Anne Laurel Carter – författare

Winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award for Children, the Society of School Librarians International Best Book Award and a Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor Book Ever since she was a little girl, Amani has wanted to be a shepherd, just like her beloved grandfather, Sido. For generations her family has grazed sheep above the olive groves of the family homestead near Hebron, and she has been steeped in Sido’s stories, especially one about a secret meadow called the Firdoos, where the grass is lush and the sheep grow fat, and about the wolf that once showed him the path there.But now Amani’s family home is being threatened by encroaching Jewish settlements. As she struggles to find increasingly rare grazing land for her starving sheep, her uncle and brother are tempted to take a more militant stance against the settlers. Then she accidentally meets Jonathan, an American boy visiting his settler father.Away from the pressures of their families, the two young people discover Sido’s secret meadow, the domain of a lone wolf. And Amani learns that she must share the meadow, and even her sheep, with the wolf, if she is going to continue to use it.

Inspired by a true story, Rocky Waters is about a young boy who wants nothing more than to fish for lobster with his dad. All day at school, Rocky stares out the window, imagining fishing boats sailing across the sky. He wants nothing more than to fish for lobster with his dad, and finally one season he’s old enough to go along.Before dawn, Rocky, Dad and sister Patsy untie their boat and head out to sea. Surrounded by the vast expanse of sky and water, Rocky feels as free as a seagull. His dad steers toward their first buoy, then pulls up a line of traps full of lobster. Rocky learns how to band their claws, then Patsy rebaits the traps and shoves them back into the sea. It takes a full day to haul up, empty, rebait and re-set three hundred traps, but Rocky loves every minute of it. “If the salt’s still in your veins when you’re Patsy’s age, you can leave school and fish all you want,” his dad tells him.Anne Laurel Carter’s story is inspired by the childhood memories of Rocky Gaudet, who grew up wanting to fish the sea like his Acadian ancestors. He continues to fish for lobster in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia today. Marianne Dumas’ naïve watercolor illustrations recall Rocky’s first fishing experience.Key Text Featuresauthor’s noteglossaryCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events

In this memorable story, a young boy finds solace flying his kite from the rooftop after soldiers take his father and brother away.Without his father and brother, the young boy’s life is turned upside down. He and his family have to stay inside, along with everyone else in town. At suppertime, he can’t stop looking at the two empty places at the table and his sister can’t stop crying. The boy looks out the window and is chilled to see a tank’s spotlight searching the park where he plays with his friends. He hears shouts and gunshots and catches sight of someone running in the street — if only they could fly away, he thinks.Each day the curfew is lifted briefly, and the boy goes to the park to see his friends. One day, inspired by the wind in the trees, he has an idea. Back at home he makes a kite, and that night he flies it from his rooftop, imagining what it can see.In this moving story from Anne Laurel Carter, with haunting illustrations by Akin Duzakin, a young boy finds strength through his creativity and imagination.Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

In this memorable story, a young boy finds solace flying his kite from the rooftop after soldiers take his father and brother away.Without his father and brother, the young boy’s life is turned upside down. He and his family have to stay inside, along with everyone else in town. At suppertime, he can’t stop looking at the two empty places at the table and his sister can’t stop crying. The boy looks out the window and is chilled to see a tank’s spotlight searching the park where he plays with his friends. He hears shouts and gunshots and catches sight of someone running in the street — if only they could fly away, he thinks.Each day the curfew is lifted briefly, and the boy goes to the park to see his friends. One day, inspired by the wind in the trees, he has an idea. Back at home he makes a kite, and that night he flies it from his rooftop, imagining what it can see.In this moving story from Anne Laurel Carter, with haunting illustrations by Akin Duzakin, a young boy finds strength through his creativity and imagination.Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.