Chris K. Soentpiet

Nine-year-old Booker works with his father and brother at the saltworks but dreams of the day when he'll be able to read.

When she goes looking for "something beautiful" in her city neighborhood, a young girl finds beauty in many different forms.

When seven-year-old Laura and her family visit Grandfather's grave at the Manzanar War Relocation Center, the Japanese American child leaves behind a special symbol.

A young boy hears the story of his great-great-great-grandfather and his brother who came to the United States to make a better life for themselves helping to build the transcontinental railroad.

Told in the present tense, each story becomes a glimpse of other, often lonely, lives at holiday time. These protagonists are, for the most part, outsiders looking in at more traditional families and their celebrations. One story, for instance, is of Mae, a homeless woman, who walks with her dogs through the pre-Christmas bustle of shoppers, unseen by most. She is sick and can't remember where the sick place is that they once took her to. She almost...

"Poems focusing on unique places of historical, environmental, and/or cultural interest in the United States by poets from diverse backgrounds, including Alma Flor Ada, Joseph Bruchac, Nikki Grimes, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Linda Sue Park, and many others. Includes additional information about each place, and sources"--

"Poems focusing on universal emotions, as expressed by poets from diverse backgrounds, including Joseph Bruchac, Nikki Grimes, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Pat Mora, Janet S. Wong, and many others"--Provided by publisher.

Davey is dubious about having a new adopted brother from Korea, but when he finds out that his parents still love him, he decides that having a baby brother will be fine.

Having arrived in San Francisco from China to work in his brother's store, Ming is lonely until an Irish boy befriends him.