chersheng and his family live in an American city.  His family are Hmong and they emigrated to the United States after the Vietnam War.  His grandfather is showing symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.  Chersheng's mother presents him with a story cloth stitched by his grandfather, and Chersheng creates his own art project to help is grandfather remember his life and family in America.  Written by Linda Gerdner and Sarah Langford, illustrated by Minnesotan, Stuart Loughridge (his first children's book); this bilingual story can be a resource for cultural units.

Why the Owl Has Big Ears

No one is supposed to watch Rawens as he creates the plants and animals.  Yet, for the impatient lump of clay sitting in a tree; patience is running short, and it asks Rawens to "make me now".  This book tells the Iroquois story of how the rabbit and owl were created, and teaches a lesson about patience and listening.  Written and illustrated by the Minnesota team of Mike Preble and Shawn McCann, this is one to add to your folklore collection.

The Peace Bell

Although fictionalized, this picture book tells the story of the Peace Bell that is now located in Isumi City, Japan (formerly known as Ohara). 

During World War II, many Japanese temple bells were donated to the war effort, to be melted down into materials needed for the war.  This bell was discovered intact in a shipyard after the war, by crewmen from the USS Duluth. They presented the bell to Duluth, Minnesota, where it was displayed in City Hall until 1954, when it was returned to the city of Ohara, and renamed the American-Japanese Friendship Peace Bell.  In 1991, Ohara presented Duluth with a replica of the bell, and the two cities became sister cities. 

Written by Margi Preus, illustrated by Hideko Takahashi, this might be a resource for elementary social studies classes.

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night

In her latest book, Minnesota poet Joyce Sidman, features nocturnal animals and other sights and sounds of the woods at night.  Beautifully illustrated with linoleum cut designs by Duluth artist, Rick Allen, this is very comparable to Song of the Water Boatman, which won a Caldecott honor.  This will be an excellent classroom resource for elementary science classes.

Henry and the Bully

Henry loves to play soccer with his first grade classmates - at least until Sam, the second grade bully shows up and kicks the ball off the playground.  Henry tries to get help from his teacher, and mother - to no avail - and he has to find his own way to show Sam that he isn't afraid of a bully. There is a little surprise tucked in this picture book written and illustrated by Nancy Carlson.  It could be part of a discussion about school and playground rules at the start of a new school year.

Julia Gillian (and the Dream of the Dog)

The story of Julia Gillian continues as she enters middle school, and must deal with harder classes, trying to perfect her free throws, big scary 8th grade students, and a reading project with an uncooperative 3rd grader.  To top it off, her dog, Big Foot, is getting older, and showing signs that he might die soon.  Readers of the previous installments of this series (Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing) and Julia Gillian (and the Quest for Joy)) will want to follow her latest adventures in her south Minneapolis neighborhood.  This is another well-written book by Alison McGhee that deals with common life problems of tweens and pre-teens.

The Secret of Zoom

This book made the news this summer when President Obama bought a copy for his daughters at an Iowa bookstore.  It is the story of ten year old Christina, who lives a very sheltered life in an old mansion.  Her father is a mathematician who expects her to follow in his footsteps (she hates math!). Her mother, a scientist, disappeared when Christina was just a toddler.  After discovering a secret tunnel from her house to the forest, Christina learns that children from a local orphanage are being held in prison-like conditions and forced to mine a substance called zoom (a fuel). Zoom lies dormant until someone sings a sequence of notes with perfect pitch (none of the children have perfect pitch).  Only pitch-perfect Christina can save the day in this imaginative adventure story by Lynne Jonell.  This could be a good read-aloud for middle grades.