A heartfelt story of three women, bound together by family ties, yet torn apart by conflicts and differences. Will a trip back to China and a long-lost jade bracelet bring reconciliation for them? Guaranteed fiction!

When the girls at school show off their shiny new bracelets, newly arrived immigrant Tien is embarrassed by the plain jade bracelet she wears as a symbol of her Vietnamese heritage. Although Tien loves the Vietnamese traditions her family celebrates, more than anything she wants to fit in at school and be just like her classmates. So, when all the girls start wearing brand-new sparkly bracelets, Tien tries to hide the simple jade bangle her mother gave her in memory of her grandmother. Now her bracelet looks like an old green thing and an embarrassed Tien runs home crying, flinging it on the floor. Her sympathetic mama understands and takes Tien to the shop to buy the popular bracelet. But at the last minute, Tien remembers her grandmother’s love and decides to wear her jade bracelet proudly. The Jade Bracelet is based on the author’s own experience of being the new kid at school and wanting to blend in. Now an elementary teacher, Hà Dinh encourages her immigrant students to share and honor their family’s traditions.

It is Yoon's birthday and all she wants is a jump rope so she can play with the other girls in the school yard. Instead, Yoon's mother gives her a Korean storybook about a silly girl who is tricked by a tiger. Yoon also receives a jade bracelet that once belonged to her grandmother. The next day at school, a girl offers to teach Yoon how to jump rope, but for a price: she wants to borrow the jade bracelet. When Yoon tries to get her bracelet back, the girl swears it belongs to her. Yoon must use the lessons learned in her storybook and her "Shining Wisdom" to retrieve the precious keepsake. In this third book featuring Yoon, lush impressionistic dreamscapes evoke a simple and timeless message: it is possible to trick a tiger. Yoon and the Jade Bracelet is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

“In China, it is very important to give a young girl jade. A family will even go into debt to get a very good piece of jade jewelry. But usually they don’t have to buy a bracelet. Jade is passed down in families from generation to generation, just like my bracelet was passed down to me.” The Brodericks could tell that the jade was important to Shing Lee. But why wouldn’t the shop keeper return her bracelet to her? See if you can solve this 15-minute mystery before the Brodericks do. Similar to the old Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, these short mysteries give kids all the clues they need to solve the mystery, before revealing the answer on the last page, helping kids learn common sense and attention to detail. Ages 8 and up. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books also work well as hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

“In China, it is very important to give a young girl jade. A family will even go into debt to get a very good piece of jade jewelry. But usually they don’t have to buy a bracelet. Jade is passed down in families from generation to generation, just like my bracelet was passed down to me.” The Brodericks could tell that the jade was important to Shing Lee. But why wouldn’t the shop keeper return her bracelet to her? See if you can solve this 15-minute mystery before the Brodericks do. Similar to the old Encyclopedia Brown series, kids get to test their wits and powers of observation against our detectives. These books help kids learn the vital skills of logic and attention to detail in a fun, easy way. Ages 8 and up. Educational Versions include exercises designed to meet Common Core standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books also work well as hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

It was too difficult to keep a low profile, and it was even harder not to touch a beauty. In the end, it was still up to me to decide, since beauties don't weigh anything, life is different.