New Releases by Deborah Wiles

From award-winning author Deborah Wiles and illustrator Bao Luu comes an exuberant and heartwarming picture book tribute to the things that connect us all—nature, love, and gratitude. I hear the song that nature sings that links each heart to mine. The ocean blue, the sky above the forest with its pine. For a young brother and sister, every day spent in nature is an adventure, and every natural marvel they encounter is a gift. Together, they run through fields of tall grass and say thank you for the rain; they greet fish in babbling brooks and say thank you for the clear blue waters. At the end of each adventure, they say thank you for the new friends they collected along the way. When given a chance to do more than say thank you, the siblings gather their tools—their friends, their shovels, and their watering cans—and plant the seeds of gratitude.

From two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles comes a compelling biography of Robert Kennedy. Americans claimed Robert Kennedy as one of their own. They called him Bobby. Lyrical and evocative text by Deborah Wiles (Countdown, Revolution, Anthem, and Kent State) brings the story of Robert F. Kennedy to life, with breathtaking illustrations by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Bobby is set in 1968, with a grandfather telling his grandchild about Kennedy''s life. Bobby was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy. He became an accomplished public servant and activist in his own right. Though his run for presidency was tragically cut short on June 5, 1968, Bobby proved the value of empathy and grit. The story concludes as his funeral train makes its solemn journey from New York to Washington, DC. Kennedy was perceived by many to be a rare unifying force in American politics. He was beloved by Americans of all races for his integrity and devotion to the civil rights cause. His life continues to inspire efforts for social change. Deborah Wiles''s Bobby will illuminate the importance of Robert Kennedy''s life for children, parents, teachers, and librarians. Informative back matter is included.

This study explored how young adult students below the age of twenty-five perceived their learning experiences in adult classroom environments. Participants were enrolled in regionally accredited, undergraduate, on campus adult programs. Twenty-five interviews were conducted with students who had been enrolled for at least two semesters, and alumni who had been enrolled when they were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three, and who had graduated within the past five years. The researcher was interested in hearing how younger adult students described their learning experiences in adult programs designed for students twenty-five years and older, who have the life experience and self-direction necessary to participate in andragogically oriented learning environments, characteristics which are presumed lacking among students below the age of twenty-five. Interviews were also designed to gain information about how these younger adults related with other students and professors in their courses. Research revealed that students below the age of twenty-five were able to use their life experiences to participate in adult classroom activities. They described a friendly, comfortable academic environment where they enjoyed the learning process. Students experienced positive interactions with their professors and classmates. They developed trusting relationships which allowed them to engage in deep learning through critical thinking and problem solving activities, as well as the practical application of real life scenarios to academic theory. The findings of this research can contribute to a conversation about changing academic policy to include admissions criteria that would allow students below the age of twenty-five to enroll in adult programs, as well as consideration of a more widespread inclusion of andragogy alongside pedagogy on traditional college campuses.

Children will learn to both celebrate diversity and embrace how much we all have in common. In We Are All Under One Wide Sky, Deborah Wiles beautifully weaves together images from the natural world in a lovely, lyrical poem. Andrea Stegmaier’s fresh and captivating illustrations feature children from around the globe and celebrate different architecture, landscapes, and activities. By the end of the book, children will have internalized the message that although we are from different places, we are the same in so many ways. What we have in common is what is most important—family, laughter, love, nature, and friendship. We all share the same wide sky. We Are All Under One Wide Sky is a peace anthem with a timely and important message for children: to both celebrate diversity and embrace how much we all have in common.

This luminous picture book by an award-winning author and acclaimed illustrator is the perfect tool to discuss the importance of the natural world with young children, as well as introduce them to environmental activist Rachel Carson. "I''m not afraid!" shouts Roger when he hears thunder outside...but he is afraid. When the storm quiets, his aunt Rachel decides to take him on a walk to see the beauty of the natural world at night. Over his Godzilla pj''s goes his rain slicker; onto his feet go his monster boots, and together he and Rachel head down the rocky path to the sea. On the way they discover many marvels--a screech owl calling to its mate, ghost crabs tunneling in the sand, and most incredibly, the luminous life that lights up the water. When they find a tiny firefly who has lost its way, they bring it home and release it back into the woods. At last, Rachel tucks Roger into bed, telling him he is "nature''s brave protector." An afterword introducing young readers to Rachel Carson, and explaining bioluminiscence, adds to the appeal of the book.

