Literature


 * Indicates that there is a copy of the book in Tuscany's Learning Commons.

//*The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane//
 * Kate di Camillo**

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. . ..

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, we are shown a miracle -- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

//*There// by

When will I get There? How will I know? A little girl ponders what the future holds, steadfast in her determination to find out for herself. Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick's gorgeous landscapes and the briefest of text speak to the power of imagination. Readers of all ages will find reassurance in this simple, beautiful book of ruminations about a lifelong journey toward tomorrow.

//*If I Never Forever Endeavor// by Holly Meade




 * A fledgling teeters at the edge of his nest in a gorgeously illustrated tale sure to resonate with anyone facing a rite of passage, change, or challenge.**

Safe inside his cozy nest, a young bird considers whether or not to give his new wings a try. What if he tries and the wings don’t work, and he flails, plummets, and looks foolish? Then again, what if his wings take him swooping and gliding, sailing and flying through a great big wonderful world? He’ll never know if he never endeavors. With the help of her bold, beautiful collage artwork, Caldecott Honor-winning artist Holly Meade offers a gentle nudge for hesitant fledglings of all ages and species to step out, to dare, to try. . . and to fly.

//Crow and Weasel// (Robin's) by **Barry Lopez** Long ago, when people and animals spoke the same language, two young men left their tribe to make an adventurous voyage through the wilderness, into the unknown northland. Set in the mythic past and inspired by the traditions of the North American Plains people, this fable of self-discovery follows Crow and Weasel as they face unfamiliar perils on a quest for knowledge and wisdom. Conquering their innermost fears, the two heroes come of age and learn more than they ever could have imagined--about humanity's relationship to the land, the importance of respecting other peoples and giving thanks, and even the ery nature of friendship itself.

//*Round Trip// by **Ann Jonas** 

"A visual stunner....The format is wonderfully inventive--once the traveler arrives in the city, the book is flipped over and read back to the beginning, with the black-and-white pictures taking on new meanings....Sure to delight and fascinate."--Publishers Weekly.

//*The Walking Stick// by **Maxine Trottier**

In this exquisitely wrought tale, young Van finds a walking stick at the foot of a huge teak tree. Blessed by Buddha, it becomes his talisman, his life long link to the past, and the support he will need to carry him into the uncertain future. For when the winds change blow, not even the deep forest of Vietnam remain safe. With the walking stick and his indomitable spirit, Van leads his family to safety and new land. Though the years pass in peace, the ever-present tap, tapping at the brass-tipped walking stick is Van's constant reminder of the customs, voices, and land he will always remember with love. When the stick's long odyssey is finally over, it is Van's granddaughter who carries it home and places it at Buddha's feet.

//The Walking Stick// is a tribute to all those who must see beyond the next hill.

//*The Voyage of Wood Duck// by **Maxine Trottier** When Wood Duck sets out on a voyage of discovery, a new world opens up for him and his companions. This wonderful story explores the first contact between First Peoples and Europeans.

"Some people say that dreams are foolish. Some people say that you can search you whole life long and never find what it is you are looking for. But long ago when dreams were more real than they are today; there was a young boy who lived by the sea. He was called Wood Duck. His people had always lived beside the ocean. Its salty water flavoured their days. Its currents flowed through their nights. The power of the sea ran very strongly in Wood Duck. In his dreams, fish swam and sea birds flew."

by Susan E. Goodman See buildings soar and traffic zoom, a kaleidoscope of color and movement. Now turn the page and time-travel back 175 years, where on the same spot carriages bumped and pigs raced across cobblestones. Turn again and go back 400 years to when a Lenape Indian trail crossed the spot. Now travel farther still, to when glaciers crept. . . dinosaurs preyed. . . a tropical sea teemed with ancient creatures. . . back 540 million years, when rock was all you could see.
 * On This Spot: An Expedition Back Through Time

What happened on this spot? What will happen next? Look out your window. What happened on that spot?

//*Sir Reginald's Logbook// by **Matt Hammill** "I begin this journal by the flickering glow of my campfire. Although it is late, I'm far too excited for sleep as tomorrow marks the beginning of my greatest quest! What perils and pitfalls await my search for the legendary Lost Tablet of Illusion? I shudder to imagine. Should I not survive, I only hope this record has a chance to outlive me."

