Following her parents separation, 12-year-old Rain moves with her mother to the country. There she befriends the unpopular boy who lives next door, and also seeks a way to cope with her feelings toward her father and his new girlfriend.

This is the fourth volume sponsored by the United States Board on Books for Young People, following Children's Books from Other Countries (1998), The World Through Children's Books (2002), and Crossing Boundaries (2006). This latest volume, edited by Linda M. Pavonetti, includes books published between 2005 and 2009. This annotated bibliography, organized geographically by world region and country, with descriptions of nearly 700 books representing more than 70 countries, is a valuableresource for librarians, teachers, and anyone else seeking to promote international understanding through children's literature. Like its predecessors, it will be an important tool for providing stories that will help children understand our differences while simultaneously demonstrating our common humanity.

This resource book for librarians and teachers of elementary and middle grade readers introduces over 400 titles of books (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry) written and illustrated by international authors and illustrators. Windows on the World: International Books for Elementary and Middle Grade Readers helps librarians and teachers open the eyes of elementary and middle grade readers to what life is like for children like themselves around the globe. In this extraordinary resource, you will find introductions to over 400 fiction, nonfiction, and poetry titles for age levels 4-8 and 8-12, written and illustrated by international authors and illustrators, and matched with related curriculum activities correlated with national curriculum standards. Windows on the World consists of over 100 lead books and over 350 related books published in the last ten years, organized by countries and cultures. It includes work from non-American authors working in the United States and abroad, as well as reissues of classics, and a few American titles noted for their authentic representations of other cultures. Each entry includes bibliographic data, information about the author and illustrator, identification of genre, recommended age level, a synopsis, suggested curriculum responses correlated with national curriculum standards, and related books.

Energize your library summer reading program with this new approach that involves all ages, and rekindles the desire for children and families to read together for recreation, pleasure, and their own curiosity. No more counting hours or books, no rewards and awards—just reading and learning fun! Drawing on the methodology of museums and learning centers, Soltan offers practical guidelines for designing an interactive, centers-based program; and presents four complete themed units that include complete directions for sample projects, materials lists, and suggested books. She also shows you how to build interest, secure funding, work with vendors, and use technology; as well as how to train staff, create a coordinated, intergenerational, volunteer and school-based community service effort; and how to evaluate your program. This is a creative, hands-on approach that will get readers involved and keep them involved summer after summer, and all summer long.

Rain May and her mum escape their old inner-city life for a dream house in the country. But there are more than a few suprises in store - like discovering a platypus or the fun of fridge poetry and phenomenally bright eleven-year-old, Captain Daniel, who lives next door. Together these unlikely friends adventure where no one has gone before.