John Dodo 2. John Dodo y el enigma del pasado

Because the Taliban rulers of Kabul, Afghanistan, impose strict limitations on women's freedom and behavior, eleven-year-old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy so that her family can survive after her father's arrest.

Gaston tries really hard to be the refined dog his mother wants him to be, but, for some reason, he does things differently than his litter mates. One day at the park, a puppy mix-up is discovered and Gaston finds out why he is so different from his siblings. In this endearing picture book, readers will see that family is where the heart is.

Wonderfully atmospheric illustrations capture the feeling of a foggy, gray winter afternoon as well as the lonesome, hopeful watchfulness so familiar to any child, as a little girl stands at a frosty window, drawing pictures in the condensation on the windowpane waiting for her mother to come home.

Computers, cell phones, I Pads -- isn’t that what living in this world today is all about? We stay connected to a world that changes every day, and almost every minute. What if we did not have those ways of communications, and had to use books instead? That is what came to mind as I thought of a scenario of a young girl having a dream in which all those ways of technology did not exist, and realizing what it would be like without her “Books on the Shelf.”