Author-illustrator Matt Hammill has created a tongue-in-cheek adventure story where fantasy and reality merge, with hilarious results. The eponymous hero is an armchair explorer on a quest for a Lost Tablet of Illusion, stolen by an elusive beast. Sir Reginald's quest takes the reader on a journey through figments and flights of imagination on one hand, and through his mild-mannered home life on the other. Is that the deafening buzz of the carnivorous elephant beetle -- or Sir Reginald's alarm clock? Does the tiger-stripe viper lie stretched across his path -- or is it a sock? What is the nature of this Lost Tablet and its awesome power? As Sir Reg veers comically between worlds, the imagination emerges as the most powerful charm of all.

//*Tom's Rabbit: A True Story from Scott's Last Voyage// by **Meredith Hooper** It’s very cold in Antarctica, and the //Terra Nova// is crowded with both men and animals. Tom the sailor is looking for a quiet and cozy place for his pet rabbit to have her babies. From high in the rigging to down in the hold, the crewman takes readers all through the ship while he searches for a spot where his rabbit can make her nest.

Based on the diaries of men who sailed to the South Pole on board the//Terra Nova// in 1910 with Captain Robert Falcon Scott, //Tom Crean's Rabbit// introduces the historic voyage to young readers. Kitchen’s stunning illustrations capture the magnificence of the Antarctic landscape and notes in the back of the book provide more information about the expedition and detail the adventures of the book’s hero.[|(less)]

//*The Wreck of the Zephyr// by **Chris Van Allsburg** At the edge of a cliff lies the wreck of a small sailboat. How did it get there? "Waves carried it up in a storm," says an old sailor. But is it possible that waves could ever get that high? There is another story -- the story of a boy and his obsessive desire to be the greatest sailor, the story of a storm that carried the boy and his boat to a place where boats glide like gulls high above the water and not upon it. Chris Van Allsburg tells that story of the boy and his boat, the Zephyr, in words and haunting, full-color pastel paintings. His sailboats sail the night sky with the stars in pictures so vivid that the reader can almost hear the wind in the sails. Here is a work of unusual artistry that will enchant readers of all ages for many years to come.

//The Monster that Grew Small// (Robin's) (An Egyptian Folktale) by **Joan Grant**

Miobi was always afraid. He didn't like to go down to the river, or to the forest, or along the path to the village, because wild animals might be waiting for him there. Even worse were the nameless Things that threatened when he was alolne in the dark. No wonder he was called the Frightened One.

When Miobi forced himself to help a creature even more frightened than he -- a Hare caught in a trap -- he too the first step of a fateful journey. He thought he was going to find Courage at the journey's end. Instead, he found an enormous, fierce, terrible Monster that had terrorized an entire village.

How Miobi accomplished his journey and learned the true name of the most fearsome thing of all makes a reassuring story, rich in humor and wisdom. Originally published in England in 1943.

//*The Very Hungry Caterpillar//
 * by Eric Carle**

A classic ...

//*Terry Fox// ... Books, videos, etc.



//*Grandfather's Journey// by **Allen Say**

From Amazon.ca: Home becomes elusive in this story about immigration and acculturation, pieced together through old pictures and salvaged family tales. Both the narrator and his grandfather long to return to Japan, but when they do, they feel anonymous and confused: "The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other." Allen Say's prose is succinct and controlled, to the effect of surprise when monumental events are scaled down to a few words: "The young woman fell in love, married, and sometime later I was born." The book also has large, formal paintings in delicate, faded colors that portray a cherished and well-preserved family album. The book, for audiences ages 4 to 8, won the 1994 __[|Caldecott Medal.] __

//*Hana's Suitcase// by **Karen Levine** In March 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children’s Holocaust education center in Tokyo, Japan. On the outside, in white paint, were these words: Hana Brady, May 16, 1931, and Waisenkind – the German word for orphan. Children who saw the suitcase on display were full of questions. Who was Hana Brady? What happened to her? They wanted Fumiko Ishioka, the center’s curator, to find the answers. In a suspenseful journey, Fumiko searches for clues across Europe and North America. The mystery of the suitcase takes her back through seventy years, to a young Hana and her family, whose happy life in a small Czech town was turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis. “Like the very best of museum exhibits, Hana’s Suitcase shows how facts and objects can be put together to honour its subject in a very personal and loving way.

