Michelle Mulder
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Did you know that cars can run on french-fry grease or that human poop can be used to provide power to classrooms? Kids in Mexico help light up their houses by playing soccer, and in the Philippines, pop-bottle skylights are improving the quality of life for thousands of families. Brilliant! is about what happens when you harness the power of imagination and innovation: the world changes for the better! Full of examples of unusual (and often peculiar)...
2) Not a Chance
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Dian has been coming to the Dominican Republic with her doctor parents for years. Now that she's thirteen, she had wanted to stay home in Canada, but instead she is helping her parents set up their clinic and looking forward to hanging out with her Dominican friend Aracely. When fourteen-year-old Aracely makes a shocking announcement-she is engaged to be married-Dian struggles to accept that Aracely has the right to choose her own destiny, even if...
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Yeny and her family have escaped from the violence in their mountain village in Colombia to live in the city. But danger remains all around her - from groups of armed men who have kidnapped her uncle to a scary bully at school. Yeny feels powerless until her new friends decide to organize a peace carnival. Before long, the peace movement has attracted young people from across the country, and they decide to hold a national vote for peace. Inspired...
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Life is smoothest for thirteen-year-old Ellie when she keeps her opinions to herself, gets good grades and speaks carefully when her parents ask her to settle their arguments. She feels guilty that she welcomes the chance to spend the summer in another city with her mother's older sister, Jeanette. Ellie makes a new friend and learns to play an Argentine instrument called the bandoneón, which she finds in her aunt's basement. When she goes searching...
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Until a few hundred years ago, people were embarrassed to buy bread in a store. Families took pride in making almost everything they owned. These days, many people take pride in buying as much as possible! New clothes, a speedier bicycle, the latest phone. If we've got money, someone can sell us a product that will supposedly make our lives better. But each year, humanity uses resources equivalent to nearly one and a half Earths, and we're still not...
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Humans have always generated garbage, whether it's a chewed-on bone or a broken cell phone. Our landfills are overflowing, but with some creative thinking, stuff we once threw away can become a collection of valuable resources just waiting to be harvested. Trash Talk digs deep into the history of garbage, from Minoan trash pits to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and uncovers some of the many innovative ways people all over the world are dealing with...
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Ten-year-old Rosario Ramirez and her family are political refugees from Mexico, trying to make a new life in Canada.
After being teased at school, Rosario vows not to speak English again until she can speak with an accent that's one hundred percent Canadian. Since she and her parents plan to spend the whole summer working on BC fruit farms, she will be surrounded by Spanish speakers again. But when her family's closest friend
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"Placemaking--personalizing public and semi-private spaces like front yards--is a growing trend in cities and suburbs around the world, drawing people out of their homes and into conversation with one another. If you've ever built a tree fort, drawn on a sidewalk or set up a lemonade stand, you're already a natural placemaker, and your neighborhood is sweeter for it." --from book jacket.
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Pedal It! celebrates the humble bicycle-from the very first boneshakers to the sleek racing bikes of today, from handlebars to spokes to gear sprockets-and shows you why and how bikes can make the world a better place. Not only can bikes be used to power computers and generators, they can also reduce pollution, promote wellness and get a package across a crowded city-fast! Informative but not didactic, Pedal It! encourages young readers to be part...
14) Up for grabs
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"Frida and her brother, Zac, have lived in seven countries in ten years. In fact, they’ve been travelling for so long that Frida has never considered herself from anywhere—until they inherit their grandmother’s house in Victoria, British Columbia. Zac, always looking for money-making opportunities to fund their travels, is determined to sell everything in the house and expects Frida to help. Now they’re up to their ears in family heirlooms,...