Environment

[close] Don't you love a little rebellion once in a while? We do too! Co-authors Marybeth Caldarone and Carol Liu set out to show young readers that one person--no, make that one young person--actually, one young person living with a disability--can indeed change the world. Or her little corner of it!

In the sequel to "Arlene On the Scene," readers hitch a ride for more adventures with Arlene and her friends. This time, it's about making history! They set out to reduce their school's carbon footprint, facing stiff opposition from their principal. Taking a page from history's greatest social movements, Arlene and her friends settle on "protest theater" to make their voices heard. (Script for their play is included in the book for classroom use!)

SLJ review: "This gentle, humorous book has several messages but delivers them positively and relatively lightly." [close]

[close] When Sam hears that the storms along Scotland's east coast, there's only one thing he wants to do - catch the surf. Missing out is not an option. Taking his board out to sea is full of risk.

The storms are even heavier than Sam expects and he doesn't escape unscathed. Nor do the local towns and beaches which are left battered, damaged and covered in the detritus of the sea, including some rather strange looking rocks the likes of which nobody has ever seen before.

In the storm's aftermath, however, there are a series of unusual events.

First of all, there are the missing dogs, followed closely by the disappearence of some young children who were last seen playing on the sand. Not to mention the unusual noises that have been keeping people awake at night.

Talk on the streets of Dunbar is that it's Black Agnes returned to take revenge. Others fear environmental catastrophe. Still more cite ancient visions of the end of the world.

The Rocks Below is a tale suitable for adults, young adults and older children. It contains a subtle yet powerful message relating to environmental issues.

Fusing elements of crime fiction, science fiction and adventure stories, this is a book that entertains and stimulates thought in one exciting read. [close]

[close] Aurora Levins Morales was born in rural Puerto Rico in 1954, of Puerto Rican and Ashkenazi Jewish parents. A lifelong feminist and radical, artist and activist, storyteller and historian, her writing bridges the gap between the intimately personal and the global, between sensual experience and theory. In Kindling she explores the meanings of sickness and healing, suffering and pleasure, through the story of her own body, of all our bodies, of the body of the planet.

Kindling is a collage of prose poetry, poems, essays, performance pieces and memoir, exploring the rich complexity od living in a physical and social body. From 19th century bomba dancers to the environmental causes of epilepsy from eugenics to the Cuban health care system, from the sexuality of the chronically sick and tired, to a broader interpretation of taking back the night, Levins Morales writes with passion and insight, self-revelation and global,historical perspective.


“Aurora’s writing is itself alchemy, balancing emotional nuance with rich historical context, simultaneously speaking in an intimate personal voice and for a collective we. She offers us vulnerable, power-filled lyricism that moves the audience to new understandings of their own lives as she claims her body’s pleasures and pain. Her writing moves me like no other.”
Patty Berne, Cofounder and Artistic Director, Sins Invalid


“Medically, ‘kindling’ refers to the way bodies can be sensitized by small, repeated exposures to chemicals or electric shocks. Aurora Levins Morales’ essays and poems about the human body’s responses to oppression describe both the kindling of disease and of consciousness, fragments of tinder that ignite into a blazing awareness of our bodies as sites of struggle and transformation.”
Casimira Fuentes O’Neill, M.D.
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