Featuring both fiction and nonfiction titles—and multiple books in translation—this Eerdmans series highlights stories set in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Books include Mexique (about a ship of refugees sailing to Mexico), 9 Kilometers (about a Chilean boy’s long journey to school), and Building an Orchestra of Hope (about a Paraguayan ensemble that makes music from trash). These unforgettable stories are perfect for fostering multicultural learning and discussing important themes like courage and creativity.
The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent
Written by Irene Vasco
Illustrated by Juan Palomino
Translated by Lawrence Schimel
Ages 5 to 9
A stunningly illustrated fable about cultural humility and the transcendent power of stories.
A young teacher sets out for the Amazon rain forest, eager to share geography, science, and math with the remote community of Las Delicias. The town’s children love the books the young teacher brings, and yet they keep repeating legends about a great and dangerous serpent. The young teacher can’t believe her students still care about that nonsense. But as the river rises, those stories don’t seem so strange anymore. Maybe books aren’t the only way to discover the wisdom of past generations…
The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent is a poetic, thought-provoking exploration of how stories can protect and guide a community. Bold, dynamic art and lyrical writing will open unforgettable conversations about cross-cultural relationships, the importance of indigenous knowledge, and what it means to be a lifelong learner.
On the Edge of the World
Written and illustrated by Anna Desnitskaya
Translated by Lena Traer
Ages 7 to 11
A uniquely formatted book about dreams, loneliness, and the universal longing for connection.
Vera and her family live on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, a place that feels like the edge of the world itself. Lucas and his family also say they live on the edge of the world, but their home is thousands of miles away on the coast of Chile. Vera spends her days devouring fantasy books, throwing balls to her dog, and longing for a friend who would care about the treasures she’s hidden underneath the alder bush. Lucas spends his days looking for fossils, playing solo games of soccer, and wishing for a friend who would read with him on the best branch of his favorite tree. One evening, both Lucas and Vera head to the beach, blink their flashlights into the dark—and discover that the edge of the world is not such a lonely place after all.
In this playful, perceptive book, acclaimed author-illustrator Anna Desnitskaya shares the mirroring lives of two children in two separate but surprisingly similar settings. As readers flip the book between Vera in Russia and Lucas in Chile, they will learn just how big—and how small—a place the world can be.
9 Kilometers
Written by Claudio Aguilera
Illustrated by Gabriela Lyon
Translated by Lawrence Schimel
Ages 5-9
A memorable, compelling story about the perseverance of a child and the human right to education.
The sky is still dark when a young boy leaves home for school. He has a long path ahead: nine kilometers—over five-and-a-half miles—through the mountains and rain forests of Chile. But the boy doesn’t mind. While he walks, he can count butterflies and lizards, and he can think about where the 15,000 steps he takes every morning could lead. Nine kilometers could bring the boy across ninety soccer fields, up the world’s ten largest buildings, or into a classroom at last…
Set against the lush backdrop of southern Chile, this book features one of the many children around the world who travel long distances in order to go to school. After the story, thoughtfully illustrated back matter explores the unique birds of Chile and the courage of similar students’ journeys in other countries. Striking and timely, 9 Kilometers will open lasting conversations about social inequalities, the value of learning, and the resilience of those who push past obstacles toward a better future.
Different
A Story of the Spanish Civil War
Written by Mónica Montañés
Illustrated by Eva Sánchez Gómez
Translated by Lawrence Schimel
Ages 9 to 14
A resonant, captivating book about a brother and sister caught in a dark chapter of world history.
Between 1936 and 1939, a civil war raged across Spain. For almost three years, ordinary citizens lived in fear of bombs dropping from the sky. When fascist dictator Francisco Franco declared victory, he began to persecute everyone who had once opposed him. Spain became a country of secrets, where anyone who was different was in danger.
