Books with title Border Crossing

Fiction. In this debut novel, Maria Collen Cruz creates the vibrant voice of a girl just on the brink of understanding. With her journal at her side, this thoughtful and creative character tackles complicated issues of identity and self-empowerment The things Ceci Alvarez does not know about her father's family send her riding rails from Los Angeles to Tijuana, Mexico in order to piece together the mysteries behind a set of her Nana's photographs. Tony, a lively young teen Ceci meets on the train, leads her from one country to the next, and challenges her to see Mexico as "green and brown. It's little villages with big farms, and lots of grass, and towns where electricity is something not everyone has. It's spicy chiles, juicy tomatoes, and light tortillas. It's music, and laughter, and pride."

In Border Crossing, when Ceci Alvarez decides to spend time thinking about who she is — and avoid taking yoga or reading books out of the “Self-Help” section when she grows up — she knows certain things about herself. She is twelve going on thirteen. She is four feet and nine inches tall. She is named Cecilia Maryann Alvarez after her grandmothers, one name English and one name Spanish, which “made sense, since one of my grandmas spoke English and one spoke Spanish.” But the things the teenager does not know will send her riding the rails from Los Angeles to Tijuana, Mexico to learn a little something about her father’s family. One day while in her Nana’s room, Ceci discovers a table brimming with old photographs of people she does not know and places she has never been. “Those pictures were probably the first things in the whole house which had ever interested me.” This extraordinary find and the rapid Spanish of her grandmother’s accusation that her father is embarrassed to be Mexican, propel Ceci on an odyssey that leads her from the trail of photographs to a new discovery. Tony, a lively young teen Ceci meets on the train, leads her from one country to the next, and challenges her to see Mexico as “green and brown. It’s little villages with big farms, and lots of grass, and towns where electricity is something not everyone has. It’s spicy chilies, juicy tomatoes, and light tortillas. It’s music, and laughter and pride.” In this debut novel, Maria Colleen Cruz creates the vibrant voice of a girl just on the brink of understanding. With her journal at her side, this thoughtful and creative character tackles complicated issues of identity and self-empowerment.

The mixed-race son of apple pickers, Manz lives with his hard-drinking mother and her truck-driver boyfriend in the hardscrabble world of dusty Rockhill, Texas. Forced to take a summer job rebuilding fence of a cattle ranch, Manz works alongside his friend Jed and meets a girl named Vanessa — but even among his friends, Manz suffers from an uncontrollable paranoia. As the summer wears on, Manz becomes convinced that "Operation Wetback," a brutal postwar relocation program, is being put back into effect. As the voices in his head grow louder and more insistent, Manz struggles to negotiate the difficulties of adolescence, the perils of an oppressed environment, and the terror of losing his grip on reality.

A loner in his all-white high school, Chinese-born Xing (pronounced “Shing”) is a wallflower longing for acceptance. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend, the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee.Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives.Amidst the chaos surrounding him, only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances, he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However, as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck.While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name, Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax.

Ramona and Esperanza want to start an organization to protect to the rights of all griffins, no matter their clan or status. They fly to the Griffin capital of Aquila to present their case to the Gobernador, but when Esperanza has to come to terms with her mysterious past, Ramon must face her vilest adversary. Will they come together to conquer their charges, or will they separate in utter defeat? All proceeds from the sale of this novelette go to benefit the children at the Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson, MS

The mixed-race son of apple pickers, Manz lives with his hard-drinking mother and her truck-driver boyfriend in the hardscrabble world of dusty Rockhill, Texas. Forced to take a summer job rebuilding fence of a cattle ranch, Manz works alongside his friend Jed and meets a girl named Vanessa — but even among his friends, Manz suffers from an uncontrollable paranoia. As the summer wears on, Manz becomes convinced that "Operation Wetback," a brutal postwar relocation program, is being put back into effect. As the voices in his head grow louder and more insistent, Manz struggles to negotiate the difficulties of adolescence, the perils of an oppressed environment, and the terror of losing his grip on reality.

Ramona and Esperanza want to start an organization to protect to the rights of all griffins, no matter their clan or status. They fly to the Griffin capital of Aquila to present their case to the Gobernador, but when Esperanza has to come to terms with her mysterious past, Ramon must face her vilest adversary. Will they come together to conquer their charges, or will they separate in utter defeat?All proceeds from the sale of this novelette go to benefit the children at the Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson, MS

"The International Appalachian Trail runs north from Mount Katahdin seven hundred miles to the end of the Gaspé Peninsula. Inspired by Basho, Ian Marshall hiked it for six summers, probing the poetics of haiku while exploring a vast and beautiful wilderness little known in the US. Marshall is an engaging trail companion and a superb story teller, with a self deprecating wit and sharp intellect that spice up his observations and ideas. Like Basho, he finds the miraculous in the common and elevates the humble walk into a spiritual practice, sprinkling his narrative with lovely original haiku that seem to have condensed in the moment, like droplets of dew. Backpackers will appreciate his pungent descriptions of life on the trail, and ecocritics will savor his abundant insights on poetry, nature, and culture. This lively book serves up a classic blend of high adventure, literary pilgrimage, and self discovery. It tastes as tart and fresh as wild rasp­berries."―John Tallmadge, past-president of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment and author of The Cincinnati Arch: Learning from Nature in the City (John Tallmadge)

Vivid images in both poem and paintings create a close-up view of a freight train traveling through a crossing—a dramatic experience for young readers.With the rhythm of its words recalling the cadence of a moving freight train, a poem by Philip Booth is fluidly joined with artwork by first-time illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline in this majestic picture book. Ibatoulline's dramatic and masterful paintings capture the American freight train in its heyday in astonishing detail. CROSSING promises to enthrall train enthusiasts of all ages.

Vivid images in both poem and paintings create a close-up view of a freight train traveling through a crossing—a dramatic experience for young readers.With the rhythm of its words recalling the cadence of a moving freight train, a poem by Philip Booth is fluidly joined with artwork by first-time illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline in this majestic picture book. Ibatoulline's dramatic and masterful paintings capture the American freight train in its heyday in astonishing detail. CROSSING promises to enthrall train enthusiasts of all ages.

"All who have succumbed to the allure of the railroad will be stopped in their own tracks by this eye-filling, show-stopping debut showcase." — KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)Start with a vintage poem by Philip Booth, whose rhythms recall the cadence of a moving freight train. Pair it with detailed realistic paintings by Bagram Ibatoulline that masterfully and dramatically capture an American freight train in its heyday, along with all the small-town denizens who stop to watch its crossing. What you have is a majestic picture book that will enthrall train enthusiasts of all ages and delight anyone who appreciates a heady dose of nostalgia.