A young boy’s parents tell him at dinner that the family will be moving to a new city in a new country for a new job. His parents try to get him excited by explaining all the neat things about their new home. The whole idea is so scary, the young boy wakes at night with scary dreams. The long drive to their new city is both tiring and fun. Their new home in their new city feels so different to the boy. A good sleep, a stuffie hug, and the next morning looks brighter. Standing on the balcony, the boy is ready for new adventures and greets the world with, “Hello Houston”.

Many titles about immigration focus on movement due to economic, social, or political hardship. This is a lighter story that highlights the decision to move for a new job. Highly recommended for all libraries, especially those that serve immigrant communities.

The text is in both Spanish and English.

In a small village on an island in the Philippines, a storm blows in one night – a storm big enough to damage buildings. Maya wakes the following morning with a roof in the backyard. Maya and her father roll the roof up like a lumpia and set off to find its owner. On their journey they witness both the devastation of the storm and the beauty of their strong community. A farmer and his carabao help carry the roof, fishers help them cross the raging river, and a multitude of community members help clear the debris. Finally that roof is reunited with the family so they can rebuild, “nail after nail, board after board, heart after heart,”

This is an uplifting story based in the Philippines, a country often hit by natural disasters. The endnotes explain that writing your address on the their metal roof, is a common practice. The Filipino community spirit called bayanihan embodies the tradition of working together to support the community’s needs.

This book is highly recommended for lessons highlighting Southeast Asian/Filipino culture and to show the impact of all members working together to address the needs of the community.

Ghost declares, “I HATE EVERYTHING! His ghost friend listens and asks him if he hates sweets, dressing up, and cakes. Ghost does not. Through his friend listening ghost realizes maybe he doesn’t hate everything.

The illustrations feature adorable, expressive ghosts and vivid pictures on bright backgrounds. A great story for dealing with a bad day and strong emotions.

Another book in the Crayon series by Drew Daywalt. Duncan’s crayons have disappeared again. This time the crayons have set out to make friends. White crayon no longer feels invisible since meeting the chess set and filling in as the missing queen. Blue crayon’s problem of being short is solved when they find a doll who’d lost a head and they team up. Each crayon’s story is told as a letter from that crayon.

In the state of Meghalaya in India, there are bridges or Jingkieng Jri created from the living roots of rubber fig trees. The War Khasi-Jaintia weave the roots together to make bridges for the community to be able to cross the mountainous area they live in. The Living Bridges last for hundreds of years and withstand the monsoons in the area.

This book follows a young boy on his way to learn to build a Jingkieng Jri. He notices the insects and birds that make their home in the bridge, but also the damage that is happening to the bridges from littering and people stealing the sap. He decides that he can take action and teach others to clean up the bridges.

The back matter includes information about living bridges, a glossary and pronunciation guide, photographs of a Living Bridge and a bibliography.