Different explores this turbulent period through the voices of seven-year-old Socorro and nine-year-old Paco. Because Papa has fled Spain due to his political beliefs, the siblings and their mother must hide the truth in order to survive. Paco is always hungry, and Socorro is never good enough for her teachers at school. But they can’t ask for more food or better treatment: someone might find out who they are, or—worse—why their father isn’t home anymore. At last a letter from Father arrives, with a chance for their family to reunite in Venezuela …
Dramatic oil-pastel illustrations and poignantly chosen words express the emotions of two children coming of age in a time of extremism and fear. Based on the author’s family history, this middle grade story is a stirring depiction of the Spanish Civil War, its tragic aftermath, and the timeless struggle for freedom from political violence.
Building an Orchestra of Hope
How Favio Chavez Taught Children to Make Music from Trash
Written by Carmen Oliver
Illustrated by Luisa Uribe
Ages 4 to 9
An exuberantly illustrated true story about innovation, community, and the power of music.
In Cateura, Paraguay, a town built on a landfill, music teacher Favio Chavez longed to help the families living and working amid the hills of trash. How could he help them find hope for the future? Favio started giving music lessons to Cateura’s children, but soon he encountered a serious problem. He had more students than instruments!
But Favio had a strange and wonderful idea: what if this recyclers’ town had its own recycled orchestra? Favio and Colá, a brilliant local carpenter, began to experiment with transforming garbage into wonder. Old glue canisters became violins; paint cans became violas; drainpipes became flutes and saxophones. With repurposed instruments in their hands, the children of Cateura could fill their community—and the world—with the sounds of a better tomorrow.
Based on an incredible true story, Building an Orchestra of Hope offers an unforgettable picture of human dignity reclaimed from unexpected sources. Carmen Oliver’s inviting words and Luisa Uribe’s dynamic illustrations create a stirring tribute to creativity, resilience, and the transformative nature of hope.
Niños
Poems for the Lost Children of Chile
Written by María José Ferrada
Illustrated by María Elena Valdez
Translated by Lawrence Schimel
On September 11, 1973, a military coup plunged Chile into seventeen long years of dictatorial rule. Only the return of democracy could reveal the full horrors of Augusto Pinochet’s regime: 3,197 people dead or disappeared—including thirty-four children under the age of fourteen.
This book is a stirring memorial to those victims and to the cost of extremism. Thirty-four poems—one for each child lost—consider the diverse hopes of these fragile young lives. From Alicia to Jaime, Héctor to Paola, Soledad to Rafael, they were brave and creative, thoughtful and strong. In these pages, some children watch for the changing seasons. Some listen for new sounds on rainy afternoons. And some can’t wait for their next birthday.
Featuring gentle, emotive poems and soft, pastel-toned illustrations, Niños is an unforgettable tribute to the children of Pinochet’s Chile and all those threatened by political violence across the world.
Mexique
A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War
Written by María José Ferrada
Illustrated by Ana Penyas
Ages 7-10
On May 27, 1937, over four hundred children sailed for Morelia, Mexico, fleeing the violence of the Spanish Civil War. Home was no longer safe, and Mexico was welcoming refugees by the thousands. Each child packed a suitcase and boarded the Mexique, expecting to return home in a few months. This was just a short trip, an extra-long summer vacation, they thought. But the war did not end in a few months, and the children stayed, waiting and wondering, in Mexico. When the war finally ended, a dictator—the Fascist Francisco Franco—ruled Spain. Home was even more dangerous than before. This moving book invites readers onto the Mexique with the “children of Morelia,” many of whom never returned to Spain during Franco’s almost forty-year regime. Poignant and poetically told, Mexique opens important conversations about hope, resilience, and the lives of displaced people in the past and today.
Circles of Hope
Karen Lynn Williams
Linda Saport
Ages 5-9
Young Facile wants to plant a tree in honor of his new baby sister, but he faces many obstacles. The first seed he plants is eaten by a goat, the second seed is washed away in a storm, and another seed is burnt by a scrub fire. Will Facile ever be able to plant a tree that will grow strong for baby Lucía?
In this story of determination, faith, and love, author Karen Lynn Williams introduces readers to the realities of rural life in the mountains of Haiti. Imbued with brilliant colors, expressive characters, and vivid landscapes, Linda Saport’s illustrations capture the indomitable spirit of hope.