//*If You Decide to go to the Moon// by **Faith McNulty**

Readers join a little boy on his voyage to the moon. Along the way, we learn what to pack, what the terrain will be like, real facts about space travel and how we might feel about being in a foreign place.

//*Mirror// by **Jeannie Baker**

This is a beautiful, wordless picture book featuring multimedia collage and an unusual format. On the left we follow a family in a western city (Sydney, Australia) as they prepare breakfast and do other chores around the house. On the right, another story depicts a family in Morocco as they go about their day in the desert.

//Paddle to the Sea//
 * by Holling C. Holling**
 * A young Indian boy carves a little canoe with a figure inside and names him Paddle-to-the-Sea. Paddle's journey, in text and pictures, through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean provides an excellent geographic and historical picture of the region. **


 * The following 4 entries are from the '[|geography.org]' website. **
 * Rosie's Walk**









//Hold On, McGinty!// by Nancy Hartry

Where are the fish?

Every morning for more than sixty years, Old McGinty has launched his fishing dory, //Hearts Content, // into the Atlantic Ocean Off the coast of Newfoundland. Every evening, he's returned with a boatload of codfish.

Until one day, when there's hardly a nibble.

And so begins the cross-country adventure of McGinty and his boat. A mere ten inches on the globe stands between McGinty and his granddaughter, Molly, who lives on Vancouver Island. But ten provinces is more than ten inches, and instead of the elements and the sea, Old McGinty and //Heart's Content // must battle train schedules and loneliness during their long voyage to the Pacific Ocean.

//*The Incredible Journey//

by Sheila Burnfield

First published in 1961, //The Incredible Journey// tells the story of three pets: a young Labrador retriever, an old bull terrier, and a Siamese cat. While their owners are away in England, they are being cared for by a family friend at his home in the country. But a miscommunication occurs between the friend and his housekeeper when he goes on a hunting trip, and the animals are left alone for a several hours, with a gnawing instinct that something has gone wrong. They soon set off on a journey to find home, which instinct tells them is to the west. They travel 400 kilometres across the Northern Ontario wilderness, facing many obstacles along the way: swift-flowing rivers and the rugged landscape; wild animals and unsympathetic humans; starvation, injuries and sheer exhaustion. Separately they would not have survived, but together this disparate group prevails, and they find their way home to the family they love.

//The Dandelion Seed// (Robin's) by **Joseph Anthony** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">A dandelion can teach much about seeds and seasons and cycles, and the big world that a wind-blown seed can travel, but it also can make us appreciate the challenges it must overcome. This gorgeous book is at once simple and profound. You may be surprised and pleased by the questions and observations of your children after reading this together.

//*Come With Me: Poems for a Journey// Naomi Shihab Nye (811 NYE) A journey can lead east and west, from north to south, up, down, over, under, in between, and next to. A journey can last a minute, an hour, a year, a month, a lifetime. A journey might be slow or fast or both. A journey might be shining. One journey could remind you of another one. Are you sliding? Stumbling? Floating?

//*Are You My Mother?// //P.D. Eastman (X EAS)// A baby bird is hatched while his mother is away. Fallen from his nest, he sets out to look for her and asks everyone he meets -- including a dog, a cow, and a plane -- "Are you my mother?"

Eric Carle (E CAR) One fine morning, a rooster sets off to see the world. Soon he's joined by two cats, then three frogs, then four turtles, then five fish. But one group by one, his new friends decide to head home, leaving the rooster alone again -- and ready to return to his own comfortable home as well. Bold, colorful collage illustrations, a beguiling story, and a simple introduction to number sets, addition, and subtraction combine to make //Rooster's Off to See the World// a delight for Eric Carle's many young fans.
 * //Rooster's Off to See the World//

//*Rainbow Fish// Marcus Pfister (E PFI) //The Rainbow Fish// is an international bestseller and a modern classic. Eye-catching foil stamping, glittering on every page, offers instant child-appeal, but it is the universal message at the heart of this simple story about a beautiful fish, who learns to make friends by sharing his most prized possessions, that gives the book its lasting value.

