The Vote is a Powerful Thing introduces youngsters to the voting process.

Callie’s class is learning about elections. Their teacher explains that participation in the selection of leaders and governing laws is important. Knowing this, the students decide to vote on an issue of current school-related interest. The class will plan a field trip. Where should they go?
Lynn suggests a trip to the local cookie factory. Callie knows about her grandmother’s interest in the Wilderness Park and recommends visiting this nature preserve. She sets to work, hoping to convince classmates to select her proposed destination. She searches for information about the park, its creation, purpose, and preservation. She makes promotional materials and prepares a speech. Lynn is following a similar pattern, advocating for the cookie factory.
The ballots are cast and counted. After a moment of uncertainty, Wilderness Park wins the election by one vote.

The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America's Presidents is set in a museum that closely resembles the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Visitors explore the halls, looking back at history and then imagining what might happen in the future. Kids are reminded one or more of them could be a future president.

Rex uses a mixed media approach. Black line drawings mix with realistic portraits as well as stylized color wash renderings. The variety of styles reinforce a sense of traveling through time. A limited color palette consisting of various shades of red and blue gives a unifying visual effect. ​

The Levinsons' seminal study of the U. S. Constitution, particularly an examination of the document’s potential flaws was published in 2010.
Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Graphic Novel presents the same information in comic book format, primarily with panels that are interspersed interspersed with maps and infographics. The result is a concise, highly readable US Constitution primer.

Text alternates between historical background and contemporary applications of decisions that were made by the founding fathers.

Format generally follows a configuration of horizontally organizing each page into thirds. Square and rectangular panels fit neatly within this structure. Chapter headings and an occasional concept use the full page. ​This structure offers concise chunks of information that are easy to digest and understand.

Boy meets girl. She's a serious student and advocate for voting rights. He's not sure where to vote. Fortunately for him, this activist comes to his rescue. The story takes place in one day with visits to multiple polling places and working through a mammoth amount of regulations. However, before the day is over he votes.

When your hero is Fannie Lou Hamer, voting is not optional. It's vital. Marva Sheridan has devoted her efforts to understanding the voting process and helping people register to vote. She is disappointed when her white boyfriend Alec decides that he will not be voting.

Duke Crenshaw comes from a family of civic-minded citizens. He knows that voting is the right thing to do. If only it weren't so complicated. Marva is precisely the guide to help him through the election rules and red tape.

During the day this unlikely pair discover that their interest is in more than the ballot box. There is definitely a mutual attraction that extends beyond a lesson in civics.

Boundaries between the dead and the undead, dreams and reality, animals and humans are all fluid.

Ellie has the extraordinary ability to bring back the dead. Her truest companion is her dog Kirby who died five years ago. After his death, she reached into the underworld for her beloved canine and returned him to her world. Now he usually manifests himself as a shimmering transparency which Ellie and some others can see.

​Seventeen-year-old Ellie, an Apache Lipan, has inherited her Six-Great-Grandmother’s capacity to travel to the land Below where ghosts and monsters dwell. 
​Named Elatsoe in honor of her legendary ancestor Six-Great, Ellie continues the matriarchal task of protecting her family and close friends.

But there are rules. Do not speak the deceased’s name or view an image of a departed individual. While she may return animals to the world of the living, she is not to bring people back from the land Below.

The connection between art and science is symbiotic. Scientists record observations with accurate representations of phenomena. Artists rely on a careful study of anatomy and physiology to inform their art.

It is no surprise that artist Beatrix Potter studied her surroundings and recorded her findings with precision. What is remarkable is that her published books are not scientific treatises, but instead are delightful fantasies.

Metcalf gives young readers fresh insight into the life of the author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Each summer Beatrix’s family would travel to Scotland. It was there that the young girl met Charles McIntosh , the postman who encouraged her study of life forms. She was a dedicated researcher, making meticulous drawings, examining small animal skeletons, and preparing slides for microscopic observation.

She Made History: Women Who Changed Our World is an ongoing picture book series celebrating the contributions of women. In addition to well-known historical figures such as Helen Keller, Harriet Tubman, Phillis Wheatley, and Susan B. Anthony, the series introduces young readers to other women who have been change agents. Alice Coachman the first African American woman to earn an Olympic gold medal, Kathryn Johnston the first girl to play Little League baseball, and astronomer Nancy Grace Roman who led the NASA team which built the Hubble Space Telescope are some of the featured woman who have made history.

Sandhya Menon has this covered with Of Curses and Kisses, the first volume in St Rosetta's Academy, her new YA romance series. Set in an exclusive boarding school nestled in Colorado’s gorgeous snow-capped mountains, a girl from India and boy from England meet. Is it destiny?

Princess Jaya Rao and her younger sister Isha are sent off to boarding school, hoping to escape a scandalous rumor that a rival family has circulated about Isha. Jaya hopes to protect the Rao reputation from further damage and exact revenge on the family that is responsible for publishing the vicious gossip. She finds the perfect opportunity. Lord Grey Emerson, a member of the dynasty that has delivered centuries of indignities to the Rao family, is a student at St. Rosetta’s. Her plan: she will make him fall in love with her and then break his heart.

It's Kate's birthday and rich Uncle Herman, who wears a banana yellow suit and is a bit unorthodox, presents her with a most unusual gift: a train. Not a toy. This is a mammoth-sized steam-belching machine on a track in her backyard. When Kate and her younger brother Tom climb aboard, they begin an adventure that is beyond their wildest imaginings.

The Silver Arrow is a dream come true. Tom and a Kate create their ideal train with such delightful cars as a library car, a swimming pool car, and even a candy car. But the children soon learn that this will not be a pleasure excursion. They are tasked with transporting endangered species to less hostile environments. Kate is the conductor. She is charged with protecting and finding proper homes for animals such as a white bellied heron and a fishing cat.  Yes, they really exist. I looked them up.

