Carmen Oliver

"When a children's orchestra in Cateura, Paraguay, grows to have more students than instruments, music teacher Favio Chávez works with a brilliant local carpenter to create instruments out of garbage from the local landfill"--

"The summer Simon turns thirteen, he becomes fascinated with a rare type of black bear called spirit bears. He learns that some have a pure white coat and that they exist in small numbers in the Great Bear Rainforest - not too far from his own home. But the spirit bears' habitat is under threat from deforestation, and Simon knows he must help protect these incredible animals. In school, however, Simon struggles to find his own voice. At lunchtime,...

"Deep in the heart of the wilderness, creatures come out of the darkness to sit around the Night Librarian, who transports them to the land of imagination with her silver silken stories."--