Winner of the Newbery Medal—a brilliant journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human. “Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes — truly a beautiful cuento.”—New York Times Había una vez . . . There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra’s world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children — among them Petra and her family — have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet — and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity’s past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard — or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? P R A I S E “Clever and compelling … wonderfully subversive.” —The Wall Street Journal ★ “This tale packs a wallop. Exquisite.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred) ★ “Gripping, euphonious, and full of storytelling magic.” —Publishers Weekly (starred) ★ “A strong, heroic character, fighting incredible odds to survive and protect others.” —School Library Journal (starred) A W A R D S Winner of the John Newbery Medal Winner of the Pura Belpré Award BEST OF THE YEAR TIME - Wall Street Journal - Minneapolis Star Tribune’s - Boston Globe - BookPage - Publishers Weekly - School Library Journal - Kirkus - Bank Street - Chicago Public Library - New York Public Library

The Last Cuentista

The sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Last Cuentista series from Newbery medalist Donna Barba Higuera! For 400 years, Earth has been a barren wasteland. The few humans that survive scrape together an existence in the cruel city of Pocatel – or go it alone in the wilderness beyond, filled with wandering spirits and wyrms. They don’t last long. 13 year-old pickpocket Leandro and his sister Gabi do what they can to forge a life in Pocatel. The city does not take kindly to Cascabel like them – the descendants of those who worked the San Joaquin Valley for generations. When Gabi is caught stealing precious fruit from the Pocatelan elite, Leando takes the fall. But his exile proves more than he ever could have imagined -- far from a simple banishent, his consciousness is placed inside an ancient drone and left to fend on its own. But beyond the walls of Pocatel lie other alebrijes like Leandro who seek for a better world -- as well as mutant monsters, wasteland pirates, a hidden oasis, and the truth. From Newbery and Pura Belpré medalist Donna Barba Higuera comes the second book in the Cuentista series, featuring her signature blend of dystopian scifi and Mexican folklore in a funhouse mirror of our own civilization. W I N N E R PURA BELPRÉ HONOR P R A I S E “Engrossing.” — The Guardian ★ “An instant classic.” —School Library Journal (starred) ★ "Breathtaking… A ferociously epic and beautiful middle-grade dystopian novel.” —Shelf Awareness (starred) ★ “Combines humanity and technology with imaginative splendor.” —Foreword (starred) ★ “This heartfelt adventure signals hope for humanity, even in the aftermath of darkness.” —Kirkus (starred) ★ “High-stakes adventure… Beautiful, imaginative writing fills this dystopian sf novel. Though it exposes cruelty and corruption, it raises up storytelling, culture, and kindness as stronger yet… A wondrous addition to any collection.” —Booklist (starred) ★ “This stellar speculative narrative explores themes of identity across circumstance, centering an adolescent without structural power working to protect family and community.” —Publishers Weekly (starred) ★ “Higuera brilliantly balances the heaviness of a dystopian future of a ruined Earth with her own blend of science fiction and Mexican folkloric elements once Leandro leaves his human body… Leandro and his unflinching dedication to an uplifting view of humanity that will spark engagement from the first page and linger in the minds of readers well after they finish the novel.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred) “With its social and environmental commentary, this fast-paced and imaginative novel tackles issues of deception and control and leaves one with a sense of wonder that a single flap of a wing or a solitary voice can bring about unimaginable change.” —Horn Book BEST OF THE YEAR New York Times · Kirkus · Booklist · Chicago Public Library

Alebrijes: Cuentista Book II

From New York Times bestselling author Donna Barba Higuera, Firesnake delivers a triumphant finale to the story that began with the Newbery Medal-winning The Last Cuentista and continued in the Pura Belpré Honor-winning Alebrijes. Itzel has never known a life on Earth. Growing up on Sagan, the granddaughter of the Cuentista, her years have been spent among the dactyls, griblets, and billow seeds of their new planet. But when a mysterious message arrives from across the cosmos, Itzel realizes that the home they thought destroyed hundreds of years ago has survived...and with it, another community of humans. Will she and the other Saganites brave the journey back to Earth? And what will they find? For they are not the only ones who have received this message... Master storyteller Donna Barba Higuera brings her beloved Cuentista trilogy to a close in a book full of old friends and new, jaw-dropping twists, and a journey to the stars and back.

