Annette LeBox – författare

A lyrical fantasy blending fairy tale elements with contemporary issues Thirteen-year-old Suyin is a poor orphan who has a strange gift with languages and a mysterious connection to the cranes in her small Chinese village. When a shady human trafficker arrives promising luxury and riches beyond belief in America, the villagers elect Suyin - whom they consider lucky - to go as their benefactress. But instead of luxury, Suyin is forced to work in a sweatshop in New York City''s Chinatown. Suyin''s future seems hopeless, until her beloved cranes arrive and reveal that she is no ordinary girl - instead, she is the daughter of the Crane Queen. Now her mother''s life is in danger, and Suyin must prove herself worthy of her position as the Crane Princess, in order to save her mother and the entire clan of cranes. For fans of Grace Lin and Laurence Yep, this is a beautiful story of the meaning of family and finding one''s true path in life.

A lyrical story of an aspen grove through the seasons, inspired by the ground-breaking work of Dr. Suzanne Simard on how trees and fungi talk to each other.In early spring, the Mother Tree wakens. She is hundreds of years old, and her children are the sprouts that she sends up from her roots. They look like many separate trees, but they are all part of the Mother Tree.Above ground, the aspens use the sun to produce sugar. Below ground, fungi wrap threads around the aspen’s roots, feeding on the sugar that they cannot make themselves. And in exchange, the fungi carry messages from tree to tree — warnings of drought, disease and infestations.Through the seasons and years, the Mother Tree shelters and feeds the other trees, the animals that make their home in the grove and the fungi that make it possible for the trees to talk to each other. But when a violent storm upends the order of things, can the forest survive without its Mother Tree?This story of symbiosis, richly illustrated by Crystal Smith, shows how the forest inhabitants thrive by working together. An author’s note explains the significance of mycorrhizal networks and why it is crucial to protect aspen forests.Key Text FeaturesIllustrationsauthor’s notefurther informationresources Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.7With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.4Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.