Book Suggestions for the Lower School

Diversity looms large in this understated, provocative look at the friendship between a blackbird and a seagull. Jack, a forest bird with dark feathers and a bright-red T-shirt, yearns to explore the ocean. He ventures to a pebbly beach where he meets Jim, a white-feathered bird wearing a sailor's blue-and-white stripes.

While on a school field trip to an orchard to make cider, a young Muslim immigrant named Farah gains self-confidence when the green apple she picks perfectly complements the other students' red apples.

An American sailor courts a Japanese girl and each tries, in secret, to learn the other's way of eating.

After finding out there has never been a female U.S. president, Grace decides to run in her school's mock election, where she learns about the American electoral system and sets out to be the best person for the job even though her opponent, Thomas, seems to be winning all the boys' votes.

King Lee and King Bertie take a honeymoon trip to the jungle and bring home a surprise.

To thank Miss Eula for her wonderful Sunday chicken dinners, three children sell decorated eggs to buy her a beautiful Easter hat.

A Masai father in Africa answers his son's questions, reaffirming his unconditional love for the boy.

A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a single Olympic.

A biography of Cesar Chavez, from age ten when he and his family lived happily on their Arizona ranch, to age thirty-eight when he led a peaceful protest against California migrant workers' miserable working conditions.

Illustrations and simple text help chronicle the life of artist Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo, discussing how she learned to paint, how painting saved her life, and why her paintings are so unique.

Presents a colorful children's story of Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz, and tells of her childhood and rise to fame.

Describes chef George Crum's childhood as a part-Native-American, part-African-American boy in rural 1830s New York, his adventures cooking at Moon's Lake House restaurant in Sarasota Springs, and his accidental invention of one of America's most beloved snacks.

Gabriel, a white boy who is being bullied, and Frita, an African-American girl facing prejudice, decide to overcome their many fears together as they enter fifth grade in Georgia in 1976.

After her parents disappear and she is turned over to the care of a strange "great-uncle," Molly must rely on her dreams about an old Mohawk story for her safety and maybe even for her life.

Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847.

"Almost-eight-year-old" Ruby Lu spends time with her baby brother, goes to Chinese school, performs magic tricks and learns to drive, and has adventures with both old and new friends.

Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.

When a hurricane causes the river near his Hawaiian home to flood, a boy named Calvin Coconut makes a daring rescue.

Although ten-year-old Miguel is at first embarrassed by his colorful aunt, Tia Lola, when she comes to Vermont from the Dominican Republic to stay with his mother, his sister, and him after his parents' divorce, he learns to love her.

Brendan Buckley, a biracial ten-year-old, applies his scientific problem-solving ability and newfound interest in rocks and minerals to connect with his white grandfather, the president of Puyallup Rock Club, and to learn why he and Brendan's mother are estranged.

Presents brief interviews with children from fifteen diverse American families--including large, small, mixed-race, immigrant, gay and lesbian, divorced, single-parent, religious, adoptive, and special-needs families--about their parents, siblings, lifestyles, and traditions, and includes photos of each family.

Explores the diversity among humankind, including differences in physical appearance, communication, mobility, and personality.

Breaks down the population of the world into a collection of one hundred representative people and describes what one would find in this global village, covering languages, ages, religions, food, air and water, schooling, and possessions, accompanied by vivid color illustrations.

Photographs and text depict the homes, schools, family life, and culture of young people around the world.

During the Iraq War of 2003, librarian Alia Muhammad saves thirty thousand new and old books in her Basra library from destruction.