Ondu-ahlem carefully trains his pigeons and prepares them for the day when he and other Ethiopian boys test the homing instinct and loyalty of their precious birds.
Eight-year-old Sarah's high spirits help make her family's long journey from Missouri to Oregon more bearable, though they do cause both her and her best friend Almira Ann some problems.
After being kidnapped and brought to the emperor's palace in Gondar, Ethiopia, twelve-year-old Saba discovers that she and her brother are part of the emperor's desperate attempt to consolidate political power in the mid-1840's.
When her sister, star-athlete Jakarta, finally joins them, Dakar feels much safer and happier in Cottonwood, North Dakota, where she and their parents are living for a year, but she still longs for their home in Africa.
Interconnecting stories featuring ten-year-old Lanie Holland, who discovers the wonders of nature in her own backyard when she helps her aunt plant a garden of wildflowers to attract birds and Monarch butterflies, but runs into trouble with the neighbor next door.
Lanie's wildflowers, planted to attract butterflies, are just starting to bloom when her neighbor sprays pesticide on the roses in her own yard, and Lanie must somehow find a way to reach a compromise to protect both gardens.
Presents a collection of short stories and poems by authors from both continents about life in various African countries and some of the experiences and impressions of Americans in Africa and of Africans in America.
A story told in poems, in which a family experiences a renewed appreciation for home and community after they are evacuated during a spring flood and then return to survey the damage. Includes a discussion guide and language arts, art, drama, social studies, and science activity suggestions.
