Children's Books
 

Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People and War

Yukio Tsuchiya, the author, wrote Faithful Elephants in 1951 "to let children know about the grief, fear and sadness war produces. And that war affects not only human beings, but also innocent and lovely animals that don't know, understand, or even care about war. I hoped this book would implant some anti-war ideas into children's minds while I was praying for everyone to make his own effort for world peace."

$6.95. (Yukio Tsuchiya author; translated by Tomoko Tsuchiya Dykes; illustrated by Ted Lewin; Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988; Paperback.)

Finding the Friendship Dolls, A True Story:
How Children Can Help Create World Peace through Toys

In 1926 with tensions rising between Japan and America, 12, 739 Friendship Dolls were sent from America. Ellen C. was one of those dolls who were assigned a mission of peace. Follow Ellen as she journeys from Ohio to Nagasaki, Japan and learns the ways friendship can overcome even war.

Finding the Friendship Dolls shows how children can appreciate the people and culture of another country, especially at times when the two governments are unfriendly toward each other.

It is time for a children’s peace movement, and this book leads the way.

$9.95 (Charlotte Pack author; illustrated by Linda Legler; Peace Resource Center Publishing, 2009, Paperback, Ages 6-12) 


 

Grandfather's Journey

Say tells the poignant account of his family's unique cross-cultural experience and conveys his own love for his two countries (he was born in Yokohama, Japan, and came to the United States when he was sixteen). He describes the strong and constant desire to be in both places - something his grandfather would understand.

$16.95 (Allen Say, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1993. Hardcover, oversize.)

Nobody Knew What To Do

This story tells how one child found the courage to tell a teacher about Ray, who was being picked on and bullied by other kids in school. Faced with the fact that "nobody knows what to do" while Ray is bullied, the children sympathetic to him feel fear and confusion and can only hope that Ray will "fit in some day." Finally, after Ray misses a day of school and the bullies plot mean acts for his return, our narrator goes to a teacher. The children then invite Ray to play with them, and, with adult help, together they stand up to the bullies.

$15.95 (Becky Ray McCain and Todd Leonardo, Albert Whitman & Company, March, 2001. Hardcover, oversized.)

The Polar Express

One Christmas Eve, a bathrobe-clad boy boards the mysterious Polar Express train on its way to the North Pole. Arriving in the mystical polar city, the boy is thunderstruck when Santa chooses him to be the recipient of the very first gift of Christmas. Shyly, the boy asks for his true heart's desire--one silver bell from the harness of Santa's reindeer. His wish is granted, and the train begins its return trip. But alas! The boy has a hole in his pocket, and the cherished sleigh bell is lost... forever?

Sale! $17.50 (Chris Van Allsburg, Houghton Mifflin, Oct 28, 1985. Hardcover, Special Edition)

The Quarreling Book

A rainy morning results in a forgotten goodbye kiss, which results in a mother being cross with her son. The son is then cross with his sister who then gets upset with her best friend at school. The chain reaction continues until it is stopped in an unusual fashion.

$5.95 (Charlotte Zolotow, Harper Collins Publishers, renewed 1991. Paperback.)

Sadako

In her novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, Eleanor Coerr told the story of Sadako and her grave struggle against leukemia that she developed at age twelve - ten years after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The novel became a classic and gives the hope that Sadako's story will inspire children of all ages. This is a beautifully illustrated version of that same story.

$6.99 (Eleanor Coerr, illustrated by Ed Young, G.P. Putman's Sons, 1993. Paperback, oversize, Easy Reader.)

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

This book is based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, who was two years old when a U.S. atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. She grew to be a lively, athletic star of her school's running team before becoming gravely ill with leukemia. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako began folding paper cranes, believing that if she folded one thousand cranes, the gods would grant her to be healthy again.

$4.99 (Eleanor Coerr. Puffin Books, 1999. Paperback. Chapter Book.)

The Story of Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges found herself in the center of a storm of hatred and prejudice at the age of six when she was the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school. Each day she faced angry protesters as she was escorted to and from the first grade by a Federal Marshal. This book captures Ruby's amazing courage and faith.

$5.99 (Robert Coles, illustrated by George Ford, Scholastic, Inc., 1995. Paperback, oversize.)

Tree of Cranes

This book tells the story of a young boy in Japan who celebrates his very first Christmas with two cultures joyously combined as his mother shares a glimpse of her American childhood with him on this special day. The author was born in Yokohama, Japan, and apprenticed himself at age twelve to a famous cartoonist.

$17.95 (Allen Say, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. Hardcover, oversize)

White Socks Only

"A wonderful, touching story of a little girl who goes to town by herself to see if it is really possible to fry an egg on the sidewalk on a hot day, and ends up striking a blow against bigotry...Terrific illustrations perfectly complement the well-written story." -American Bookseller (Pick of the Lists, 1996) When this same child saw the "Whites Only" sign on the water fountain, she had no idea what she would spark when she took off her shoes and-wearing her clean white socks-stepped up to drink. A combination of defiance, bravery and a "touch of magic" win out over hatred.

$6.95 (Evelyn Coleman, illustrations by Tyrone Geter, Albert Whitman & Co., 1996. Paperback.)

YO! Yes?

This book illuminates the peaks and pitfalls of getting acquainted, and puts in a word for brotherhood as well. The watercolor and charcoal pencil illustrations have been described as brash, witty, and offbeat, and easily portray a vigorous range of emotion, as well as an appreciation of the rhythms of language and human exchange in a deceptively simple story.

$6.95 (Chris Raschka, Orchard Books, 1993. Paperback, oversize. Caldecott Honor Book; American Library Association Notable Children's Book; NCTE Notable Trade Book in the Language Arts; Parenting Magazine Best Book of the Year. Paperback, oversize.)