Freedom Soup

Freedom Soup
Author: Tami Charles
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 35
Release: 2021-02-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1536221651

“A Haitian grandmother and granddaughter share a holiday, a family recipe, and a story of freedom. . . . A stunning and necessary historical picture book.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) The shake-shake of maracas vibrates down to my toes. Ti Gran’s feet tap-tap to the rhythm. Every year, Haitians all over the world ring in the new year by eating a special soup, a tradition dating back to the Haitian Revolution. This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make Freedom Soup just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle’s family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle’s family is from. In this celebration of cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next, Jacqueline Alcántara’s lush illustrations bring to life both Belle’s story and the story of the Haitian Revolution. Tami Charles’s lyrical text, as accessible as it is sensory, makes for a tale that readers will enjoy to the last drop.

The Lost Kitchen

The Lost Kitchen
Author: Erin French
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2017-05-09
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 0553448439

An evocative, gorgeous four-season look at cooking in Maine, with 100 recipes No one can bring small-town America to life better than a native. Erin French grew up in Freedom, Maine (population 719), helping her father at the griddle in his diner. An entirely self-taught cook who used cookbooks to form her culinary education, she now helms her restaurant, The Lost Kitchen, in a historic mill in the same town, creating meals that draw locals and visitors from around the world to a dining room that feels like an extension of her home kitchen. The food has been called “brilliant in its simplicity and honesty” by Food & Wine, and it is exactly this pure approach that makes Erin’s cooking so appealing—and so easy to embrace at home. This stunning giftable package features a vellum jacket over a printed cover.

Flight to Freedom

Flight to Freedom
Author: Ana Veciana-Suarez
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2002
Genre: Cuba
ISBN: 9780439381994

First Person Fiction is dedicated to the immigrant experience in modern America. "Flight to Freedom" is closely based on Suarez's own story of leaving Cuba during the Freedom Flights of the 1960s. Yara Garcia and her family live a middle-class life in Havana, Cuba. But in 1967, as Communist ruler Fidel Castro tightens his hold on Cuba, the Garcias, who do not share the political beliefs of the Communist Party, are forced to flee to Miami, Florida. There, Yara encounters a strange land with foreign customs. She knows very little English, and she finds that the other students in her new school have much more freedom than she and her sisters. Tension develops between her parents, as Mami grows more independent and Papi joins a militant anti-Castro organization.

Like Vanessa

Like Vanessa
Author: Tami Charles
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2019-03-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1580898998

Middle graders will laugh and cry with thirteen-year-old Vanessa Martin as she tries to be like Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America. In this semi-autobiographical debut novel set in 1983, Vanessa Martin's real-life reality of living with family in public housing in Newark, New Jersey is a far cry from the glamorous Miss America stage. She struggles with a mother she barely remembers, a grandfather dealing with addiction and her own battle with self-confidence. But when a new teacher at school coordinates a beauty pageant and convinces Vanessa to enter, Vanessa's view of her own world begins to change. Vanessa discovers that her own self-worth is more than the scores of her talent performance and her interview answers, and that she doesn't need a crown to be comfortable in her own skin and see her own true beauty. "It's such an honor to be the focal point of this wonderful book! Without a doubt, it will be inspiring to a new generation of young, talented girls well on their way to promising careers." --Vanessa Williams, Multi-Platinum Recording Artist, New York Times Best-Selling Author, Fashion Designer and star of Television, Film and the Broadway Stage "Like Vanessa has it all and then some! Gritty, poetic, emotionally true, Tami Charles wrings out every hope, every stumble and every triumph of a girl on an uneasy road to possessing her self, her strength and her own beauty. An unforgettable debut." --Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer and P.S. Be Eleven ♦ "This debut is a treasure: a gift to every middle school girl who ever felt unpretty, unloved, and trapped by her circumstances."— Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW ♦ "Charles evades the clichés and imbues Vanessa with an inner life that's so real and personal it's hard to deny the charm, heartbreak, and triumph of her story. . . . Superb."— Booklist STARRED REVIEW ♦ "Like Vanessa is an emotionally potent, engaging young adult story with a heroine whom it is impossible not to root for. The life lessons that Nessy learns are relevant and worthwhile for everyone."— Foreword Reviews STARRED REVIEW

Climb On!

Climb On!
Author: Baptiste Paul
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 14
Release: 2022-03-08
Genre: JUVENILE FICTION
ISBN: 073584481X

Children form teams, build a pitch, and play a joyous game of soccer in a book with English and Creole (as spoken in Saint Lucia) vocabulary words.

Swordbird

Swordbird
Author: Nancy Yi Fan
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2007-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0061130990

Warring factions of blue jays and cardinals call on Swordbird, the heroic bird of peace, to rescue them from the evil machinations of Turnatt, the tyrant hawk lord who plans to enslave them.

Tear Soup

Tear Soup
Author: Pat Schwiebert
Publisher:
Total Pages: 64
Release: 1999
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN:

In this modern-day fable, a woman who has suffered a terrible loss cooks up a special batch of "tear soup," blending the unique ingredients of her life into the grief process. Along the way she dispenses a recipe of sound advice for people who are in mourning.

Fridays With Ms. Mélange: Haiti

Fridays With Ms. Mélange: Haiti
Author: Jenny Delacruz
Publisher: Haiti
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2019-12-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781734221909

The students love Fridays because every week because Ms. Mélange teaches them world history and current events. This exciting story of Haiti's tumultuous history keeps children engaged, promote critical thinking skills, and highlights the importance of a strong self-identity. The diversity of the characters in the classroom allows children to connect and identify with this story.

Dragon Soup

Dragon Soup
Author:
Publisher: H J Kramer
Total Pages: 32
Release: 1996-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0915811634

When Tonlu tries to steal a pearl from the Cloud Dragons' treasure in order to help her father pay his debts, she finds herself resolving a dispute about soup recipes.