do we still need reminding that women are strong and smart?*

do we still need reminding that women are strong and smart?*

This is a terrific collection of women who had an impact in the public sphere. Some will certainly be familiar, and some may be new to you and yours. It's an exuberant look at thirteen women who changed your life—and you might not even know it! 

ages 4 to 12 years (and up!)

Read More

friends don’t need to be the same to be valued and loved

friends don’t need to be the same to be valued and loved

A funny and opinionated duck struggles to work out why a friend doesn’t look or act the same as other ducks. (It’s because the friend is a goat!)  Great for talking about valuing differences.

ages newborn to 8 years / heartwarmerss.t.e.m.

Read More

extremities require courage and resilience

extremities require courage and resilience

ages 4 years to grownup
Set in Mozambique, this beautifully told and illustrated story is inspiring and full of wonder in itself, but becomes even more so when the true story is told alongside it. It shows the courage and strength of a young mother in crazy circumstances.

Read More

the wonder and blessings of a meaningful life enhanced by literacy

the wonder and blessings of a meaningful life enhanced by literacy

ages 4 to 8 years
Set in Egypt, this is an ever so slightly suspenseful book to read aloud and it's then so very peaceful in its resolution. Ahmed has a secret—and it’s a good one! I love this book and can hardly count the number of times I've given it as a gift.

Read More

profound messages of kinship, connection, and shared love of country

profound messages of kinship, connection, and shared love of country

ages 2 to grown-up
Some stories have a profound message – one that everyone needs to hear more than once – one that is just as relevant to a toddler as it is to the toddler’s grandpa. This isYou and Me Murrawee.

The story is told as the musings of a young girl – maybe 10 or 12 years old – who has a gift for seeing what is no longer present. 

The girl is on a family camping trip in the Australian bush and, as she plays and paddles and watches her family, she senses the life of an indigenous girl, 200 years ago, doing many of the same things she is doing. 

Read More

a real-life story about the value of work and philanthropy

a real-life story about the value of work and philanthropy

Set in Ghana. Years ago, when Max was eight, we had a conversation that went something like this:
Max:  So Mum what is the solution to the people in Africa who only have one bag of grain a month to eat. One Hen goes a long way towards answering that question.
ages 4 to 12 years

Read More

celebrating imagination and the power of questions

celebrating imagination and the power of questions

Here is a little fellow whose ‘head is filled with wonder.’ He’s great at noticing the wonders in his world, things like birds flying, clouds, and stars. He’s great at asking question too, like ‘what the best playground in the world might be like.’ He’s a boy who is not perishing for want of wonder. But he is constantly told to move on
ages 3 to 9 years

Read More