Tag: diversity

cover of Drawing Deena
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Drawing Deena

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

I love books that introduce me to cultures other than my own, and especially when they show a character growing as in Drawing Deena (Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024) by Hena Khan. This story is a good reminder of how people are also so much the same.

Thirteen-year-old Deena is stressed. It starts out with a visit to the dentist–enough to stress many of us–then she finds out she needs an expensive night guard. And money is definitely a stressor in her family. She’d love to go on a school art field trip to see her favorite artist and take art classes to make her art better, but her parents, especially her mom, don’t think art is that important. Maybe Deena can show the value of her art by helping her mother with selling her Pakistani clothes. Maybe if the business is doing better, her parents will fight less. And maybe Deena won’t feel so anxious and so sick in the mornings.

This book deals so well with the fears and growing pains of being a middle school kid. Through the story Deena gets help and learns to be open and honest with her parents about her worries and what is important to her.

Bonus material in this story is Deena’s reaction to Van Gogh, the Immersive Experience. I recently attended this too, and along with Deena wish I could have seen one original Van Gogh.

Hena is an award-winning author of picture books and middle grade fiction. Read more about her here and check out her many other books here. (She’s one prolific writer!)

cover of Continental Drifter
Posted in Graphic Novels, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Continental Drifter

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Continental Drifter (First Second, 2024) by Kathy MacLeod is a graphic novel that pulls on the heartstrings. It’s a very good read.

Eleven-year-old Kathy is torn between two worlds–Bangkok, Thailand where she and her family live, and Maine where the family is going for the summer. (Kathy’s been there three times.) In Thailand, she’s luk khrueng–half child, because her father is American and her mother is Thai. In rural Maine, no one looks like Kathy. She likes American pizza and southeast Asian rambutans, a spiky sweet fruit. Why is her family so different from others. Why is life so confusing? How can she fit in anywhere?

This is Kathy’s first graphic novel. You can read about her here. Make sure you read the Afterward in the book.

cover of Love in the Library
Posted in PB, So Many Good Books

Love in the Library

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrate by Yas Imamura is based on a true story about love in a Japanese internment camp. I love it so much I wish every kid and adult would read this.

Tama should be going to college, but she’s incarcerated because she Is Japanese-American. She works in the Idaho camp library where she meets George. The library gives her hope as she can escape in books. And then…

These lines: “To fall in love is already a gift. But to fall in love in a place like Minidaka, a place bulit to make people feel like they weren’t human–that was miraculous.”

Inspired by her maternal grandparents’ experience, Maggie has written a heart-wrenching story. Currently, there are terrible stories about immigrant detention. See this report on migrant children.

See Maggie’s other books here and read about her here.

See Yas’ art here and read about her here where you can also click on the awards tab.

cover of The First State of Being
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The First State of Being

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The First State of Being (Greenwillow Books, 2024) by Erin Entrada Kelly is a fun mix of historical fiction—Y2K—and time travel.

It’s 1999 and 11-year-old Michael is hoarding food that he’s stolen for when the world shuts down on January 1, 2000. (He has to help his single Mom who is struggling making ends meet. And she loves peaches, right?) And then he and the apartment maintenance man meet a weird teenager, who appears to be half Filipino like Michael. Ridge doesn’t even know what year it is and is dressed oddly. Something’s off about that kid. Despite all of Michael’s worries, he decides to help Ridge obtain his desire of going to a mall.

This is a story of hope and has great reminders of deciding how we want to be. The book came out in March.

Erin is a Newbery medalist and a NY Times bestselling author. Read about her and check out all her books here.

cover of Amari and the Night Brothers
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books, YA Novels

Amari and the Night Brothers

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Amari and the Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations, #1) (Balzer & Bray, 2021) by B. B. Alston is like a cross between Men in Black and Harry Potter at summer camp.

13-year-old Amari Peters struggles with anger against those who think she doesn’t fit in since she’s a scholarship student and black. It’s worse since her older brother Quinton has been missing. Many believe he is dead, but Amari knows he’s alive. A chance to tryout for the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs this summer may help her find out where Quinton is. But again in a world of magic, there are those who don’t think she belongs. Amari must stand up for herself and learn all she can about this new world to have any chance of finding her brother.

This was B.B.’s debut novel. The books have been published in over 30 countries and a movie is in the works! Wow! Here’s the Spanish version, Amari y Los Hermanos de la Noche. The third book in this trilogy is expected out this summer.

Awards:

  • ALSC Notable Children’s Books, 1995-2024. Commended, 2022. (Association of Library Services for Children)
  • Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Award, 1997-2023. Selection, 2022. (Children’s Literary Assembly)
  • Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 1997-2024. Commended, 2022. (YALSA)
  • Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2011-2024. Selection, 2022. (YALSA)
  • SLJ Best Books of the Year, 2010 – 2023. Selection, 2021. (School Library Journal)

Read about this NY Times bestselling author here.