Voices from the Margins


Book Description

Young people who feel marginalized due to physical differences or disabilities may benefit from discovering fictional characters who face similar difficulties. This unique bibliography surveys the field of children's and young adult literature published since 1990, identifying 200 quality books that deal with a wide range of contemporary health and self-image topics. Coverage includes physical handicaps, Autism, burns, scars, and disfigurement, obesity and anorexia, speech disorders, skin color, and basic issues of popularity and fitting in. The literature covered here includes picture books, chapter books for middle school readers, and young adult novels spanning different genres, such as mysteries, historical fiction, and poetry. Annotations provide brief plot synopses, full bibliographic information, publishers' age-level suggestions, and subject key words. This resource is perfect for obtaining information about authors, titles, and age levels of books on particular subjects, or to determine the subject of a particular book. Four indexes-Title, Author, Subject, and Age Level-facilitate easy reference for all users and readers.




Daughter of Xanadu


Book Description

Athletic and strong willed, Princess Emmajin's determined to do what no woman has done before: become a warrior in the army of her grandfather, the Great Khan Khubilai. In the Mongol world the only way to achieve respect is to show bravery and win glory on the battlefield. The last thing she wants is the distraction of the foreigner Marco Polo, who challenges her beliefs in the gardens of Xanadu. Marco has no skills in the "manly arts" of the Mongols: horse racing, archery, and wrestling. Still, he charms the Khan with his wit and story-telling. Emmajin sees a different Marco as they travel across 13th-century China, hunting 'dragons' and fighting elephant-back warriors. Now she faces a different battle as she struggles with her attraction towards Marco and her incredible goal of winning fame as a soldier.




The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball


Book Description

A Chinese boy struggles to adapt to American life—and discovers baseball. Despite his impulsive and curious nature, twelve-year-old Leon is determined to follow the Emperor’s rules—to live with an American family, study hard, and return home to modernize China. But he also must keep the braid that shows his loyalty—and resist such forbidden American temptations as baseball. As Leon overcomes teasing and makes friends, his elder brother becomes increasingly alienated. Eventually, Leon faces a tough decision, torn between his loyalty to his birth country—and his growing love for his new home. The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball is a lively, poignant, and nuanced novel based on a little-known episode from history, when 120 boys were sent to New England by the Emperor of China in the 1870s. This story dramatizes both the rigid expectations and the wrenching alienation felt by many foreign children in America today—and richly captures that tension between love and hate that is culture shock. It gives American readers a glimpse into what it feels like to be a foreigner in the United States and will spark thoughtful discussions.




The Handmaid's Tale Psychology


Book Description

How do people stay true to themselves in times of crisis? Where does anyone find the strength to stand up in the face of oppression? When will the worst side of human nature wither before the best? Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale has captivated readers for four decades and continues to stir popular conversation and controversy through the hit Hulu television series. The story has grown into a cautionary tale evoking fear and concern, and yet it also inspires many. The Handmaid’s Tale Psychology: Seeing Off Red delves into the psychology of the characters and events depicted in each version of Atwood’s epic, both in print and on screen. Through 18 chapters, psychologists and therapists look deeply into the fiction, analyzing it both personally and professionally to unearth its message about real human truths. Topics include oppression, resistance, power, identity, violence, posttraumatic stress versus posttraumatic growth, good versus evil, morality versus mortality, spirituality versus religion, helplessness versus hopefulness, and more.




Speech and Silence in Contemporary Children’s Literature


Book Description

Speech and Silence in Contemporary Children’s Literature brings a fresh perspective to a central literary question— Who speaks?— by examining a variety of represented silences. These include children who do not speak, do not yet speak effectively, or speak on behalf of others. A rich and unexamined literary archive explores the problematics of children who are literally silent or metaphorically so because they cannot communicate effectively with adults or peers. This project centers children’s literature in the question of voice by considering disability, gender, race, and ecocriticism. Children’s literature rests on a paradox at the root of its own genre: it is produced by an adult author writing to a constructed idea of what children should be. By reading a range of contemporary children’s literature, this book scrutinizes how such texts narrate the child’s journey from communicative alterity to a place of empowered adult speech. Sometimes the child’s verbal enclosure enables privacy and resistance. At other times, silence is coerced or imposed or arises from bodily impairment. Children may act as intermediaries, speaking on behalf of species that cannot. Recently, we have seen children exercise their voices on the world stage and as authors. In all cases, the texts analyzed here reveal speech as a minefield to be traversed. Children who talk too much, too little, or with insufficient expertise pose problems to themselves and others. Implicitly and sometimes explicitly, they attempt to hold adults to account— inside and outside the text. Speech and Silence in Contemporary Children’s Literature addresses this underconceptualized subject in what will be an important text for scholars of children’s literature, childhood studies, English, disability studies, gender studies, race studies, ecopedagogy, and education.




Historical Dictionary of Asian American Literature and Theater


Book Description

A Library Journal Best Reference Book of 2022 This book represents the culmination of over 150 years of literary achievement by the most diverse ethnic group in the United States. Diverse because this group of ethnic Americans includes those whose ancestral roots branch out to East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Western Asia. Even within each of these regions, there exist vast differences in languages, cultures, religions, political systems, and colonial histories. From the earliest publication in 1887 to the latest in 2021, this dictionary celebrates the incredibly rich body of fiction, poetry, memoirs, plays, and children’s literature. Historical Dictionary of Asian American Literature and Theater, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 700 cross-referenced entries on genres, major terms, and authors. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about this topic.




Smoke Screen


Book Description

As Mitzi's mother tries unsuccessfully to quit smoking, Mitzi pretends her mother has a terrible disease, "Stipitis," in order to win sympathy and affection from a boy she has a crush on.




Pren a Chansen


Book Description

Mae Bob yn dechrau yn Ysgol y Llan ar ddiwedd gwyliau'r haf. Ond mae nifer o bethau yn ei boeni. Dydi oes y 'Welsh Not' ddim ar ben yn yr ysgol honno a does ganddo yntau ddim Saesneg.




Book Review Index


Book Description

Vols. 8-10 of the 1965-1984 master cumulation constitute a title index.




The Publishers Weekly


Book Description