Summertime & The Livin’ is Easy is a short story based on the daily summertime life of a 10-year-old girl named Jasmine and her family. Jasmine and her family live a tough life as they suffer from poverty and the loss of her father, In the summer, Jasmine works with her mother to clean the home of a wealthy family, while her stepdaddy and older brother work to clean windows. Jasmine’s stepfather is unhappy with life and takes out his frustration on his stepchildren through physical abuse.
The Epic of Gabriel and Jibreel by Marin Darmonkow is a story about an unlikely friendship of Gabriel and Jibreel. Coming from different walks of life, the two formed a bond like no other. Sharing the same hobbies and passion of becoming pilots one day, they played and created a digital aircraft using Jibreel’s house. It was a lot of fun! On the day that they were set to launch a digital take-off of their plane, an unfortunate event occurred that changed everything. Read on to uncover the adventures and friendship of Gabriel and Jibreel!
Molly Shipton had always lived a happy life with her family in their tiny village of Bidford-upon-Avon during the late 1590's. But when The Plague attacks their village, killing both of her parents and leaving most of the villagers dead, Molly knows she must run away with her little sister, Juliet, to survive. Her brother, Ben Shipton, has gone missing and is assumed to be dead although Molly hopes deep in her heart that he is still alive. Molly and Juliet disguise themselves as boys and sing and play the lute on the street to earn money.
Sam has always had "creatures" in his pocket. Whenever Sam is having a good time and feeling happy, yellow comes out! But when something doesn't go his way and he is upset, grey comes out. When grey is out, everything seems worse than it is. With the help of his friend Ryan, will Sam be able to control how he feels (and which creatures come out)? Sam just may be able to accomplish this if he tries his best!
Written by a grandmother for her granddaughter, Isla, Isla Dilah’s Nursery Rhymes takes traditional nursery rhymes like Baa Baa Black Sheep, Little Miss Muffet, and Hickory Dickory Dock and customizes them to Isla’s love of blue cheese, Nana’s animals, and their video chats. The book details Isla’s everyday life as well as her relationships with her grandparents and her grandparents' animals.
For Sam, having a pocket full of colorful emotions can be a lot, but with the color grey, it's overwhelming. Grey constantly moans and complains about everything. Grey cuts down Sam at the local park and his time with his best friend Ryan. Nothing seems to help Sam overcome the emotion of grey. When Ryan mentions his pocketful of colors to Sam, Sam learns that everyone around him, too, has a pocketful of emotions. And now Sam meets orange, a new feeling called "cheer."
Adoriana Marik has grown up her whole life in Mariupol, Ukraine. Though she had a somewhat lonely childhood, she grew up happy, and her love for art grew as she got older. Her parents ended up moving into her mother's childhood village, but Adoriana stayed behind in Mariupol with her now-adult siblings. As Adoriana got older, she was introduced to the art of tattoos and soon took up the career of a tattoo artist. She hoped to save up her money and be able to move abroad to a country where she didn't constantly feel threatened by the idea of war.
No Quiet Water by Shirley Miller Kamada tells the tale of Fumio Miyota who lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, with his mother, father, and little sister, Kimiko. The story takes place after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. As Japanese Americans, they are struggling with those who detest their differences and are suspicious of their intentions in America. When Fumio begins to hear whispers of war terrorizing the Japanese people because of the bombing, he realizes that his tranquil town may not be as peaceful as he thought.
In this book, Beast Rider, Manuel runs from his home in Mexico to meet his brother in Los Angeles. He does this by riding on top of a train, which is of course very dangerous. On the train, he meets people who are friendly and others who are not so much. At a stop, when he tries to get back on the train, he is caught by a gang who steals the little bit of money and food he has, beats him up, and leaves him to die. He is rescued by a nice lady who nurses him back to health, and after about a year, he is ready to go back on the train.
Deadly Hearts by Michael Burgan is a nonfiction novel that describes deadly, terrible vanquishers of centuries past. Through Burgan’s writing, you are able to witness these usurpers' upbringings and the possible reasons behind their evilness. Some characters show much diversity in their actions while others seem to always have acted in the same horrific ways. A few people described are Queen Mary I of England, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Attila the Hun. The author speaks factually about each character while explaining some reasons why they may have ended up that way.
