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Growing up is not so tough – especially with a friend like Caillou (pronounced KY-YOO), a lovable four-year-old who has a unique way of relating to the world. Based on a series of best-selling Canadian children’s books by Christine L’Heureux and Helene Despeteaux, CAILLOU demonstrates how the first experiences of life, from going to the park to understanding one’s own family, can be perceived with wonder and a sense of discovery. Blending animation and live-action segments with humor, kid logic and imagination, Caillou helps preschoolers make sense of the world. The stories address real problems and conflicts typical to a young child’s development. Through it all, Caillou remains an irresistible little boy in a very big world, with whom every young child and parent can identify.

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‘There is a light at the end of the tunnel’: Why novelist Alan Garner’s reality is tinged with mysticism
His second death, Alan Garner explains, is the one that he really remembers. “When I was six,” the writer says, “I contracted whooping cough and measles, which developed into meningitis. There were two doctors by my bed. I was in that delirious state where things drift in and out of focus, and yet I could hear their conversation clearly. The first one said: ‘He’s gone.’ But the really terrifying …

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First Light: Selected Poems
Alberto Romero
(April 26, 2010)
978-1434991867

First Light: Selected Poems by Alberto Romero offers 30 poems printed in their original Spanish and also translated to English. After reading any poetry collection the reader should take away a good sense of who the author is. This is definitely the case with this wonderful assortment of the artist’s best work.

Mr. Romero is a man of passion, evident in many titles here. In “Embrace,” written for his wife, he states, I want to enter your open breast to remain surrounded by you. He is also a family man and has included three poems for his offspring. In “To My Children VI,” he writes, You, when you smile at my made-up songs and words, your yawns and your innocent breath that I come to breathe in. His faith is obvious as well in the opening selection “Prayer” where he simply says, My Lord Thank you.

Mr. Romero finds great satisfaction in his craft. He shows this in several poems, none more than in “I Write And I Am Saved.” I come back from writing as one who returns from making love. Perhaps a feeling only a writer can experience. As with many poets, their work can also be a record of their darker times. This is true for Romero as well in this collection. He states, It hurts to breathe, hurts to speak, hurts to think, and it hurts to love in “Pain II.”

My favourite poem was the romantically powerful “When I’m With You.” Mr. Romero writes, I wish for nothing more. Embracing you, I embrace it all. I believe we all hope to find a love this all-encompassing, and when we do, our hearts are at peace.

Readers will immediately identify with this diverse work. Most of the selections have fewer than 100 words, as the author packs a great deal of himself into each piece. Great poetry should stir your emotions. With First Light, you’ll feel Alberto Romero’s unconditional love for his children, his spirituality, his losses, his passion, and more as he has truly opened a portal into his life.

Highly Recommended.

By William Potter for Reader’s Choice Book reviews

Alberto Romero was born in Havana, Cuba. In 1994 he moved to the United States. At present he lives in Naples, Italy, with his family. He discovered poetry at a young age. His work has been read in public to a great response from the audiences. Some of his poems have been previously published in Europe.

Here is a list of books for elementary school students Here is a list of books for elementary school that have at least one character with a disability. All of the characters with disabilities are portrayed in a positive light.

There are characters who have autism, down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, visual impairments, hearing impairments, speech delays, dyslexia, spina bifida, synesthesia and who use a wheelchair. The list was created using the winners of the Dolly Gray Award and the Schneider Family Book Award and lists compiled by Sandy Lahmann, Cherl Pesto at Disaboom and Mary Anne Prater & Tina Taylor Dyches from Teaching Exceptional Children.

* Very Special Critter, Mercer Mayer–Little Critter discovers that the new boy in class is really not so different from anyone else, even though he is in a wheelchair.

* My Friend Isabelle, Eliza Woloson–A young boy the activities he shares with his friend Isabelle, a girl with Down Syndrome.

* Susan Laughs, Jeanne Willis /Tony Ross–Rhyming couplets describe a wide range of common emotions and activities experienced by a girl who uses a wheelchair.

* Harry and Willy and Carrothead, Judith Casely–Three boys overcome prejudicial ideas about appearances and become friends.

* Hooway for Wodney Wat, Helen Lester /Lynn Munsinger–Classmates make fun of Rodney because he can’t pronounce his name, but it is Rodney’s speech impediment that drives away the class bully.

* Dad and Me in the Morning, Patricia Lakin–A deaf boy and his father share a special time as they watch the sun rise at the beach.

* Best Friend on Wheels, Debra Shirley–The narrator meets Sarah, a girl in a wheelchair, and they become fast friends.

* Kami and the Yaks, Andrea Stenn Stryer–Kami, a young Sherpa boy who is deaf, rescues his family?s yaks and livelihood during a violent storm.

* The Deaf Musicians, Pete Seeger /Paul Dubois Jacobs–After losing his hearing, jazzman Lee learns to make music in a new way.

* Looking out for Sarah, Glenna Lang–Describes a day in the life of a seeing eye dog, from going with his owner to the grocery store and post office, to visiting a class of school children, and playing ball

* Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum, Robert A. Parker–Tatum came from modest beginnings and was nearly blind, his passion for the piano and his acute memory for any sound drove him to become a virtuoso who was revered by both classical and jazz pianists.

* Alphabet War, Diane Burton Robb–Learning to read is a great struggle for Adam, but with expert help, hard work, and belief in himself, he wins “The Alphabet War.

* See the Ocean, Estelle Condra–Driving through mountain fog to the beach, two young brothers compete to see who will first see the ocean, but it is their blind sister Nellie who senses it first.

* Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr./John Archambault–A grandfather and his blind grandson reminisce about the young boy’s birth, his first horse, and an exciting horse race.

* Thank You, Mr. Falker, Patricia Polacco–Trisha could paint and draw beautifully, but when she looked at words on a page, all she could see was jumble. It took a very special teacher to recognize little Trisha’s dyslexia.

* Mama Zooms, Jane Cowen-Fletcher–A boy’s wonderful mama takes him zooming everywhere with her, because her wheelchair is a zooming machine.

* My Pal, Victor / Mi amigo V?or by Diane Gonzales Bertrand –Two boys enjoy the summer doing all of the things that boys do despite one boy’s disability.

* Two Tracks in the Snow, Louella Bryant–Ari, a boy who uses a wheelchair, uses his monoski to teach Will how to snowboard.

* Silent Lotus, Jeanne M. Lee–Although she cannot speak or hear, Lotus trains as a Khmer court dancer and becomes eloquent in dancing out the legends of the gods.

* Crow Boy, Taro Yashima–A lonely boy in a village school in Japan learned all the calls of the crows as he left his home at dawn and arrived home at sunset on school day.

* Ian’s Walk, Laurie Lear–A young girl realizes how much she cares for her autistic brother Ian when he gets lost at the park.

* Featherless (Desplumado), Juan Felipe Herrera–Although Tomasito’s spina bifida keeps him in a wheelchair, where he often feels as confined as his flightless and featherless pet bird, he discovers that he can feel free when he is on the soccer field.

* Keeping Up with Roo, Dan Andresen/Sharlee Glenn –Gracie has always had a special bond with her Aunt Roo, who is mentally disabled, but that relationship starts to change when Gracie begins school.

* Dad, Jackie, and Me, Myron Uhlberg-A young boy shares the excitement of Jackie Robinson’s rookie season with his deaf father.