From two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles, a masterpiece exploration of one of the darkest moments in our history, when American troops killed four American students protesting the Vietnam War. May 4, 1970. Kent State University. As protestors roil the campus, National Guardsmen are called in. In the chaos of what happens next, shots are fired and four students are killed. To this day, there is still argument of what happened and why. Told in multiple voices from a number of vantage points -- protestor, Guardsman, townie, student -- Deborah Wiles''s Kent State gives a moving, terrifying, galvanizing picture of what happened that weekend in Ohio . . . an event that, even 50 years later, still resonates deeply.

From two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles, the remarkable story of two cousins who must take a road trip across America in 1969 in order to let a teen know he''s been drafted to fight in Vietnam. Full of photos, music, and figures of the time, this is the masterful story of what it''s like to be young and American in troubled times. It''s 1969.Molly is a girl who''s not sure she can feel anything anymore, because life sometimes hurts way too much. Her brother Barry ran away after having a fight with their father over the war in Vietnam. Now Barry''s been drafted into that war - and Molly''s mother tells her she has to travel across the country in an old schoolbus to find Barry and bring him home.Norman is Molly''s slightly older cousin, who drives the old schoolbus. He''s a drummer who wants to find his own music out in the world - because then he might not be the "normal Norman" that he fears he''s become. He''s not sure about this trip across the country . . . but his own mother makes it clear he doesn''t have a choice.Molly and Norman get on the bus - and end up seeing a lot more of America that they''d ever imagined. From protests and parades to roaring races and rock n'' roll, the cousins make their way to Barry in San Francisco, not really knowing what they''ll find when they get there.As she did in her other epic novels Countdown and Revolution, two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles takes the pulse of an era . . . and finds the multitude of heartbeats that lie beneath it.

Two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles introduces us to the Cakes, a family of traveling bakers, who''ve just arrived in Wiles''s legendary Aurora County, Mississippi. Emma Lane Cake has five brothers, four dogs, and a family that can''t stay put. The Cake family travels from place to place, setting up bakeries in communities that need them. Then, just when Emma feels settled in with new friends... they move again. Now the Cakes have come to Aurora County, and Emma has vowed that this time she is NOT going to get attached to ANYONE or ANYTHING. Why bother, if her father''s only going to uproot her again? But fate has different plans. As does Ruby Lavender, who is going to show Emma Lane Cake a thing or two about making friendship last.

The story of a formative year in 12-year-old Franny Chapman''s life, and the life of a nation facing the threat of nuclear war. Franny Chapman just wants some peace. But that''s hard to get when her best friend is feuding with her, her sister has disappeared, and her uncle is fighting an old war in his head. Her saintly younger brother is no help, and the cute boy across the street only complicates things. Worst of all, everyone is walking around just waiting for a bomb to fall. It''s 1962, and it seems that the whole country is living in fear. When President Kennedy goes on television to say that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba, it only gets worse. Franny doesn''t know how to deal with what''s going on in the world -- no more than she knows how to deal with what''s going on with her family and friends. But somehow she''s got to make it through. Featuring a captivating story interspersed with footage from 1962, award-winning author Deborah Wiles has created a documentary novel that will put you right alongside Franny as she navigates a dangerous time in both her history and our history.

*A 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST* It''s 1964, and Sunny''s town is being invaded. Or at least that''s what the adults of Greenwood, Mississippi, are saying. All Sunny knows is that people from up north are coming to help people register to vote. They''re calling it Freedom Summer.Meanwhile, Sunny can''t help but feel like her house is being invaded, too. She has a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister crowding her life, giving her little room to breathe. And things get even trickier when Sunny and her brother are caught sneaking into the local swimming pool -- where they bump into a mystery boy whose life is going to become tangled up in theirs.As she did in her groundbreaking documentary novel COUNTDOWN, award-winning author Deborah Wiles uses stories and images to tell the riveting story of a certain time and place -- and of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what''s right.

After the death of the old man to whom young star pitcher House Jackson has been reading, House uncovers some secrets which may allow the annual Fourth of July baseball game to proceed, despite the county''s anniversary pageant.

Comfort Snowberger is well acquainted with death since her family runs the funeral parlor in their small southern town, but even so the ten-year-old is unprepared for the series of heart-wrenching events that begins on the first day of Easter vacation with the sudden death of her beloved great-uncle Edisto.

When her quirky grandmother goes to Hawaii for the summer, nine-year-old Ruby learns to survive on her own in Mississippi by writing letters, befriending chickens as well as the new girl in town, and finally coping with her grandfather''s death.

As squirrels spend a day searching for food and having fun, they encounter all sorts of things that are great for counting.

Ruby Lavender has fun with her grandmother Miss Eula as they rescue chickens, paint a house pink and run their own secret post office. But what can Ruby dowhen Eula goes away?

The winner of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award, this work introduces a white boy living in the South of 1964, who recounts his first experience of racial prejudice--and his friendship with a black boy that defied it. Full color.