The publisher’s recommendation says this is a K-3 book, but I think it’s really one of those picture books better suited to older students, so I said I would recommend it for grades 2-5. Though listed as a picture book, rather than as non-fiction, it is the true story of the first woman to ride a motorcycle around the world alone, in 1973. Though never named within the body of the story (simply referred to as “she” or “the girl”), the author’s note in the back tells us that it was Anne-France Dautheville who set out from Paris, carrying only essentials. She loaded her motorcycle onto a plane to fly to Canada, drove from coast to coast across Canada and into Alaska before flying again to Tokyo, and then Bombay. The story describes her route, driving through India and Afghanistan and Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, and Germany, but mostly it describes her experiences of camping and meeting people and experiencing new places and foods. It’s more about setting the mood of adventure and exploration and independence and connecting with the world than a chronology of specific events. It really makes one want to take to the open road and go exploring.
Almost Time, by Gary D. Schmidt
Not every child lives in a place where they tap their own maple syrup from the trees, but every child has experience WAITING. And every child knows how time seems to go so slowly when you’re waiting. This book does a good job of conveying that, as well as a child’s attempts to see if he can speed things along: when dad says it won’t be time until the weather gets warmer, Ethan tries to convince himself that a sunny day means he can leave off his hat and scarf and mittens, only to discover that sunny doesn’t necessarily mean warm. When dad says it won’t be until the nights get shorter, Ethan realizes he can’t control that either. His final means of measuring time comes when he discovers a loose tooth, and dad predicts it will come out about the time the sap starts running, and it does!
On the Horizon by Lois Lowry
Well-known author Lois Lowry (The Giver, Number the Stars) presents her reflections on World War II in verse. Born in Honolulu four years before the bombing at Pearl Harbor, she opens with the image of herself playing on the beach with the attack of the USS Arizona on the horizon behind her. With research to back her poems, she presents grim facts of the loss aboard the USS Arizona, for example, the fact that there were thirty-seven sets of brothers aboard. Part 2 moves on to the bombing in Japan, “another horizon,” where the Lowry family lived, with mention of people and artifacts found after the bombing. Black and white drawings by Kenard Pak contribute to the artful depiction of the lens from Lois Lowry’s childhood.
While the suggested call number for this book is 940.54, the World War II section, this book is not hard research material. While facts learned are interesting, the verse style lends itself more to the emotions associated with World War II. Perhaps a better spot for it would be on the poetry shelf.
Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade, #2 by Lyla Lee
This book of 74 pages has short four to six page chapters with one black and white illustration per chapter. There is just the right amount of Korean cultural differences included to make Korean students feel recognized and non-Korean students to say, “Wow”, I never new that, “That’s cool.”
Mindy has been at her new school in Florida for a few months now. Lunar New Year is quickly approaching, reminding Mindy of how much fun Lunar New Year had always been with her mother and father. Unni, Mindy’s afterschool babysitter, is Korean, also. Unni’s mother is busy making special foods for their Lunar New Year celebration and makes extra for Mindy and her father.
Dad ( appa in Korean) wants to take Mindy to Orlando, FL, for the Lunar New Year Parade. Mindy’s not sure if she wants to go. How fun could it be without her deceased mother along. Appa tells Mindy to invite her friend Sally to come to the parade with her. At school on Friday, Mindy tells her class all about Lunar New Year during “What’s New with You?”. She even has special rice cakes to share ( not sell, like the trouble she got into in book #1) with her class.
On Saturday, appa suggests Mindy wear the hanbok (Korean dress for special occasions) to the parade her mother helped her purchase last year. It just fits. Off to the parade in Orlando with appa and Sally they go. The parade in wonderful and so big, but does not seem to have any Korean representation. Once the parade is over, Sally and Mindy see a huge Pikachu balloon floating by and run after it to take pictures. Sally and Mindy get worried, almost panicky, once they realize appa was not able to follow them through the crowd. Sally’s emergency cellphone battery has died. And neither one of them knows their parents’ cell numbers. Now what? Sally does have an emergency $20 bill for food, though. That is where appa and his friend find Sally and Mindy in the food court. The four of them have lunch, then make arrangements to meet back at Mindy and appa’s house for a Korean Lunar New Year dinner.
Mindy comes to realize that “without Mom here to celebrate with us, … I could still like it. And we could have new traditions and make new memories with our new friends.” (71)
Author Lyla Lee notes in her Acknowledgments, ” I wanted to write a book about the fun Korean traditions that my parents kept alive in our family despite the fact that we moved to the United States more than twenty years ago.”(75) She has succeeded in a most wonderful way!
Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business #1 by Lyla Lee
Mindy Kim is a 7 1/2 year old who has just moved to Florida from California with her dad, months after her mother died. Mindy is worried about starting a new school. “My old school had kids of many different colors. But here, no one looked like me.” ( 5) Her new teacher does not know how to pronounce her Korean name Min-jung and asks, ” ‘ Do you have an English name?’ ” (10) At lunchtime, the other students have never seen a Korean lunch and laugh. After school is better, when she goes to Eunice’s (Unni) house because Unni has a dog. Mindy wants a dog of her own so much.
