Best Children’s Books for Passover 2025

April 7, 2025
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SEVEN NEW CHILDREN’S BOOKS

FOR PASSOVER 2025

~ A ROUNDUP ~

If only I had more time! This year’s offering of new Passover books for children seems to be the largest I’ve seen in a long time. It was so hard to choose what to include, and I really hoped to cover them all. Please scroll to the end to see other books I was unable to review but recommend.

REVIEWS:

MY SEDER PLATE
Written by Kristen Weber
Illustrated by Yaara Cellier
(Clarion Books; $10.99, Ages 0-4)

My Seder Plate: A Passover Book is Kristen Weber’s debut, and it’s a charming one! This book would have been a big hit in my home when my children were growing up. It’s not only richly illustrated, but it includes interesting seder details for those who are older. At the same time, it can be appreciated as a clever interactive way for little ones to simply enjoy the pictures during the celebration. Traditionally, the seder plate, like the board book, is round, “with spots for special foods.” Each food represented is significant in the retelling of the Passover story.

Open the sturdy book to reveal the seder plate and its contents on one side, a multigenerational family on the other. It includes the food name in Hebrew and in English. One word I have learned in Hebrew from attending many seders is Beitzah, egg, the second food shown. Each food item explained is in bold. The font is smaller for the more detailed portion, which a relative might explain, or perhaps an older sibling, a cousin, or a family friend. I also like how the first paragraph is in verse, which will add to a youngster’s engagement.

“A roasted egg sits on our plate,
warm and round and hard,
a symbol of the cycle of life
and hope for a new start.

The egg can be both a reminder
of the sacrifices Jewish people have
made and a symbol of new life.”

Now that all the Passover foods are covered, it’s time to try them! A big positive about My Seder Plate is that children can keep it with them and follow along while also being entertained by the art and the surprises that await them with every page turn. Chag Passover Sameach! •Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

MATZAH DAY!
Written by Charlotte Offsay
Illustrated by Jason Kirschner
(Holiday House; $18.99, Ages 3-6)

Charlotte Offsay has a talent for writing picture books with rhyme that 1. always entertain, 2. propel the story forward, and 3. employ a catchy rhyme scheme that invites read-alouds. She did it with Challah Day! and succeeds once again with Matzah Day!

This lively written and whimsically illustrated holiday story celebrates the popular Passover cracker made from water, salt, and flour that can be enjoyed in as many ways as matzah is spelled. You can even see it in this roundup spelled matzah, matzoh, and some times matza, and matzo. Are there other spelling variations that I don’t know about? Maybe! But no matter how you spell it, there is much to love about the food that came to be when “The Jewish people fled from Egypt in such a hurry that they didn’t have time to wait for their dough to rise.”

Don’t miss the three recipes included to try with the help of a parent, as well as information about exactly what matzah is, what Passover is, and why we eat matzah for Passover. I appreciated the tight rhyme when Offsay describes the different (and delicious) ways matzah can be eaten as the family gets fuller and fuller. “Like it salty, plain, or sweet? No wrong way to eat this treat! Toffee, chocolate, salted top. Once you start, it’s hard to stop.” Too right. It’s one of my Passover weaknesses, along with matzah brei, a breakfast matzah mashup my family loves year-round. The zany spreads where Kirschner has made the family members smaller sized as they play on the larger scaled ingredients are quite funny. As a feline fan, I also appreciate the adorable kitty added for good measure. What a great new read to add to your family’s Passover picture book collection. •Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

The Mysterious Missing Matzoh

Written by Alan Katz

Illustrated by Adam Auerbach
(Harper Collins BYR; $12.00, Ages 4-8)

The Cohen family is enjoying the Passover seder at Grandpa Murray and Grandma Norma’s home. It is time to hide the afikomen and Grandpa Murray is searching for the perfect spot which his grandchildren won’t be able to locate. However, when he hears that the matzah ball soup is being served, he rejoins his family. After the meal, it’s time to find the afikomen . . . but the kids don’t know where their grandfather hid it, and Grandpa Murray doesn’t remember either! So, where is the afikomen? We probably all can relate to this.

