Books with author John Bemelmans Marciano

The second book in an exciting new chapter book series by John Bemelmans Marciano and Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall. Welcome to Benevento, an ancient town famous for its witches! The children of Benevento have to be careful and clever to evade the clutches of such witches as the Manalonga, the Janara, and the Clopper, who hide in wells and under bridges, fly at midnight, and play tricks during Mischief Season. Five cousins – Primo, Emilio, Rosa, Maria Beppina, and Sergio – share adventures and narrow escapes, and discover astonishing secrets as they outwit the witches in each exciting story. Book #2The All-Powerful Ring: a Primo StoryWanting to stop the springtime mischiefs—and overcome his own fear of Manalonga—Primo seeks an advantage. He finds one when he discovers a mysterious ring in the belly of a fish. Is the ring just a pretty trinket or is it magic?

On May 25, 2012, President Obama announced that the United States would spend the next thirteen years – through November 11, 2025 – commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, and the American soldiers, “more than 58,000 patriots,” who died in Vietnam. The fact that at least 2.1 million Vietnamese – soldiers, parents, grandparents, children – also died in that war will be largely unknown and entirely uncommemorated. And U.S. history barely stops to record the millions of Vietnamese who lived on after being displaced, tortured, maimed, raped, or born with birth defects, the result of devastating chemicals wreaked on the land by the U.S. military. The reason for this appalling disconnect of consciousness lies in an unremitting public relations campaign waged by top American politicians, military leaders, business people, and scholars who have spent the last sixty years justifying the U.S. presence in Vietnam. It is a campaign of patriotic conceit superbly chronicled by John Marciano in The American War in Vietnam: Crime or Commemoration?. A devastating follow-up to Marciano’s 1979 classic Teaching the Vietnam War (written with William L. Griffen), Marciano’s book seeks not to commemorate the Vietnam War, but to stop the ongoing U.S. war on actual history. Marciano reveals the grandiose flag-waving that stems from the “Noble Cause principle,” the notion that America is “chosen by God” to bring democracy to the world. Marciano writes of the Noble Cause being invoked unsparingly by presidents – from Jimmy Carter, in his observation that, regarding Vietnam, “the destruction was mutual,” to Barack Obama, who continues the flow of romantic media propaganda: “The United States of America … will remain the greatest force for freedom the world has ever known.” The result is critical writing and teaching at its best. This book will find a home in classrooms where teachers seek to do more than repeat the trite glorifications of U.S. empire. It will provide students everywhere with insights that can prepare them to change the world.

The third book in an exciting new chapter book series by John Bemelmans Marciano and Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall. Welcome to Benevento, an ancient town famous for its witches!The children of Benevento have to be careful and clever to evade the clutches of such witches as the Manalonga, the Janara, and the Clopper, who hide in wells and under bridges, fly at midnight, and play tricks during Mischief Season.Five cousins – Primo, Emilio, Rosa, Maria Beppina, and Sergio – share adventures and narrow escapes, and discover astonishing secrets as they outwit the witches in each exciting story. Book #3Beware the Clopper!: a Maria Beppina StoryMaria Beppina, the timid tag-along cousin, is always afraid that the Clopper, the old witch who chases the children, will catch her. And then one day she decides to stop—just stop—and see what the Clopper will do.

The fourth book in an exciting new chapter book series by John Bemelmans Marciano and Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall. Welcome to Benevento, an ancient town famous for its witches!The children of Benevento have to be careful and clever to evade the clutches of such witches as the Manalonga, the Janara, and the Clopper, who hide in wells and under bridges, fly at midnight, and play tricks during Mischief Season.Five cousins – Primo, Emilio, Rosa, Maria Beppina, and Sergio – share adventures and narrow escapes, and discover astonishing secrets as they outwit the witches in each exciting story. Book #4Respect Your Ghosts: a Sergio Story It’s Sergio’s job to take care of Bis Bis, the ancestor spirit who lives upstairs. Unfortunately, it’s hard to satisfy all the ghost’s demands and still keep Sergio’s mother happy.

The Benevento cousins return for more adventures in the ancient town that's famous for its witches!The Benevento children are excitedly preparing for the annual Boar Hunt, where the prize of the Golden Tusk is given to the ten-year old who catches the boar. No girl has ever competed, but Rosa is determined to take part -- and win! She refuses to stay home and help take care of the new baby and cook and clean. She will just have to run away.Life was very different in Benevento of the 1800s, and John Marciano's clever story and Sophie Blackall's charming illustrations bring the town, its people, and its past to vivid life.

Readers will see Washington, D.C., as never before, when Madeline takes a midnight sightseeing tour on a magic carpet of cherry blossoms. Invited to the White House by Candle, the president's lonely only daughter, for the annual Easter Egg hunt and roll, Madeline and the other little girls have a rollicking good time, and introduce Candle to the joys of occasionally breaking the rules. With a bouncy read-aloud text and gorgeous watercolor pictures, Madeline at the White House is in the best tradition of the beloved Madeline books.

The exciting adventures of the Benevento cousins continue, as Primo discovers the identity of the secret Janara.Primo has been given a tantalizing clue about the secret Janara: the Janara lives with him! How can he discover who it is? Only that success will console him for his humiliating defeat at the boar hunt, where Rosa was the winner. Rosa!! Girls are not even supposed to compete. One night Primo finds a clue. Behind the head of the goddess Diana, the ancient statue in his kitchen, he discovers a bottle of the oil that a Janara needs to transform him or herself before flying off for a night of mischiefs. If he can stay awake one night, surely the Janara will be revealed. But what will he do with the knowledge?The Benevento children continue to encounter and outwit witches in the sixth and most suspenseful adventure yet of the Witches of Benevento series.