Juan, born and raised in Alabama, feels one hundred percent American. But other Americans don’t see him as one of them. Following some experiences with exclusion, he decides he wants to be a Filipino, like his parents. He spends a lot of time in the sun to darken his coffee-with-cream complexion and learns to speak Tagalog. During Christmas break, his mother takes him on a trip to the Philippines—a place she still considers home and that has always served as a refuge—to help him become a Filipino.
But in the Philippines, Juan finds that Filipinos, even his relatives, consider him an American. They laugh at his wanting to be brown. His cousins, with whom he has expected to develop an easy camaraderie, fall off their chairs whenever he tries to speak Tagalog.
For Juan, like so many children of immigrants, the struggle to assimilate while also developing his own identity is a challenging, sometimes heartbreaking, and an ever evolving process. Set in the 1980s, Juan’s story will ring true with anyone who’s ever experienced the search for identity in a multicultural setting, or anyone who’s ever struggled to fit in.
Cecily and Jeremy have been sent to live with their uncle Peregrine in the English countryside, safe from the war, along with a young refugee named May. But when Cecily and May find two mysterious boys hiding in the ruins of a nearby castle, an extraordinary adventure begins.
Carlos knows that when the soldiers arrive with warnings about the Communist rebels, it is time to be a man and defend the village, keep everyone safe. But Mama tells him not yet — he’s still her quiet moonfaced boy. The soldiers laugh at the villagers, and before they move on, a neighbor is found dangling from a tree, a sign on his neck: Communist. Mama tells Carlos to run and hide, then try to find her. . . . Numb and alone, he must join a band of guerillas as they trek to the top of the mountain where Carlos’s abuela lives. Will he be in time, and brave enough, to warn them about the soldiers? What will he do then? A novel in verse inspired by actual events during Guatemala’s civil war, Caminar is the moving story of a boy who loses nearly everything before discovering who he really is.
Magical realism, lyrical prose, and the pain and passion of human love haunt this hypnotic generational saga.
Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava — in all other ways a normal girl — is born with the wings of a bird. In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naive to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the summer solstice celebration. That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo. First-time author Leslye Walton has constructed a layered and unforgettable mythology of what it means to be born with hearts that are tragically, exquisitely human.
(Ages 8-13)
Open this dynamic book and discover how the greatest explorers in history — from Marco Polo to Neil Armstrong — plunged into the unknown and boldly pieced together the picture of the world we have today. With the help of masterful cross sections, dramatic storytelling, and sidebars that highlight key concepts, places, and technology, immerse yourself in such expeditions as:
—Leif Eriksson’s voyage to North America (eleventh century)
—Zheng He’s travels from China to East Africa (fifteenth century)
—Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe (sixteenth century)
—Tenzing Norgay’s and Edmund Hillary’s scaling of Mt. Everest
(twentieth century)
—Plus ten more exciting journeys!
Back matter includes an index, a glossary, and sources.
Kassy Tayler's Remnants of Tomorrow brings all the factions together. The royals, the shiners, the rovers and the everyday workers of the dome as they fight against each other and the inevitable. It is time to leave the dome.
Wren's father takes her on a journey through the dome where she sees the after effects of the destruction caused by her friends and the blue coats who came into the tunnels. What he doesn't realize is that instead of subduing her, he is giving more purpose and fuel to her cause. When he realizes his plan has backfired, he sells Wren and her friends caught inside to the rovers. They manage to escape and add more fuel to the hatred between the rovers and the dome. Wren and her friends from inside the dome and America are caught in the middle as the battle escalates and whoever wins the battle wins the right to life.
It's up to Wren to make both sides see that the only way they can survive is by working together.
Torn between reconciling her past and present, Sera must figure out how to stop Azrath before the Mortal Realm is destroyed. But trust doesn’t come easy in a world fissured by lies and betrayal. Her best friend Kyle is hiding his own dark secrets, and her mysterious new neighbor, Devendra, seems to know a lot more than he’s telling. Struggling between her opposing halves and her attraction to the boys tied to each of them, Sera must become the goddess she was meant to be, or risk failing, which means sacrificing the world she was born to protect.
Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readerspicture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
84Ribbons-FrontCover-WebMed A young dancer's realizes her life long dream, if only for a while.
Seventeen year old Marta Selbryth realizes her dream of becoming a professional dancer when the Intermountain Ballet Company in Billings, Montana invites her to join their 1957 season. As Marta's new life unfolds, she must learn to face not only the successes of dancing in the corps de ballet, but the challenges and setbacks that might crush the dream she's had for so long.
After a couple of mishaps, Marta settles into life in a boarding house located near the ballet company. Her landlady, Mrs. B., is friendly, reduces her rent when Marta's offers to bake for the boarder and later allows her to use the basement as a practice studio. The two male boarders are supportive; Carol, a fellow boarder, ignores her.
Marta spends her free time practicing when she's not spending time with her new friends Lynne and Bartley,her fellow corps dancers. Their time together becomes an important lifeline through their first year.
Madame Cosper, the artistic director, is a demanding woman. Marta begins their association poorly when she makes a disastrous choice. Expecting expulsion, Marta receives a second chance in the form of dancing the unpopularcharacter roles during the fall and winter performances.Marta determines to dance every role with confidence in hopes of proving to Madame that she's up for every challenge.
Steve, a young college man and a reporter, spots Marta when he's assigned to write an article about ballet for the local paper. He's attracted to her and begins his pursuit.Over the months ahead, he becomes her tour guide of the area and attempts to convince Marta to be his girl. But her steadfast focus is ballet and some of her adventures with him lead to problems with Madame Cosper.
Shortly after Christmas, everything changes for Marta, Bartley and Steve. Significant events permanently influence their lives. Each mustdeal with exhilaration and heartbreak as well as frustration and changes that test their ability to cope.