Young detectives will enjoy the pen and ink illustrations, which combine different angles and vantage points, adding both interest and a sense of mystery to the story, which has a simple yet satisfactory solution. •Reviewed by Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili

HAPPY PASSOVER, EDIE ROSE!
Written by Joy Preble
Illustrated by Valeria Cis
(Kar-Ben Publishing; $18.99, Ages 4-9)

Though not new to writing for children, Joy Preble’s debut picture book, Happy Passover, Edie Rose!, is a heartwarming take on the Passover story. Young readers will admire the meaningful relationship between an older woman, Edie Rose, and a young girl, Mia, neighbors in their close-knit apartment building. Edie Rose has created a tradition with her neighbors where they gather together in her home for a Passover seder that not only includes matzah ball soup and charoset but takes them on a journey similar to the one Moses and the Jewish people took from Egypt to the land of Israel.

Early on, Valeria Cis’s appealing artwork details Edie Roses’s seder to-do list along with illustrations of the smiling and diverse mix of neighbors. And, of course, Edie’s adorable red and white dog, Mo, is always by her side. Turning the page, we see memories of past seders with Edie and her friends coloring paper frogs and crossing through Edie’s living room pretending it’s the Red Sea. Mia spends a great deal of time with Edie when her mother works late, and despite being from different generations, the two have become great friends.

Next up, Edie is baking her chewy macaroons just before this year’s Passover. Mia’s mom walks through the door as Edie carries the hot, out-of-the-oven macaroons from the kitchen. Preble skillfully sets up the scene as Mo, unable to control his sniffer and overjoyed by the yummy aroma, dashes up to steal a cookie. The two collide. Macaroons scatter everywhere. Edie ends up in the hospital with a broken arm. Mia, with her caring neighbors’ help brings Passover to Edie. Just like in the Passover story, young Mia creates the best seder ever. “We marched together,” Mia tells Edie proudly. “All of us. Like you said.”

This charming tale with a twist asks kids why this night is different from all other nights, but this year, the answer is that all the neighbors worked together for Edie Rose—a wonderful lesson in kindness and gratitude. I loved how it showed that holidays don’t always have to be spent with blood relatives. Friends are family, too. •Reviewed by Ronda Einbinder

ROADSIDE SEDER
Written by Anna Levine
Illustrated by Naama Lahav
(Apples & Honey Press; $19.95, Ages 5-8)

Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Benjy, and Matzah the dog are on their way to their seder in Jerusalem when the traffic comes to a standstill. What is the cause of the jam? How will they, and all of the other people on the road, reach their seders? Will there even be any seder that night? A story that keeps you guessing will also keep you turning the pages!

As sundown approaches, Benjy, dressed in his Moses get-up, comes up with the solution for a perfect seder for everyone present. And when it’s time to find the afikoman, the reader is invited along to find it in the drawing. A Passover story that gets youngsters involved is pure fun! Beautiful, inclusive representation of the religious and ethnic diversity in Israel is depicted in the colorful and cheerful cartoon-like illustrations. A letter from the author, words to know, and a recipe for charoset round out this joyous celebration of sharing Passover traditions, even in the most unusual circumstances. •Reviewed by Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili

ELLIS ISLAND PASSOVER
Written and illustrated by Marissa Moss
(Creston Books; $19.99; Ages 5-10)

Sometimes, you read a book that brings you back to a time long ago, and that’s what happened to me as I sat down to read award-winning author-illustrator Marissa Moss’s latest picture book, Ellis Island Passover. The story begins with a seven-year-old girl in a grumpy mood. (That was relatable.) Her family is coming over for the first night of Passover, and she has already been yelled at by her mom for bad behavior and sent to her room by her father for leaving a messy kitchen. She’s clearly not having a good day.