Like Scheherazade, ​Nayeri weaves a thousand and one tales into an opulent Persian tapestry: a story of mythology and memoir, of lineage and loss. A story that is as true as what you see with your own eyes and as real as what you cannot see.
The saga begins as a ten-year-old Iranian refugee stands up in an Oklahoma schoolroom and tells classmates his story, his history.
There are so many things going on in this narrative. Several pages are devoted to considerations of poop. It should not be surprising. This is not some esoteric philosophical treatise, although there are ample references to God and religion, anxiety and resilience, dignity and prejudice. At its core, it is a story of basic human needs. It's a story of survival. Nayeri lays bare his heart, his devotion to his mother, his complicated relationship with his father. It’s a guidebook for navigating a strange western culture and for methodically escaping the cruelty of others. It’s all of it. 

A middle grade tale that is funny, heartwarming and painfully honest. Daughter of immigrant parents, eleven-year-old Yumi Chung constantly feels parental pressure to excel academically.
Mom has decided that Yumi will spend her summer with tutoring sessions in preparation for the SSAT, Secondary School Admission Test. ​​​Yumi grudgingly heads off for morning test prep sessions combined with three hours of afternoon study at the library.
Then something amazing happens.
​She discovers a comedy club adjacent to the library.  YouTube sensation Jasmine Jasper is facilitating a comedy camp. Yumi succumbs to temptation and steps inside. She is mistaken for a camp registrant who failed to show. Here’s Yumi’s chance to shine. Performing using another identity frees her from stage fright. She is a success!

Late 1930's were perilous times in Europe. The Nazi party was ascending to power and invading surrounding nations.
Twelve-year-old Esther’s family are Polish Jews. They face a future filled with uncertainty and fear. Bravely Esther leaves her mother, siblings, and grandmother to join her father in Cuba. The plan: father and daughter will secure funds for the entire family to escape the dire conditions in their homeland and emigrate to Cuba.
Through a series of letters to her sister, Esther describes her life in this new country. Her correspondence is infused with sensory descriptions: luscious tropical fruit, beautiful countryside, eloquent Spanish language, and the poetry of José Matí. ​She tells of heartbreaking setbacks and small triumphs.
​Initially, the two earn money peddling religious statues in the predominantly Catholic villages. It seems an unusual thing: Jews selling religious statues. Sadly, this venture produces little income.

Siblings Sara and Emiliano Zapata are on the run, hoping to elude an international human trafficking cartel. Illegal continues their story which began with Disappeared. After leaving Juárez, Mexico, the two separately cross the Rio Grande River, hoping to outpace and outsmart the syndicate.
The story is told in the alternating voices of the brother and sister. Sara opts to legally request asylum as she believes that ample documentation will support her amnesty claim. Emiliano chooses to go underground, hiding in the back of a horse trailer to evade detection and eventually living in the basement of his father’s home in a Chicago suburb.
​​The two share an dangerous secret: a cell phone containing damning photographs and documents detailing human trafficking that originates in Mexico and extends into the United States. Sara entrusts the phone to her brother. Sara and Emiliano must protect this valuable piece of evidence without endangering one another.

Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed's When Stars Are Scattered introduces readers to the reality of survival for displaced individuals, an existence filled with deprivation, uncertainty, and boredom.
Jamieson chronicles the childhood of Somali refugees Omar Mohamed and his younger brother Hassan.
​The narrative is based on Omar’s memories. He and Hassan escaped Somalia's civil war, lost contact with their parents, and were given shelter at a camp located in Kenya. Looked after by a kind woman, they subsist on meager rations and sleep in a tiny tent. Omar assumes responsibility for disabled brother's daily care. Life changes when a UN worker suggests that Omar attend a school organized for the camp's children. Education becomes his lifeline and an escape from the grim reality of camp life. Fifteen long years later, the two resettle in Arizona.

A comic book set in 1946 with 2020 sensibilities features the traditional superhero trope: Man of Steel versus an archenemy. Metropolis is plagued with a sinister influence. It’s up to the caped crusader with an assist from a couple of kids to defeat evil and protect the city’s citizens.
​Inspired by the 1940s Superman radio series “Clan of the Fiery Cross,” Gene Luen Yang chronicles a lesser-known aspect of bigotry and racism in American history: Chinese Americans targeted by white supremacists.
​​​The narrative has two plot threads. Alternating stories chronicle a Chinese American family's move from Chinatown to a new neighborhood. This is juxtaposed with the tale of a superhero arriving to earth from another planet. ​Both threads explore the plight of individuals who are perceived as different. ​Both are stories of immigrants. Stories of aliens.

Addition books featuring immigrants. The titles include a variety of immigrant experiences.
Some stories are memoirs, others offer fictionalized narratives. The assortment includes various formats: picture book, poetry, prose, and graphic novel. There are titles for elementary school, middle grade, and young adult audiences.
Sample several different titles for a deeper understanding of the immigrant story.

Omar Mohamed's initiative helps students in an African refugee camp succeed in school  Refugee Strong.

Inspiring stories from the people who have welcomed refugees. International Rescue Committee offers specific suggestions to support refugees.

A handsome volume of intertwined poetry, prose, and direct quotations honors Black History Month by using the February calendar format with twenty eight entries. Subjects include individuals, federal laws, and milestone events that have positively influenced United States’ Black history. A nod to Leap Year adds a twenty ninth entry that encourages readers to create their own significant moments in history.

A sample of Shane W. Evans' stunning art.

View the author, Charles R. Smith reading his book.