A young girl moves to a different place with her mother and grandmother, taking a plane and a car. Throughout there is a connection to nature, birds pass windows and fish surge in the water. But the sounds are different at her new home and so are the customs and rules. Slowly, new friends are made and a new home is formed.
With illustrations that are an enticing blend of vintage lines and modern color, this book speaks to tradition and family but also new possibilities in both its story and art style.
The author of Pie in the Sky returns with the story of a twelve-year-old who wants to prove his maturity to his helicopter family. Henry’s family monitors what he is doing all the time, packing his backpack for him, making sure he has eaten, and hovering all the time. But Henry knows he can do a lot more than they think. That’s how he came up with a very exact plan to prove his independence: he will fly from where he lives in Australia to Singapore where his father lives. He’s also running from being exposed as the author of a nasty gossip comic at his school, something he is both proud of and terrified by. He just needs his ex-best friend to follow through on the plan, or he will definitely get caught!
The entire adventure that Henry experiences is a delight to experience by his side. His sense of humor both in his gossip comics and on the page is broad and very funny. Throughout the book, he is a disciple hoping to find a shifu to teach him what to do next in his quest. When he meets a girl on the plane, he soon discovers that she might just be the shifu he is looking for, if he can keep from making her so mad that she stops talking to him.
With the text broken up with illustrations done in neon green washes and black ink, this book will appeal to readers of Wimpy Kid. The illustrations range from single illustrations to panels in series to examples from Henry’s own blog done in a completely different style.
Funny, insightful and proof that everyone worth knowing is a little strange. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
This collection of short stories is lush and beautiful. Written by fifteen female authors of Asian descent, the stories are modern twists on more traditional tales. Using the folklore of East and South Asia, the stories in this book take those tales and modernize them with clear feminist and girl-power themes. The stories are grand, mythological, stirring, and amazing. Readers will find themselves swept away, learning of myths they have never heard before and finding new ways to love tales they grew up with.
Compiled by Ellen Oh, the CEO of We Need Diverse Books, these stories are women speaking from their own diverse backgrounds. One of the most vital components of the book are the short paragraphs that follow each of the stories, tying them to that author’s upbringing, the original tales, and explaining their inspiration. Throughout the book there are themes of love and loss, death and redemption. No matter whether they are fantasy or contemporary fiction, these stories are each tantalizing and rich.
One of the best teen short story collections I have read in recent years, this one should be in every public library. Appropriate for ages 13-16.
Author and blogger extraordinaire Mitali Perkins has the announcement of the South Asia Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Here are the honorees:
The winners of the 2014 South Asia Book Award have been announced. The award is administered by the South Asia National Outreach Consortium and is given annually for up to two outstanding works of literature for children or teens which “accurately and skillfully portrays South Asia or South Asians in the diasporas, that is the experience of individuals living in South Asia, or of South Asians living in other parts of the world.” Up to five Honor Books and Highly Commended Books will also be recognized.
Here are the winners and recognized books for 2014:
Waking Brain Cells 