A picture book based on the real-life experiences of around 30,000 Sudanese children whose villages were attacked, families killed, and who sought to escape by banding together and walking hundreds and hundreds of miles to safety. The heart-wrenching/heartwarming story is a testament to the endurance of the human spirit as the boys cared for each other and lived by learned principles in the face of some of the worst human tragedy. Well done!

20. THE GIRL FROM CHIMEL
By Rigoberta Menchu, Illustrated by Domi, Translated by David Unger
Groundwood, $16.95; Age 9 and Up; ISBN: 0888996667

An illustrated autobiography of the childhood of a Nobel Peace Prize-winning Mayan activist, told with great reverence for a life and village now gone. Through stories of her grandparents, parents, the river, animals, and herself, Rigoberta weaves the fabric of her life, and what she has created here is beautiful, memorable, and bittersweet. Full-page, brightly colored, deeply hued magnificent oil paintings bring readers even more deeply into Mayan life, and we are privileged to have this book experience.

21. THE LIBRARIAN OF BASRA: A TRUE STORY FROM IRAQ
By Jeanette Winter
Harcourt, $16.00; Age 4 and Up; ISBN: 0152054456

A picture book tells matter-of-factly about Alia, a brave librarian who secretly moved all the treasured books of out the library before the war destroyed the library building. Today the books are safe, while Alia waits and dreams of peace and a new library. A portion of the proceeds goes to a new Basra library fund of the American Library Association. An inspiring story -- one person really can make a difference.

22. THE SERPENT CAME TO GLOUCESTER
By M.T. Anderson, Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Candlewick, $16.99; Ages 6 to 10; ISBN: 0763620386

Large, haunting paintings and masterful 10-line rhymed verse/storytelling takes us back to the summers of 1817 and 1818, when the good people of Gloucester sighted a sea serpent in their waters. Told by a young boy who was there, the townspeople run the gamut of reaction to the creature from fear to fascination to naively thinking that they can capture it. The lyrical text beseeches you to read it aloud, while onlookers get lost in the magnetic rhythms and captivating paintings. Excellent.