Kids Book Index
Heather Smith
Eleven-year-old Tig has been abandoned by her mother, whose alcoholism has shaped her life. Her uncle and his partner take her in, offering a new family and a loving home. Tig struggles with the abuse she has experienced and with finding calm within herself. The book traces her difficult adjustment as she tries to make peace with her past and her new family circumstances.
This book appears on 1 reading list across 1 edition.
Mr. Pei’s Perfect Shapes: The Story of Architect I. M. PeiJulie Leung, illustrated by Yifan WuThis picture-book biography follows architect I. M. Pei from his childhood interest in buildings to his later work with modern geometric forms. It presents his signature structures and his approach to bringing design and environment together. Illustrations show Pei developing ideas for his creations. The book focuses on an architect’s life, the shapes in his work, and the process of imagining and designing buildings.Ages 08–10On the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Nothing: John Cage and 4’33”Nicholas DayThis history introduces John Cage’s 4’33”, a composition in which pianist David Tudor sat at a piano in a concert hall in 1952 without playing notes for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. The account asks what can be heard when a performance appears silent: audience members shifting or clearing their throats, rain, and wind in the trees. It follows the unsettled response of the first audience and the work’s later performances, exploring Cage’s attention to the sounds surrounding silence.Nine to TwelveOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Toypurina: Japchivit Leader, Medicine Woman, Tongva RebelCheyenne M. Stone, Glenda ArmandThis picture-book biography follows Toypurina, a Japchivit medicine woman, during Spanish colonization in California. In 1785, after the Spanish urged her people toward the San Gabriel mission and mistreated them, she led a revolt against the mission. The account presents her resistance to colonial pressure and the conflict surrounding her community.Nine to TwelveOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details