Recently I was cleaning out my emails which had hundreds of links to old online reader copies. I then realized that I keep reading new things, but have forgotten about titles I had been excited about. Well, I was going to fix that! Unfortunately, some of the links had expired, but most actually were active. Two that I found that I thought could be fun reading were Warrior Princess: The Story of Khutulun and Brand-New Bubbe
Sally Deng has an interesting story about a warrior in Warrior Princess: The Story of Khutulun. Khutulun was about sixteen years old when she first went to battle with her father, but until then she had been the only girl of her family and the youngest of about 15 children. Her father and mother were leaders of their tribe. She was a descendant of Ghangis Khan himself. She would excel in all of her studies and eventually go on to lead her fathers armies. While things are based on actual events, little is actually known about Khutulun, and as the afterwards says, Deng took liberties with their story. The artwork is what pulled the story together. We see Khutulun wrestling with her brothers, other girls, and finally with men larger than her. How her skill on the battlefield was really unmatched, how she would stare her father down. These images are soft, but also have an edge to them. They are maybe not completely historically accurate (I am assuming she was not as “put together” on the battlefield as they showed, for one thing), but they are a lovely edition.
Who has not had change happen in their family? Sarah Aronson explores this when a young girl’s mother has remarried. He is a nice guy, but he comes with an extra addition. An older woman who wants the girl to call her Bubbe. But since she already has a Noni and Gram, she feels she is good in the grandmother department and is less than welcoming. Of course, as time goes on, and her mother tells and not asks to give herBrand-New Bubbe a chance, our heroine realizes that families are like soup: there is always room for more than one flavor. Ariel Landy adds to the fun with lighthearted, brightly done illustrations. The details are minimal but are what is needed to express the emotions, theme and the silliness of grandmother Bubbe, who likes to leave lipstick kisses and make matzo ball soup with her new granddaughter, and the two other grandmothers.