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Abuelita’s hair is the color of salt. Her face is as crinkled as a dried chile. She booms out words as wild as blossoms blooming.

She stuffs her carcacha–her jalopy–with all the things she needs: a plumed snake, a castle, a skeleton, and more. Her grandson knows he has the most amazing grandmother ever–with a very important job. What does Abuelita do? With her booming voice and wonderful props, Abuelita is a storyteller. Next to being a grandmother, that may be the most important job of all.

Sprinkled with Spanish and infused with love,
My Abuelita is a glorious celebration of family, imagination, and the power of story.

Where the Wild Things Are will be in theaters next Friday, October 16th? Do you plan to see it? If yes, tell us what you think!

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“We picked and we picked and we picked and we picked…” From dawn to dusk, a little girl harvests cotton with her family during the sweltering crop season. Imagining her way through the endless day, she wishes she could be anyone else-from a snake curved up and cool to a buzzard going round and round in the sky. Then at last, sunset approaches and a special treat awaits.

Polly Greenberg’s rhythmic, easy-to-read text and Aliki’s striking sun-soaked illustrations together make an unforgettable tale-part story, part song, and all poetry. Though based on a sharecropper’s childhood memory from generations ago, this timeless story reflects everyone’s wish to escape…and to be as free as a bird. First published in 1968, it is a powerful today as the day it was first told.

Queen of the Scene
Queen Latifah
HarperCollins, September 26, 2006
ISBN:0060778563
Reading Level: Ages 4 - 8

This ruler of the playground has got game. B-ball, stickball, jump rope, soccer—there’s nothing she won’t try. And watch out, boys, because she’s representing all the girls, and the Queen has girl power to the max!

Queen Latifah, the Grammy Award-winning First Lady of Hip-Hop, teams up with the Coretta Scott King New Talent Award-winning artist Frank Morrison in a celebration of spirit and pride.

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I Shook Up the World: The Incredible Life If Muhammad Ali
Maryum “Maymay” Ali
Beyond Words, January 2004
ISBN: 1582700907
Reading Level: Ages 4 - 8

Shook Up the World is an illustrated tribute to Muhammad Ali written by his oldest daughter, Maryum.

The book tells Ali’s story from the beginning to the present — how he started boxing, earned an Olympic Gold Medal, won the heavyweight championship, worked for civil rights, and made a principled stand against the Vietnam War. Ali’s trademark rhyming, the joy of his fans and the bane of his opponents, is interspersed throughout the “rounds” (chapters).

Young readers will appreciate Patrick Johnson’s colorful illustrations, and the introduction provided by the great man himself. An historical timeline on Ali’s life is included.

Looking to the Clouds for Daddy
Margo Candelario
Illustrated by Jerry Craft
Karen Hunter Media, February 17, 2009
$15.99 US; ISBN: 0982022174

Reading Level: Ages 4 - 8

A Message from the Author

Looking to the Clouds for Daddy, is a very personal story written for my three daughters eleven years ago following the loss of their father at the age of 32. It depicts an afternoon in the life of Cheyenne, Camaryn, and Trae as they talk and reminisce about their daddy.

For 10 years I kept the story, and my feelings, locked away. Fortunately, my lifelong friend, illustrator Jerry Craft, agreed to breathe life into the characters. He admitted that he had always loved the story and was eager to take on the project. The opportunity to illustrate this book has resulted in, in both my opinion and his, Jerry’s finest work to date.



It is my desire to market the book not only to the mainstream audience, but also directly to those in immediate crisis. The probability is slim that a grieving child will shop on her own to purchase a book on death or that they will understand the need for grief counseling. Therefore, my dream is to also have the organizations directly involved with disaster relief to include the book in care packages prepared especially for children. Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, war, genocide, AIDS… all have affected children worldwide. WHO, FEMA, RED CROSS, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and DOUGY program, to name a few, are all organizations with arms that reach around the world. Jerry and I have teamed up with Karen Hunter Media, which also shares my dream, and my long-awaited book Looking to the Clouds for Daddy will be released in February 2009.

I hope you can be a part of it!

Margo Candelario

About the Author
Artist and author, Margo Candelario was born in San Bernardino, California and moved to Harlem at the age of 17. She married Phil and they moved their growing family to Georgia. Phil suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 34, leaving Margo with their three little girls. Looking to the Clouds for Daddy is her second collaboration with illustrator/friend Jerry Craft. Her first book, Take Me To The Water led to an Author of the Year nomination by the Georgia Writers Association.

Jerry Craft, former editorial director of Sports Illustrated for Kids, is the creator of popular comic strip, Mama’s Boyz (mamaboyz.com).