Dandelion Through the Crack: The Sato Family Quest for the American Dream tells of a real Japanese-American family, formed both by ancestry and by the American way of life. We see mother, father, and children, and their challenges over seven decades. There are the extraordinary times of the Depression, wartime emergency, internment in the Poston "relocation" camp in the Arizona desert, oppressive prejudice, and the struggle to recover from near-total loss. But there are also many simple, almost-pastoral moments. The wise fables of the author's father -- tales of his old and new homelands and his haiku poetry -- are interwoven throughout. This is Kiyo Sato's first-person account of the family's struggles and triumphs. The result is a work of literary grace, emotional power, and historical and social importance.
When her father left Japan, his mother told him never to return: there was no future there for him. Shinji Sato arrived in California determined to plant his roots in the Land of Opportunity even though he could not become a citizen. He and his wife started a farm and worked in the fields together with their nine children. At the outbreak of World War II, when Kiyo, the eldest, was 18, the Satos were ordered to Poston Internment Camp. Though they had lived the US for two decades and their children were citizens, they were suddenly uprooted and imprisoned by the government.
From nationally-lauded San Francisco chocolate maker, Dandelion Chocolate, comes the first ever complete guide to making chocolate from scratch. From the simplest techniques and technology—like hair dryers to rolling pins—to the science and mechanics of making chocolate from bean to bar, Making Chocolate holds everything the founders and makers behind San Francisco’s beloved chocolate factory have learned since the day they first cracked open a cocoa bean. Best known for their single origin chocolate made with only two ingredients—cocoa beans and cane sugar—Dandelion Chocolate shares all their tips and tricks to working with cocoa beans from different regions around the world. There are kitchen hacks for making chocolate at home, a deep look into the nuts, bolts, and ethics of sourcing beans and building relationships with producers along the supply chain, and for ambitious makers, tips for scaling up. Complete with 30 recipes from the chocolate factory's much-loved pastry kitchen, Making Chocolate is a resource for hobbyists and more ambitious makers alike, as well as anyone looking for maybe the very best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world.
Follows seven dandelion seed parachutes which the wind blows into the air and which land in different circumstances as an example of the way in which a common plant regenerates.
One small act of kindness ripples out to connect four kids in this stirring novel by the author of the beloved The Benefits of Being an Octopus. Libby comes from a long line of bullies. She wants to be different, but sometimes that doesn’t work out. To bolster herself, she makes a card with the message You are amazing. That card sets off a chain reaction that ends up making a difference in the lives of some kids who could also use a boost—be it from dealing with bullies, unaccepting families, or the hole that grief leaves. Receiving an encouraging message helps each kid summon up the thing they need most, whether it’s bravery, empathy, or understanding. Because it helps them realize they matter—and that they're not flying solo anymore.
The Teeth of the Lion tells the story of the common dandelion, that remarkably widespread plant that is known, for better or worse, by just about everybody. Through a series of short essays, written in accessible language and a thoroughly engaging style, Anita Sanchez takes the reader on a journey through the natural history of the dandelion and its long association with humans. Joan Jobson s illustrations add important details and subtle accents that enhance this journey. Well adapted ecologically to spread into and thrive within disturbed sites -- such as the lawns, playgrounds, roadsides, and parking lots in which they are most often encountered today, and viewed as weeds -- dandelions also have had a lengthy, welcomed association with humans as medicine, food, and objects of ritual, magic, and folklore. The Teeth of the Lion will be a source of enjoyable, fascinating, memorable information of interest to all users. It will provide naturalists, wildflower enthusiasts, gardeners, interpreters, teachers, landscapers, and homeowners a better understanding of one of the most common, well-known, and perhaps underappreciated plants to be found anywhere.
Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustrated Book A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year In this wordless picture book, a little girl collects wildflowers while her distracted father pays her little attention. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. “Written” by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, Sidewalk Flowers is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
"Based on groundbreaking research that has the power to change the lives of countless children--and the adults who love them." --Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts. A book that offers hope and a pathway to success for parents, teachers, psychologists, and child development experts coping with difficult children. In Tom Boyce's extraordinary new book, he explores the "dandelion" child (hardy, resilient, healthy), able to survive and flourish under most circumstances, and the "orchid" child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile), who, given the right support, can thrive as much as, if not more than, other children. Boyce writes of his pathfinding research as a developmental pediatrician working with troubled children in child-development research for almost four decades, and explores his major discovery that reveals how genetic make-up and environment shape behavior. He writes that certain variant genes can increase a person's susceptibility to depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and antisocial, sociopathic, or violent behaviors. But rather than seeing this "risk" gene as a liability, Boyce, through his daring research, has recast the way we think of human frailty, and has shown that while these "bad" genes can create problems, they can also, in the right setting and the right environment, result in producing children who not only do better than before but far exceed their peers. Orchid children, Boyce makes clear, are not failed dandelions; they are a different category of child, with special sensitivities and strengths, and need to be nurtured and taught in special ways. And in The Orchid and the Dandelion, Boyce shows us how to understand these children for their unique sensibilities, their considerable challenges, their remarkable gifts.
A Japanese-American farmer recounts the challenges of taking over and renewing his family's farm in Del Rey, California, describing the pains and pleasures of farm work, and the perseverance of his grandmother.
One of the Time 100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time In the much-anticipated sequel to the “magnificent fantasy epic” (NPR) Grace of Kings, Emperor Kuni Garu is faced with the invasion of an invincible army in his kingdom and must quickly find a way to defeat the intruders. Kuni Garu, now known as Emperor Ragin, runs the archipelago kingdom of Dara, but struggles to maintain progress while serving the demands of the people and his vision. Then an unexpected invading force from the Lyucu empire in the far distant west comes to the shores of Dara—and chaos results. But Emperor Kuni cannot go and lead his kingdom against the threat himself with his recently healed empire fraying at the seams, so he sends the only people he trusts to be Dara’s savvy and cunning hopes against the invincible invaders: his children, now grown and ready to make their mark on history.
