New Releases by Roseanne Thong

Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Honor Book In this powerful parable that explores the impact of paying it forward, a young girl named Mai inspires a chain of events that brings good things back to her. When you do a good deed, it will come back to you. Mai loves feeding the caged birds near the temple but dreams that one day she''ll see them fly free. Then she meets a young girl named Thu, and shares the joy of feeding the birds with her. This sets a chain of good deeds in motion that radiates throughout her village and beyond. Set in Vietnam, Roseanne Thong''s inspiring story is elegantly illustrated with watercolor on wood by Eujin Kim Neilan.

A little girl discovers things that are round, square, and rectangular in her Hispanic American neighborhood.

"Take a tour of the many delightful ways children from cultures around the world help their wishes come true"--Dust jacket.

Readers discover shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and more as a little girl finds color in many everyday things that are Asian in origin. Full-color illustrations.

Rhyming text celebrates the early years of a daughter''s life, from wobbly first steps to romping in the rain.

A light up counting book. Teaches counting from 1 to 10.

A young girl numbers her discoveries in the world around her, from one dragon boat to four mahjong players to ten bamboo stalks.

At the wishing tree on Lunar New Year with his grandmother Ming''s wishes always seemed to come true, but one year the tree does not help, and he alone must make peace with the loss of his grandmother and the spirit of the tree. An enormous banyan tree with thick, leafy branches grew in the center of a village near an ancient temple in a green valley with a gurgling stream. Every Lunar New Year, Ming and his grandmother visited the Wishing Tree. Its branches were covered with wishes, each written on red and yellow paper fluttering in the breeze, secured by the weight of an orange. Grandmother warned him to wish carefully, and sure enough, Ming''s wishes always seemed to come true. But one year-when Ming made the most important wish of his life-the tree let him down. The Wishing Tree is about the excitement of making wishes, the anticipation over waiting for them to come true and the futility of making unrealistic ones. It is also about the love between a boy and his grandmother, and the realization that sometimes, we already possess the most important things in life.

A little girl''s neighborhood becomes a discovery ground of things round, square and rectangular. Many of the objects are Asian in origin, other universal: round rice bowls and a found pebble, square dim sum and pizza boxes, rectangular Chinese lace and very special pencil case. Bright art accompanies this lively introduction to shapes and short glossary explains the cultural significance of the objects featured in the book. Perfect for read-alouds or one-on-one sharing.

As a little girl discovers things round, square, and rectangular in her urban neighborhood, she is reminded of her Chinese American culture.