A collection of poetry by one of the greatest Indigenous poets of the Americas about the vanished world of his childhood — that of the Maya K’iche’.

Aquí era el paraíso / Here Was Paradise is a selection of poems written by the great Maya poet Humberto Ak’abal. They evoke his childhood in and around the Maya K’iche’ village of Momostenango, Guatemala, and also describe his own role as a poet of the place.

Ak’abal writes about children, and grandfathers, and mothers, and animals, and ghosts, and thwarted love, and fields, and rains, and poetry, and poverty, and death.

The poetry was written for adults but can also be read and loved by young people, especially in this collection, beautifully illustrated by award-winning Guatemalan-American illustrator Amelia Lau Carling.

Ak’abal is famous worldwide as one of the great contemporary poets in the Spanish language, and one of the greatest Indigenous poets of the Americas. Ak’abal first composed his poems in K’iche’ in his mind before writing them down in Spanish.

Key Text Features

foreword

biographical information

poems

translation

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.5
Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7
Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

From Deborah Ellis, the bestselling author of Sit and Step, comes a new short story collection about the moments when the adult world disappoints, and it’s time to pick up … and Go.

Brodie’s parents and brother expect him to step up for Team Family, even when Team Family has no intention of returning the favor. Joanie is left to take a city bus for the first time with her impossibly cranky grandmother and learns to stand up for what she wants. Alone in a foreign country, without money, shelter or papers, Liberi steals an expensive purse from a tourist and then figures out what to do with his feelings of guilt. Bastien, the foster kid no one wants, discovers his own inner strength when a wildfire ravages the town. And Kelsey and his brother find themselves robbing graves in the middle of the night, but for the best possible reason.

When the grownups turn their backs, the kids in these stories find a way to go forward. Sometimes it takes a little magical thinking. Sometimes a small act of bravery. Sometimes extending a hand to someone else. But always a realization that there is somewhere to go, if you pay attention, take action and refuse to give into the dark.

Key Text Features

biographical information

epigraph

short stories

Every day is a new adventure for Stella and Sam! Join them in Angel-making in the snow, Bathing with ducks, Catch-playing and Dog-walking all the way home. Every letter of the alphabet is celebrated with acclaimed picture-book creator Marie-Louise Gay’s signature wit and whimsy.

Stella Star of the Sea was published nearly thirty years ago, launching the delightfully imaginative Stella and her endlessly questioning younger brother, Sam, to international acclaim with translations in fifteen languages, a bestselling series of picture books, and an award-winning animated television show.

Now the youngest of readers can join these irrepressible siblings as they journey through the alphabet and into the hearts of a new generation.

Key Text Features

illustrations

From Deborah Ellis, the bestselling author of Sit and Step, comes a new short story collection about the moments when the adult world disappoints, and it’s time to pick up … and Go.

Brodie’s parents and brother expect him to step up for Team Family, even when Team Family has no intention of returning the favor. Joanie is left to take a city bus for the first time with her impossibly cranky grandmother and learns to stand up for what she wants. Alone in a foreign country, without money, shelter or papers, Liberi steals an expensive purse from a tourist and then figures out what to do with his feelings of guilt. Bastien, the foster kid no one wants, discovers his own inner strength when a wildfire ravages the town. And Kelsey and his brother find themselves robbing graves in the middle of the night, but for the best possible reason.

When the grownups turn their backs, the kids in these stories find a way to go forward. Sometimes it takes a little magical thinking. Sometimes a small act of bravery. Sometimes extending a hand to someone else. But always a realization that there is somewhere to go, if you pay attention, take action and refuse to give into the dark.

Key Text Features

biographical information

epigraph

short stories

A collection of powerful poems, in Nahuat, Spanish and English, that celebrate Indigenous life and language despite efforts to eradicate them.

These poems are a moving and eloquent description of how great poet Jorge Argueta came to know the almost extinct language of his ancestors. The poems tell stories of Jorge’s life growing up in the Salvadoran village of Witzapan, where his own grandmother taught him his first words in Nahuat.

There are poems about the clay used to construct the village, the trees that grow in the countryside, the corn used to make tortillas and pupusas, and the Tepechapa River. Beautiful illustrations painted by Salvadoran artist El Aleph accompany each poem.

In the early 1930s, the government of El Salvador massacred many Nahuat people and banned them from speaking the language, attempting to eradicate their Indigenous identity. Despite the ban, village elders continued to keep the language and culture alive.

Today there are many efforts to reintroduce the Nahuat language in El Salvador. Nahuat readers can share in Jorge’s childhood world of Witzapan. So can we, whether in the original or through the Spanish and English translations of his poems.

Key Text Features

author’s note

poems

illustrations

glossary

table of contents

translations

Correlates to the Common Core States Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3

Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7

Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).