Irene Latham

"Upbeat rhyming verse and colorful illustrations of a diverse group of students invite readers to "be a bridge" by taking actions that foster inclusivity, respect, and connection"-- Provided by publisher.

A charming and significant story set prior to the Civil Rights Movement about a boy who finds a way to challenge segregation laws. Frank has always been obsessed with elephants. He loves their hosepipe trunks, tree stump feet, and swish-swish tails. So when Miss Fancy, the elephant, retires from the circus and moves two blocks from his house to Avondale Park, he's over the moon! Frank really wants to pet her. But Avondale Park is just for white people,...

Alaa loves Aleppo, but when war comes his neighbors flee to safety, leaving their many pets behind. Alaa decides to stay -- he can make a difference by driving an ambulance, carrying the sick and wounded to safety. One day he hears hungry cats calling out to him on his way home. They are lonely and scared, just like him. He feeds and pets them to let them know they are loved. The next day more cats come, and then even more! There are too many for...

Spend a day at a water hole on the African grasslands. From dawn to nightfall, see giraffes gulp, wildebeest graze, vultures squabble, and elephants wallow. Irene Latham's poems are accompanied by additional facts about the animals and their environment.

Klynt's days on her Papa's farm are the all the same, even during wartime. Until the robodog, that is. A dystopic but heartwarming novel-in-verse perfect for fans of Pax by Sara Pennypacker. In a future United States, civil war is devastating a country on its last legs. On one side: the Patriots. On the other: President Vex's corrupt government. In the middle: everybody else, just trying to survive. The war is going from bad to worse, but out in...

No kid knows more about zoo life than Whit. That's because he sleeps, eats and even attends home-school at the Meadowbrook Zoo. It's one of the perks of having a mother who's the zoo director and a father who's the head elephant keeper. Now that he's eleven, Whit feels trapped by the rules and routine of zoo life. With so many exotic animals, it's easy to get overlooked. But, when Whit notices a mysterious girl who visits every day to draw the birds,...

Wild Peace by Irene Latham and Il Sung Na is a lush, soothing mindfulness picture book about finding solace in the natural world. With lyrical text and whimsical art, Wild Peace follows a girl whose imagination helps her escape her frenzied home and discover the joys of nature. After enjoying the serenity of the forest, she is finally ready to return to her family, where peace welcomes all that is wild, and kisses the forehead of every child. When...

Twenty poets each share a poem about a mistake they made as a young person and also provide a short statement on what they learned from it.