A stirring book written by the National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo. This novel brims with the themes of family, realization, and a huge deal of raw emotions. Clap When You Land is a young adult novel, centering the life of two half-sisters: Camino Rios and Yahaira Rios, who before an extremely tragic incident which lead to the sudden demise of their father, did not know of each other’s existence for sixteen years. Set in the Dominican Republic, Acevedo writes about heritage and family from the eyes of the leading characters. Acevedo portraits with her words the dysfunctional family relationships, and how the two girls digest the death of their father, while trying to adapt to their unique and spectacular sisterhood. This novel depicts the life-shattering event that binds both sisters together. The story is beautiful, sad, and hopeful all at the same time.

If you’re looking for a good minute to read a book with your child before bedtime or a teacher wanting to share a hilarious story with your students at story time sessions, Penguin by Polly Dundar is the perfect book to delve into. In the story, Ben could not be more delighted to find a penguin as a birthday present, yet there is just one problem… Penguin does not respond to any of Ben’s actions! Eventually, something extraordinary happens and the odds are in Ben’s favor! Towards the end of the story, this book urges children to read pictures, recall events, and most importantly IMAGINE! Also, it is only fair to point out that this text of the book is simple yet extremely effective and is packed with a series of amusing rhythmic punches!

When it comes to Egypt, most people might be familiar with the period of the pharaohs or the age of the Great Pyramid of Giza, but what about the exciting 1920’s of Cairo? Published last year, Midnight in Cairo highlights the contributions of the pioneering female actresses, journalists, singers, and dancers of Egypt on the arts and entertainment industries and how they have based the foundation of it all. Cormack tells the thrilling stories of a wide selection of names varying from Aziza Amira and Tahiya Carioca the belly dancers to Rose al-Youssef the journalist, Fatima Rushi the actress, and finally the singers Oum Kalthoum and Mounira Al-Mahdiyya. The quality of his research provides a thorough look into the establishment of the entertainment industry and nightlife in Egypt during the 20’s. Grab a copy and delve into an exciting rediscovery of the world’s most multicultural cities, Cairo!