Mindy’s second day of school is better because she has made some goals for herself, just like dad does. First, Mindy asks Sally if she can eat lunch at her table. That worked. Sally is interested in Mindy’s seaweed snack and soon has everyone at the table wanting to try it, too. Sally gives Mindy the idea of trading food for the seaweed. Then Mindy gets so many snacks she can’t eat them all. Then, Sally suggests she sell the seaweed snacks to the other students. Mindy’s seaweed snack business is taking off. She wants to use the money she earns to get a puppy. A puppy would help dad feel better, too, because he is still sad over mom’s death, like Mindy. Another student tells on Mindy for selling the snacks which is against the school rules. When the principal gets involved, Mindy and Sally become upset with each other for their part in the rule breaking. Principal involved means parents get notified, and Mindy’s not having a mother comes up again. Dad takes it all in stride and helps Mindy apologize to Sally. Later, when everything has settled down, dad has a special celebration for Mindy for making it through her first good week at her new school.
This book of 77 pages has short four to six page chapters with one black and white illustration per chapter. There is just the right amount of Korean cultural differences included to make Korean students feel recognized and non-Korean students to say, “Wow”, I never new that, “That’s cool.”
Golden Arm by Carl Deuker
Reviewed by OHS Library Secretary, M. Debuse-Losh
For a reader who doesn’t typically go for sports-themed books, the book Golden Arm by Carl Deuker made for unexpectedly entertaining and sometimes suspenseful reading. If you do love baseball, it will just make this a more enjoyable read. In this coming-of-age story, Lazarus (Laz) is a student in an underserved Seattle high school negotiating many challenges at school, home, and on his baseball teams. He’s a gifted pitcher with a “golden arm” and a shy kid who has a stutter and a learning disability. Laz grew up in a trailer park without many of the privileges that the students in a wealthy district up north don’t even think twice about. Cell phones (not throwaway flip-phones), personal transportation (he rides the bus and walks long distances), a personal bedroom stocked with a computer, access to math tutoring, or having an actual pitching coach are things that he regards as luxuries and out of reach. His mom and half-brother Antonio are his family; his dad is out of the picture. Laz has the opportunity to contend for a state title on a team for a wealthy Seattle high school and his ultimate goal is to be a draft pick for the major leagues. It’s not a straightforward trajectory, though, and he has to deal with how to fit in at his new school, his alternate living situation, and how the cultural norms and expectations he experiences in his new setting mesh with his own developing personal ethics. The author does a nice job of using Laz’s point of view to portray the successes and challenges that are intrinsic to the growing-up process without over-analyzing or being preachy. It’s a high-interest story that’s a fairly quick read. Many young people will recognize and identify with Laz: being a poor kid with few resources trying to succeed in a culture defined by a rich, socially privileged class.
I do wish there was more development of the past relationship between Laz and his biological half brother Antonio because it is central to the plot. In the narrative they are real brothers who grew up together with no “half” about it, but Antonio’s character seems a bit hollow. Similarly, the character of Suja, Laz’s childhood friend (and romantic interest?) is underdeveloped and Suja seems more like support staff than a teenage girl Laz really likes. Even though the reader might wish for more thoroughly fleshed-out development of the important people in Laz’s life, overall the book is a satisfying read. Golden Arm should appeal to readers who enjoy a suspenseful plot that makes a few unexpected turns, and to those who tend towards the genres of sports, realistic fiction, and local color. However, it should appeal to a broader audience with a very elemental conundrum: How does a kid remain true to themselves when they have a tangible opportunity to “succeed” and live their dream, but to make this happen they must sacrifice the very relationships that helped make them who they are?
Puppy Problems by Paige Braddock
Crackers is a dog who has a list of things to do: bark, nap, pee outside, sniff things and lives with a cat named Butters. One day their life is disrupted when their owner brings home a new puppy named Peanut. Peanut pees in the house, eats Crackers food, and keeps them up at night. Butter and Crackers try to get rid of Peanut, but they keep getting in trouble for the things Peanut does. One night Peanut walks out the front gate and gets lost. Crackers and Butter realize they miss Peanut and set out to find him. This graphic novel will have students laughing at the silly things the animals do and say. (Butter tells Peanut the toilet is a jacuzzi and the handle makes it spin.)
Hug? by Charlene Chua
A little girl and a cat are playing when the cat gets sick. When the cat says it doesn’t feel well, the girl asks if the cat wants a hug. The cat does, so she hugs the cat. Then a series of animals follow saying they need a hug from the girl. The girl is liking the hugs less and less and the illustrations show her more and more bedraggled. She doesn’t feel well and the cat asks if she wants a hug which makes her feel better. The book seems like it could be great for tolerance and sticking up for oneself, but it gets a little muddled at the end.
Kevin the Unicorn: Why Can’t We Be Bestie-Corns
In Kevin the Unicorn: Why Can’t We Be Bestie-Corns? a new unicorn moves in next door to Kevin and Kevin knows that they will be best friends. They try to be friends, but they just don’t like the same things. Eric likes clam juice and it is not Kevin’s favorite. Kevin wants to do something sporty, but Eric just couldn’t do it. They realize that they don’t have to be best friends, but they can still be friendly to each other. The illustrations are bright and colorful. The vocabulary and expressions are fun (flummoxed, great galloping glitter pants) and will make readers laugh.
The Nut That Fell from the Tree
This is a story of an acorn told in the style of The House That Jack Built. It starts out with the treehouse that Jill built and follows the acorn with different animals. The acorn is eventually planted by the squirrel and grows into a big tree that holds the treehouse that Jack built. The text is lyrical and rhyming and includes fun to say words like Hullabaloo and Pee-ew. The illustrations are bright with the landscape is in various shades of green and the animals are cartoonish. The human characters in the book are white.