Books published by publisher Vanita Books

Ivan's Great Fall is the story of a young boy reluctant to say goodbye to summer. Everything about summer makes him happy. Summer is endless days of play and nights full of stars. As summer turns to fall, he discovers autumn has a charm of its own. Fall is friends and school, trees full of brilliant colors and a chill in the air. Ivan's Great Fall introduces children to the poetry of Keats, Dickinson, Sandburg, Bronte and others. Excerpts from their writings, as seen through Ivan's eyes, will open up poetry as a way for children to express their own feelings about the changing of seasons. This book includes longer excerpts and brief bios of each author.

The early Railroads became a sign of hope to American people. The work was dangerous. They were a close group who supported each other...men of great honor. By 1910 the railroads employed 1,699,420 Americans. They were conductors, brakemen, firemen, engineers, porters, telegraphers, switchmen and section gangs. Some of the hardest workers were the section gangs. One group called Gandy Dancers, sang songs that helped keep them working together to straighten the tracks. This is a story about the Gandy Dancers, a forgotten group of men like the Pullman Porters. This is our second book in our black history series that we should never forget.

Children are innately curious about words, especially phrases that make them laugh (""Ants in your pants!""), sound silly (""Barking up the wrong tree"" or ""Goosebumps"") or trigger images that tickle a child's sense of the absurd (""Like a bull in a china shop""). Birds of a Feather introduces children to the magic of idioms words that separately have one meaning, but together take on something entirely different. Birds of a Feather introduces idioms with outlandish illustrations of what the words describe literally. The reader then has to guess the ""real"" meaning of the phrases (which is upside down in the corner of each spread). At the end of the book, the reader is invited to learn more about these figures of speech.

Children are innately curious about words, especially phrases that make them laugh (""Ants in your pants!""), sound silly (""Barking up the wrong tree"" or ""Goosebumps"") or trigger images that tickle a child's sense of the absurd (""Like a bull in a china shop""). Birds of a Feather introduces children to the magic of idioms words that separately have one meaning, but together take on something entirely different. Birds of a Feather introduces idioms with outlandish illustrations of what the words describe literally. The reader then has to guess the ""real"" meaning of the phrases (which is upside down in the corner of each spread). At the end of the book, the reader is invited to learn more about these figures of speech.

Let Me Bee is about unfounded fear and how children can reduce these anxieties as they learn and understand more about the source of their alarm. A little boy is, understandably, afraid of bees. ""You don't know how I feel when I see a bee and it seems like they always come straight after me!"" But the bee responds, ""I'm no wasp or hornet, I'm a sweet honeybee. I don't think you're seeing the actual me."" The dialogue continues as the boy and the bee learn about each other with Mom helping our little boy understand that there are many places to learn about bees and how they help us and overcome his fear.

Ivy In Bloom captures the weariness of a young girl tired of a long winter. ""I stare out the window,"" she says on the first spread of brown and gray, ""looking for birds or flowers / or even warm showers / but I don't see any such thing."" But then Spring comes when ""March is out of breath snow melting to flowery waters and watery flowers spring rose from its wintry rest."" And Ivy's ""heart dances with daffodils."" As these words also dance across each spread, Ivy's world erupts into a riot of color. Ivy In Bloom introduces the poetry of Dickinson, Longfellow, Browning, Wordsworth, Frost and others. Excerpts from their writings, as seen through Ivy's eyes, will open up poetry as a way for children to express their own feelings about the changing of seasons. This book includes longer excerpts and brief bios of each author.

The Arctic region of North America is a land of long days, icy cold, hardy people and peculiar creatures. The Inuit people there have made traditional use of remarkable folk tales to find truth and explain the mysteries of an astonishing world. In Fish-Boy: An Inuit Folk Tale, Vanita Oelschlager retells a tale passed down by a wise old Inuit. It's an origin story involving a little magic and a very odd boy with a large heart for friendship. On a journey with his new father, he must confront misfortune and the malice of cold hearted villagers. But he has a way...and a lesson for all in the virtues of kindness and hospitality. Here then, is high praise for the tale-tellers: for the richness, diversity and creativity they send from the top of the world- and so, also Fish Boy, An Inuit Folk Tale, retold here and lavishly illustrated for a new generation. After all, that is how ancient folk tales and truth live on in the telling.

Bonyo Bonyo is a true story about how a Kenyan boy’s courage and determination, along with critical support from family and strangers, helped him live out his dream of becoming a physician. Pursuing his goal forces him to leave his family and ultimately his country. But years later he is able to return as a doctor with the resources to build a much-needed clinic.Bonyo’s story is full of wonderful core values: individual determination, growth through loss and pain, willingness of others to help us reach goals, the benefits of giving back. Intended for 4-8 year olds, ones who are old enough to understand how hard it would be to leave your family just so you can continue to go to school.Vanita Oelschlager wrote this book after interviewing Dr. Bonyo Bonyo. Dr. Bonyo Bonyo practices family medicine in Akron,Ohio. He tells each patient that they are family to him.

“Inspirational” is the word for this picture-book biography of a poor child in rural Kenya who grows up to become a successful doctor in the U.S. and returns to set up a clinic in the village where he was born. True to Bonyo's viewpoint, the direct, first-person narrative begins with the young boy's life of hardship, his heartbreak when his baby sister dies, and his dream that he will someday put a hospital in the village. He walks barefoot for two days across two rivers in order to attend boarding school, eventually makes it to Catholic high school, and then at 17 is accepted into a Texas college on scholarship. The clear illustrations with thick black lines and glowing color are dramatic yet spare, portraying the ever-present hardship and hunger in the village, the boy's struggle to get an education, and his determination to succeed. The quiet, triumphant climax shows people today lining up with their babies at Dr. Bonyo's village clinic. The message of harambee, or togetherness, is universal.

Magic Words describes a world where humans and animals share bodies andlanguages, where the world of the imagination mixes easily with the physical. Itbegan as a story that told how the Inuit people came to be and became a legendpassed from generation to generation. In translation it grew from myth to poem.The text comes from expedition notes recorded by Danish explorer KnudRasmussen in 1921. Edward Field got a copy from the Harvard Library andtranslated it into English.

Porcupette Finds a Family, is a story about how a baby porcupine (called a porcupette) finds a new family after losing his mother. He wants to have an attachment to the bear family he finds, but is afraid his “bear” mother and “bear” brother and sister will leave him too. This causes him to act out his fears in ways that jeopardize acceptance from his adopted family. However, with the understanding and help of Mother Bear, Porcupette finally accepts that he is truly loved and wanted despite, or maybe because of, his differences.

The story is based on the actual experiences of Moses, an eight year-old boy and resident of St. Helene’s orphanage outside Port-au-Prince. As an infant, he was literally plucked from the waters of a nearby river, having been placed in a basket by whom we believe was his grandmother. The rest of his family perished in floods that wiped out their upland village in 2004. He was given his name by the nuns at St. Helene’s. The title is Moses’ reply to the author when she asked where he is from. After the earthquake of 2010 destroyed Port-au-Prince and much of the surround- ing area, the orphanage was flooded with a new wave of parentless boys and girls. Moses helped these children adapt to their new lives and in so doing displays a fearless hope and determination that may lead to Haiti’s renewal as a self-support- ing nation. St. Helene’s orphanage is run by Father Rick Frechette known globally for his dedication to improving the lives of poor children across Latin America. Net profits from I Came From the Water will go to support St. Helene’s and Father Rick’s efforts to help rebuild Haiti by offering a safe place to live and a free education for children like Moses.