Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

This is the true story of Henry, who dreams of a world where his life belongs to him. But when his family is sold to another slave owner, he risks everything. With the strength and conviction of the best kind of hero, Henry makes a harrowing journey in a wooden crate--and mails himself to freedom.
Kadir Nelson's luminous paintings bring this story alive for children, helping them to see and imagine what it was like to fit in that box and bump along to another place--and to anticipate freedom.

For readers 8-12.

Dragon Dancing by Carole Lexa Schaefer

In this very large and playful picture book, there are dragons, sparkly paper, ribbons, spangles and squiggles. Children put them them all together using their imaginations.
The result? A dragon dance of joyful exhuberance, a birthday celebration in which all the children can participate.

For ages 3 and up, to the delight of the adults who love them, read to them, play with them.

Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells

India Moody lives in northern Virginia with her family. They are caught in the whirlwind and chaos of the Civil War. India, at 14, has intense questions about the war: why is it happening, is it about slavery, why do some neighbors fight for the North while others don uniforms for the South? Underneath it all is the unspoken question: what is war really like and why do people pursue it, often to hopeless ends?
Wells uses the probing of India as she navigates between her parents, the oncoming Union troops, freed slaves, and ravaged neighbors to ask these important questions which are contemporary in the age of Iraq and Afghanistan. She experiences the horrors of a battlefield while she presses to find her father who is in charge of ambulances and care of the wounded in his Rebel regiment.
Although the story of Civil War chaos and struggle has been told many times, this book offers a unique opportunity to readers, their parents and teachers to look at the issues it raises and come to their own conclusions.

Big Alaska: Journey Across America's Most Amazing State by Debbie S. Miller

See Alaska through the eyes of our national symbol, the bald eagle. That is the intriguing focus of this journey to some of the extraordinary places in an extraordinary state, Alaska.
Author Debbie S. Miller writes often and skillfully about her home state; here she emphasizes the distinct size and unique features of the forests, mountains, and parks of Alaska. Illustrator Jon Van Zyle creates visual portraits of the wildlife, natural features and special locations which are featured, such as Denali National Park, the Iditarod Trail and the Yukon River and its tributaries.
This nonfiction book will delight young readers(8-12) and others who are eager to "see" Alaska for themselves. Miller is a totally reliable source about all aspects of this special place; she includes descriptive facts, state symbols,and climate records to expand her readers' store of information. Teachers and librarians will want to include the book in their contemporary US geography collections because of its beauty and accuracy.

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson

This excellent teen novel was originally published in England by Greenwillow Books. It features Irish teen J.J. Liddy who discovers that time is "leaking" from his Irish world into the land of the fairies. When he attempts to stop the leak, especially because his mother has requested a gift of more time in her life, he finds out a lot about the history of his musical family. It seems his parents and grandparents, and now J.J. and his sibs, have been playing, composing and sharing the folk music of their area for as along as anyone can remember. The fiddle J.J. plays had belonged to his grandda, a fiddle with a story. So J.J. sets out to enter another land and learn music and background from the little people.
Lyrical, magical, humorous and practically brimming over with Irish tunes both on the page and in the lilt of the story, this is a great read for anyone ages 10-16.

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat

In her memoir, Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world, and the world of her parents,is shattered by war. She shares her memories of the Six Day War, fleeing alone as a 3 year old because she is inadvertently left behind in a flood of fleeing refugees. Reunited with her family, she evokes the sights, sounds, fears and small joys in trying to keep safe and to go on with life.
In a UN school for refugee children, the child is unexpectedly filled with pleasure as she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and the beginning of her journey into language. Although her mother cautions her to forget war and privation, she discovers that language can be both a refuge and a deliverance.

Author Naomi Shihab Nye says: "Nothing is missing in this exquisite, tender account of a Palestinian childhood--love, attachment, struggle, fear, humor, resilience. Ibtisam Barakat is a luminous writer and thinker. She is a wonderful healer, too."
Older middle-schoolers and teens will find this book of great interest.

BRONZEVILLE by Gwendolyn Brooks

In 1956, Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks created a collection of poems that celebrated the joy, beauty, imagination, and freedom of childhood. She reminded us that whether we live in the Bronzeville section of Chicago or any other neighborhood, childhood is universal in its richness of emotions and experiences.
Now, a brand-new generation of readers will savor Ms. Brooks's poems in this reillustrated edition featuring vibrant paintings by Caldecott Honor artist Faith Ringgold.