For the past five years, journalist Sarah Garland has followed the lives of current and former gang members living in Hempstead on the border of Garden City, Long Island. Affiliated with Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street, their troubling personal stories expose the cruel realities of segregation, racial income gaps, and poverty that lie hidden behind suburban white picket fences.

As Garland travels from Los Angeles to El Salvador and back to the East Coast, she reveals a disturbing cycle of poverty in which families, fleeing from troubled Central American cities, move into America’s suburban backyards, only to find the pattern of violence repeating itself. Brilliantly reported and sensitively told, Gangs in Garden City draws back the veil on a hidden, troubling world.

It is Grandad's birthday, and Eddie is helping his mother plan and prepare a birthday party for him — with Lily's help, of course! Using baked apples from their apple tree and eggs from their chickens, they soon fill the table with delicious birthday treats. But what did Lily do with all the carrots? Eddie’s Kitchen and How To Make Good Things to Eat capitalizes on young children’s interest in how food is cooked. The book includes fabulous watercolor illustrations and recipes for making delicious and nutritious treats for all budding chefs.

Playing games, painting pictures, rolling pastry, playing with bunnies — what’s not to like about school? In this charming, simple story, a little girl discovers that playschool’s friendly teachers and fascinating activities can help her overcome her fears about starting school and leaving her mom. While many books in this genre use animals to illustrate the concept, the characters in Going to Playschool look very much like young readers and their families, adding an extra note of support to anxious children. Garland’s richly hued, beautifully detailed watercolor illustrations enchant readers of all ages.

Spring has come and the garden is looking a bit bare, so it’s off to the garden center for Mum, her little daughter, and the baby. After finally deciding on just the right flowers, seeds, and even a tree, it’s time to go home and plant. This delightful story shows how even a familiar event can be an occasion for joy. Garland’s appealing illustrations are full of visual humor — the tree’s perilous journey home in an old pram, the always-digging family dog — while her simple, child-friendly text is underscored with dry wit that appeals to parents.