The Twins & the Bird of Darkness:
A Hero Tale from the Caribbean
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A timeless and resonant folktale for
pre-schoolers about the forces of good
and evil and the redemptive
power of brotherly love

Fruits:
A Caribbean Counting Poem (Follow link for full details & reviews)

A counting book with vibrant illustrations and an island patois text that captures rural Jamaican life. Children will love the little girl's sense of humor and her ability to outwit adults.

Reading Level: Ages 3-7

Sing Me a Story!: Song and Dance Stories from the Caribbean (Follow link for full details & reviews)

Five mischievous stories to get the children up and on their feet. The traditional tales are woven around human characters, talking animals and mythical creatures.

Caribbean Colors of the Rainbow (Follow link for full details & reviews)

An audio collection of original Caribbean-inspired songs that children will enjoy listening to over and over again. Many styles of music including traditional folk music, bluegrass, country, reggae, blues and calypso, are combined to create a memorable impression of island culture through song.

My Island and I:
The Nature of the Caribbean
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A colorful children's picturebook about the natural ecology of an island - from fallen trees becoming food for fungi and termites to the thoughts of lizards and the interaction of fish.
Reading level: Ages 4-8

The House in the Sky : A Bahamian Folktale (Follow link for full details & reviews)

A vivid traditional tale, both scary and tongue-in-cheek funny, based on common Bahamian folkloric motifs.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

The Jolly Mon :
Book and Musical CD
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A whimsical children's story about Jolly Mon and his sea adventures.
Reading level: Ages 4-8

Grannie and the Jumbie: A Caribbean Tale (Follow link for full details & reviews)

This brilliantly illustrated story captures the vibrancy of Caribbean folklore. Each piece of fabric is from the author's native St. Thomas and is infused with the island's cultural traditions.

Reading Level: Ages 4-8

Play Mas'! A Carnival ABC (Follow link for full details & reviews)

Each illustration presents a different aspect of Carnival. Detailed information about the celebrations makes it a useful resource as well as an opportunity to share in the fun. There is even a hidden letter to find in each painting.      Reading level: Ages 4-8

Darkfright
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A woman, afraid of the dark, stays awake all night and sleeps during the day, until a broken star helps her to see things differently.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Cendrillon:
A Caribbean Cinderella (Follow link for full details & reviews)

A poor, strong willed Martinique washer woman uses her sharp wits and magic wand to give her god daughter, Cendrillon, the gift of love.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

My Little Island (Follow link for full details & reviews)

A story about a boy and his best friend who travel to Montserrat for an all-too-short vacation. Beautifully Ilustated, highly recommended

Reading level: Ages 4-8

La Cucaracha Martina : A Caribbean Folktale (Follow link for full details & reviews)

This story of a beautiful cockroach is based on a Caribbean Folktale. It is a wonderfully funny book for kids with bright whimsical illustrations.

Mama God, Papa God: A Caribbean Tale (Follow link for full details & reviews)

Papa God creates light so that he can see Mama God, and then he makes the world because he wants to give her something beautiful.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Stories from the Caribbean (Multicultural Stories) (Follow link for full details & reviews)

A combination of haunting ghost tales, creation fables, and animal stories. The author grew up in Surinam listening to wonderful tales told by her aunt, a master storyteller. The five selections have been modernized just enough to appeal to today's children but not enough to lose their original tone.
          Reading level: Ages 4-9

A Caribbean Counting Book (Follow link for full details & reviews)

This collection of Caribbean counting rhymes, traditionally chanted in children's games and songs are from Barbados, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, the Virgin Islands, Martinique, Trinidad, and Tobago.

Reading Level: Ages 4-7

The Caribbean (Food and Festivals Series) (Follow link for full details & reviews)

Discusses some of the foods enjoyed in the Caribbean region and describes special foods that are part of such specific celebrations as Christmas and New Year, Carnival, the Crop Over harvest festival, and Phagwa.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Caribbean Dream (Follow link for full details & reviews)

Where does sea meet sky? Where does sound meet color? Where does song meet soul? Rachel Isadora has written an inventive text, just right for the very young, featuring the activities children love. Winsome watercolors.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Mama, Across the Sea (Follow link for full details & reviews)

Richly colored single-and double-page pictures depicting the lush Caribbean setting fill this oversized book.
Cecile lives with her grandparents. Her mother works on the mainland, and her father disappeared at sea. Visually, the story can be appreciated by a group; emotionally, it is more satisfying in an intimate setting.
        Reading level: Ages 4-8

Jump Up Time: A Trinidad Carnival Story (Follow link for full details & reviews)

Carnival in Trinidad is a vibrant back drop for this story about Lily who wishes it wer her, not her big sister Christine that will wear the gorgeous hummingbird costume to the celebration.

Under the Moon & over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems
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A Collection Of more than 50 Caribbean Poems is an eclectic anthology for readers of all ages, brightly enhanced with full-color, stylized artwork in celebration of Caribbean life and culture.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Under the Moon & over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems
(Follow link for full details & reviews)

A Collection Of more than 50 Caribbean Poems is an eclectic anthology for readers of all ages, brightly enhanced with full-color, stylized artwork in celebration of Caribbean life and culture.

Reading level: Age 7 up

A Wave in Her Pocket : Stories from Trinidad (Follow link for full details & reviews)

Six stories, funny, scary, and fanciful -- a delightful mixture of traditional folklore and imagination.

Reading Level: Ages 7-9