A Star Shines Through by Anna Desnitskaya
I have read A Star Shines Through by Anna Desnitskaya a few times. The first time I felt it was a good story. It wasn’t WOW but not eh either. The second time I read it I felt that it had more punch. I think it really depends on the mood you and/or the reader is in for it to make the most impact. (All the times I have read were via an online reader copy, but it is now currently available). The author bases […]
Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo
Home in a Lunchbox is one of those picture books that is both sweet, silly, and heartwarming, with a little sadness. Or at least, at first. Cherry Mo’s young narrator has moved from Hong Kong to America. She only knows a few words of English (hello, thank you, I don’t know, and the important one, toilet), makes mistakes, does not fit in in class and feels hopeless. That is until she opens her lunchbox and familiar sights and smells come out. She will soon learn, […]
Ánh's New Word: A Story about Learning a New Language by Hanh Bui
I thought at first that Ánh’s New Word: A Story about Learning a New Language would be more about the learning of English as a second language than what it was. Now, yes, it is about learning English, but it is also about learning how to be brave, how to have the courage to try and the idea of family being there for you. Anh is a young child who moved to the US from Vietnam and is living in a relocation camp with her […]
The Bicycle: How an Act of Kindness Changed a Young Refugee’s Life by Patricia McCormick
I did not read the entire article I had about some new books coming, but it was highlighting summer and bicycles. The list was around half a dozen titles long, all picture books. I figured I could locate copies of most of them. And in fact, was able to find online reader copies for all of them. However, four of them stood out for me. These four were different but still had familiar elements that I found comforting. In The Bicycle: How an Act of […]
They Call Her Fregona: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles
My vacation was filled with snacks and naps. In between that it was filled with reading books and three of those were sequels (two volumes that were volume threes and one book was volume two). One of those reads was a more a companion novel, or I should say, a prose poetry story/novel and not a traditional novel. Yet, it does help to have read They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles first. This time we follow Joanna, or “Fregona” (a […]
Rainbow Shopping by Qing Zhuang
The publisher’s description of Rainbow Shopping by Qing Zhuang says “Shopping for and preparing a delicious meal helps a young Chinese American girl feel connected to her family.” But it is more than that. It is a way of her having a connection with her past and the present. And it shows a piece of her old home and her new home. We are able to see that while she cannot find everything she and her mother wanted for their special dinners (the whole family […]