Brigitte Luciani One beautiful summer day Roxanne decides to go to the beach. She loads up the car with everything she wants to take with her: the turtle/ the umbrella/ the book of wonderful stories/ the ball/ and/ of course/ her baby. But the car won't start. Undaunted, Roxanne decides to take the bus to the beach. But something can't go on the bus. Whenever Roxanne comes up with a new way to get to the beach she discovers she must leave something behind-and children will have great fun guessing just what's missing each time.
 * //How will we get to the beach//

Ruth Jeyaveeran (E JEY)
 * //The Road to Mumbai//

Along the road to Mumbai, Shoba and her monkey, Fuzzy Patel, make many new friends—mysterious monks, a curious camel, and a snake with a sensitive stomach, just to name a few. Shoba and Fuzzy are on their way to a top-secret monkey wedding. But you shouldn’t expect an invitation. According to Fuzzy, it will be the most boring wedding in the history of the universe. But magical things can happen on the road to Mumbai—and when trouble threatens to ruin the big event, unexpected friends to the rescue.

Laurie Krebs (E KRE) Join Arusha, Mosi, Tumpe and their Maasai friends as they set out on a counting journey through the grasslands of Tanzania. Along the way, the children encounter all sorts of animals including elephants, lions and monkeys, while counting from one to ten in both English and Swahili. The lively, rhyming text is accompanied by an illustrated guide to counting in Swahili, a map, notes about each of the animals, and interesting facts about Tanzania and the Maasai people.
 * //We All Went On Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania//

//*Pictures from Our Vacation// Lynne Rae Perkins //Snap!// With their new cameras //Snap!// a brother and sister //Snap!// take pictures of their vacation. But when they look at their photographs they see: > 1. The back of Dad's head > 2. Feet > 3. A container of noodles That's it? Does 1 + 2 + 3 = summer vacation? What about how it felt to swim in the lake? What about the stories their cousins told and the taste of a just-invented strawberry and whipped cream dessert? For those memories—the memories of summer and the memories of family that mean the most—they need to look someplace else. Someplace deep inside. Someplace permanent.

Barbara Kerley //One World, One Day// uses exquisite, moving photographs and Barbara Kerley’s poetic text to convey a simple yet profound concept: we are one global family. This is a sophisticated concept book, presented as an elegant picture book with contributions from top international photographers.
 * //One World One Day//

Hobbie, Holly (E HOB)
 * //Toot & Puddle//

Toot and Puddle are the best of friends. But when Toot leaves Woodcock Pocket to travel and see the world, Puddle chooses to stay at home. Just when Puddle begins to miss his old friend, he embarks on some of his own adventures-right at home. Finally, after Toot returns from his year-long trip, the two discover that true friendship knows no boundaries. With a delightful mix of humor, warmth, and a classic style all her own, Holly Hobbie captures the all excitement and joy that surround adventures-near and far-and reminds readers that true friendship knows no boundaries.

Frost, Helen
 * Step Gently Out
 * Stunning close-up photography and a lyrical text implore children to look more closely at the world around them.**

//Be still, and watch a single blade of grass.// //An ant climbs up to look around.// //A honeybee flies past.//

What would happen if you walked very, very quietly and looked ever so carefully at the natural world outside? You might see a cricket leap, a moth spread her wings, or a spider step across a silken web. In simple, evocative language, Helen Frost offers a hint at the many tiny creatures around us. And in astonishing close-up photographs, Rick Lieder captures the glint of a katydid's eye, the glow of a firefly, and many more living wonders just awaiting discovery. Fascinating facts about all the creatures pictured may be found at the end.

Schillian, Devin Celebrating the diversity in our world while cherishing our similarities, P is for Passport takes readers on a whirlwind tour of all the delights of the globe. From the everyday concerns of people everywhere for such things as bread and currency, to the wonders of our world such as deserts and volcanoes, Passport offers a fascinating variety of topics and ideas to explore.
 * P if for Passport: A World Alphabet