Books with author Jacqueline Greene

When the sun rises in the sky it does so at the bidding of the Story Teller. All my people gather around to hear the ancient tales and welcome the life-giving sun. But when the Story Teller begins to weaken and her words falter our people see that the sun also begins to weaken and falter and we are afraid. We know without the stories our people cannot survive, but the Story Teller has no kin – no one to carry on the telling...This early reader to middle grade book is told in the style of an island storyteller. It speaks of a community’s need for its history and is perfect to read aloud. At the end of the story there are questions to encourage readers to think about the tale.

In Prince Gerald's Very Big Responsibilities, Prince Gerald is being groomed to become the ruler of the Realm of Long Pond. Each day he meets with his tutors and accompanies his father as he conducts his royal duties. But the Prince has a secret; he doesn't want to be the ruler of the Realm of Long Pond. How can he follow his dream when he has such very big responsibilities?Brother Solomon is a monk. He is a very big monk, and he spends his days chopping wood and doing most of the heavy work around the monastery. But when the Father Abbot announces that he needs to find some new scribes to do the work of copying out manuscripts by hand, Brother Solomon is both excited and sad. He is excited because he has always wanted to be a scribe, but he is sad because no one would think of having a big huge monk work on the delicate manuscripts. In Big Brother Solomon: A Scribe and a Half, Brother Solomon dares to follow his dream.It is the first day of formation training for seven-year-olds and the two sisters, Una and Petulia do not want to be late. But when Petulia shows up wearing a shiny pink outfit Una is a aghast because Dragons Don't Wear Pink.In Dr. Del and Nurse Buttercup Dr. Del has a problem. Nurse Buttercup is Dr. Del’s most trusted assistant. Not only does she help him take care of his patients, she also makes sure his office runs smoothly. But Nurse Buttercup is very grumpy – not such a good thing for a doctor who works with little children every day.Most of Petal’s friends believed The Dreamtoucher’s Tale was just a silly fairytale – a story that fairy mothers told their children to help them create their dreams. “The Dreamtoucher knows,” they said. “She knows if you are being good children and creating good dreams. Dreams your families can be proud of.” But today Petal really needs to believe in the Dreamtoucher because without her Petal will not be able to dream her dreams into the world like all good fairies should.

My Name is Noel is a middle-grade chapter book set in Miami, Florida. The main character is a 12-year-old Haitian boy named Noel. Noel and his grandfather have recently braved the ocean, in a small boat, to leave French-speaking Haiti and join his parents in Miami. He soon learns it is not popular to be Haitian in Miami and he thinks it is because of his French background and his dark skin. He cannot change his skin, but he can change his French name in the hope that his classmates will accept him. Instead of being called Noel, he asks to be called Neal. When Noel joins his new school’s soccer team and uses the soccer skills he learned from his father in Haiti to help the team win an important game, his schoolmates begin to accept him. My Name is Noel is written from Noel’s point of view and describes an immigrant boy’s struggle to fit in. The problems he faces trying to get used to a new country are compounded by his poverty and a general unfriendliness towards Haitians in Miami. Young people reading this story will see how overcoming their own prejudices can lead to real friendships.

Kiesha doesn't understand what is happening to her family. Papa hides behind the newspaper at dinner time. Her big brother Derrick is always grumpy and is getting into trouble all the time. And Mama seems unhappy. If not for her precious library books, Kiesha would be unhappy all the time too. When she discovers a family celebration called Kwanzaa, Kiesha thinks she has found a way to help her family. She works hard to create a special family Kwanzaa, but is it too late? In this middle grade fiction story readers will learn about how some families celebrate Kwanzaa, but this story is really about family and togetherness and the power of love. At the end of each chapter I have provided questions to help you think a bit more about what happened .

In the early 1400s the Duke, Jean de Berry commissioned a book. At this time books were written out by hand and lavishly illustrated by highly accomplished artists. The Duke's book is a most valuable example of the art of the illuminated manuscript that was perfected during the Middle Ages. This nonfiction book is written for the middle grade (8-12 year old) reader. It covers the art of making illuminated manuscripts in a lively and engaging way.

Nurse Buttercup was Dr. Del’s most trusted assistant. Not only did she help him take care of his patients, she also made sure his office ran smoothly. She made sure his billing clerk paid the bills on time. She checked the daily schedule to make sure all the appointments had been confirmed, and she watered all the potted plants. But Nurse Buttercup was very grumpy – not such a good thing for a doctor who worked with little children every day. Dr. Del needs to find a way to make Nurse Buttercup smile.

Before the sun has even begun to rise in the sky, the beating of African drums can be heard all throughout the colonial city of Havana. Children and adults alike feel the excitement building as the shuffling and shifting of many people moving about in the streets signify that the celebration of Epiphany will soon begin. This is nineteenth-century Cuba and dancing on el Día de Reyes, or the Day of the Kings, is how many people of color who live here celebrate the Catholic feast day of Epiphany. On this day – slave or free – people of color are allowed to gather together dressed in their finery and dance to their special music all through the Havana streets. In this nonfiction middle grade book, readers will learn about how people of color in the 1800s in Cuba celebrated the Catholic feast of the Epiphany.