Firesnake

Journey to a new world to explore the struggle of humanity’s perseverance. This resource keeps higher learners engaged and interested in the book. Match key vocabulary words used in the story with their meanings. Describe what the quote “a world without story is lost” means to you. Choose the correct answer that matches the questions about Petra’s experience waking up on the ship. Explain the motivations behind the Collective’s actions. Design and create a survivor’s guide to space travel. Illustrate the support that shapes Petra’s identity with a family tree. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: The Last Cuentista is a science-fiction story that promotes the importance of storytelling. Petra and her family are headed on a long journey through space to find a new home. Earth is about to be hit by Halley’s Comet. The journey will take hundreds of years, but Petra and her family will be asleep the entire time, only waking up when they reach their new planet. Her family has been chosen to leave because of their important science backgrounds. Her parents want Petra to follow in their footsteps, but she wants to be a storyteller like her grandmother. While sleeping, something goes wrong and Petra remains aware of what’s going on. She’s eventually woken up by people she no longer recognizes. She learns quickly that these people have reprogrammed everyone who were meant to reach the new planet; however, Petra is still herself. She must play along so she’s not uncovered, all the while she tries to figure out what went wrong and how she can fix things.

The Last Cuentista - Literature Kit Gr. 7-8

Books and stories can inspire, create empathy, and be cathartic outlets. They expand our understanding of the lived experience as one of the most important conduits for how we spread knowledge and participate in shared humanity. Building on the work of Rudine Sims Bishop, Battle of the Bans: Narratives of Reading and Engaging with Banned Books explores how challenged and banned books act as windows, mirrors, and sliding doors. In the United States and globally, the twenty-first century is seeing renewed efforts at banning books in a variety of forms, including parental controls, book burning, curricular erasure and epistemicide, and social media banning. These efforts have the potential of silencing particular stories, histories, and perspectives. Book banning targets and has deleterious impacts on particular communities, including but not restricted to people of color, LGBTQ+, religious and cultural minorities, and people with different abilities. This edited collection counteracts the narrative that books are dangerous, centering a celebration of how stories shape lives. Educators, families, and individuals present a range of perspectives on how particular banned books have changed their lived experience and view of the world. Contributors discuss children’s literature, young adult literature, fiction, and nonfiction texts. The book is comprised of three parts. In the Context section, contributors explore lessons and/or situations for how banned books have, can, or should be used. In the Introspection section, contributors provide narratives about how banned books shaped a sense of self. In the Action section, contributors detail steps taken in response to book bans, providing strategies for countering censorship and erasure in classrooms, schools, and libraries. Battle of the Bans creates hope and conversation in an era of political divisiveness. It inspires readers to reflect on their own experiences with books, creates dialogue, and provides pathways to challenge book banning, ensuring access to stories, histories, and perspectives. The book will appeal to a wide range of audiences, including academics, librarians, classroom teachers, parents, and readers who understand the value of books and literature. Perfect for courses such as: Multicultural Literature; Honors Seminar/Special Topics: Book Banning; Curriculum Theory in Education; History of Reading; Contemporary Social Issues; Introduction to American Studies; Introduction to Policy Studies; Qualitative Research Methods; Narrative Research Methods; and Essay Writing

Battle of the Bans

The fifth edition of Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas: Enhancing Knowledge in the Disciplines provides readers with the knowledge, motivation, tools, and confidence for integrating literacy in their disciplinary classrooms. Offering a literature-based approach to teaching disciplinary literacy, the new edition shares important ways in which teachers of courses in the disciplines can enhance student learning of subject matter and skills while also fostering their growth in the many facets of literacy. Throughout each chapter, Kane provides engaging and creative strategies and activities to make literacy come alive in discipline-specific courses and to encourage students to explore and learn in the classroom. Embedded in each chapter are examples, resources, and strategies to help readers actively engage with and implement literacy practices. These features include Teaching in Action examples by subject area; Activating Prior Knowledge activities to stimulate critical thinking to prepare readers to learn complex theoretical and conceptual material about teaching, learning, and literacy; and end-of-chapter Application Activities to apply field experiences to classroom use. New to the Fifth Edition Every chapter of this new edition is updated to reflect the current approaches, standards, and benchmarks for discipline-specific literacy A new introduction with reading activities for professors to exemplify a common reading experience with their students, supported by online reading materials New book talks to highlight books that show disciplinary thinking in action, including literature related to art, physical education, economics, computer science, engineering, food science, music, robotics, environmental science, family and consumer science, and technology Expanded practical instructional strategies, with new examples focused on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) fields and topics relating to diversity and language, ESL/ENL, and modern language learning Updated examples and activities to emphasize students’ active involvement in their own learning

Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas

Offering future school librarians, teachers, and working librarians an alternative to lengthier textbooks on children's literature, this engaging book introduces readers to the most important genres and current conversations in the field while leaving them time to read children's literature directly.

The Children’s Literature Selection Handbook, K–8

This book provides in-depth coverage of children's literature with integrated reading methods in a concise, accessible format. Johnson emphasizes that reading, writing, discussing, and finding pleasure in children's books are essential tools in being able to recognize and recommend literature, and being able to share the joy of children's literature with children themselves. This fully updated third edition includes up-to-date research, new book titles within each chapter, a greater focus on diversity and inclusion, and new sections on Activities for Professional Development and Print and Online Resources.

The Joy of Children's Literature

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