Moss’s evocative pastel drawings of the extended family being welcomed into the little girl’s home include Great Uncle Ezra, who has arrived from Chicago with slicked-back grey hair and glasses. He lives so far away that this is his first Passover with the little girl and her family. She doesn’t say hello to him, but no one notices—except Uncle Ezra. “’What is wrong with my cupcake?’ he asks.” She wonders if he can see she is in a bad mood. He sits on the floor with her and begins to tell her a story.

The story begins when he is nine years old. He’s shipped from Russia to America to live with his brother to escape the intolerable conditions the Jewish people were subjected to in their birth country. My grandfather escaped Russia as well, and reading Moss’s words made me remember the stories he told us.

Life in America had to be better than life in Russia. Once in New York, Ezra was put on a small boat to Ellis Island, the big immigration center. Ezra was given one week to stay there while authorities searched for his brother Mendel—and if Mendel couldn’t be found, he would be returned to his homeland. During his stay on Ellis Island, Ezra realized it was Passover. The Jews on Ellis Island did not have a Haggadah to read, so they decided to tell the stories with a Hebrew Bible. They didn’t have matzoh, so they used American crackers. That night, each of us was reading the story of Exodus and living the story of our own exodus, from the old world to the new, from oppression to freedom. And though Uncle Ezra has celebrated many Passovers since that first one on Ellis Island, this night, he had a new Passover story—his first Passover with his niece.

This picture book beautifully puts into words how Passover has been spent over generations while teaching Jewish children the history of their ancestors. The faded tones and pale palette of the art felt just right for this immigration story. My kids may be adults, but I still plan to share this story with them so they can understand what their great-grandfather endured for them to live in a free country. •Reviewed by Ronda Einbinder

ONE LITTLE GOAT: A Passover Catastrophe
Written by Dara Horn
Illustrated by Theo Ellsworth
(Norton Young Readers; $18.99. Ages 8-12)

Starred Review – School Library Journal

I was not prepared for the wild and wonderfully rewarding reading adventure that Horn and Ellsworth’s graphic novel took me on. Inspired by Horn’s thoughts during Passover when she was growing up, this rollercoaster ride of a story should resonate with many young readers. When I opened the first page of One Little Goat, the narrator, known as the “wise child,” quickly pulled me in when he said his seder had gone horribly wrong. I had to find out how.

Anyone who has ever attended a Passover seder that seems to go on forever will find this novel’s tongue-in-cheek humor relatable. Can you remember your stomach’s constant growling, the one relative who insists on doing things a certain way, and definitely the long way, an older cousin dipping his pinkie in the wine a little bit too much, or never finding the afikoman and winning the dollar coin? These are just a few of the Passover things we have come to expect, all captured over six chapters in 152 pages, though I wish there were more!

We meet the narrator as the seder begins, and the house is packed with family. From our safe spot, like a fly on the wall, we watch as the chaos unfolds. We learn that Dad was originally from the Soviet Union, where he could not practice Judaism, and Mom is pregnant with her fifth child. Great-Grandma, at 98, is a Warsaw Ghetto survivor. And somehow, over time, the meaning of the seder has been lost on the narrator.

To end the seder, the afikoman, or half the piece of matzah that gets hidden early on, needs to be found. However in The Little Goat, it goes missing when the baby sister tosses it into a portal where the titular goat finds and hides it someplace safe in another time zone. But he can’t recall exactly when or where. Without that important piece of matzah, the seder continues for six months! Thankfully, those I’ve attended have never lasted so long, though they may have felt that way. Talk about taking an idea and going over the top! Even more outrageous is that this particular seder is one taking place on top of layers of seders occurring concurrently over millennia. The narrator learns this when that cheeky little talking goat shows up and leads him back in time to seders of old. It’s an eye-opening experience for him as he travels through the space-time continuum, learning about the significance of the Exodus from Egypt and all the hardships the Jewish people have endured from the Spanish Inquisition to WWII where his brave Great Grandmother lived in the Warsaw Ghetto, from Minsk, USSR 1981 where his father grew up, or New York City, 1990, where his mother lived as a child.

I enjoyed how the story’s wicked humor and educational aspect paired perfectly. Ellsworth’s artistic interpretation, in black and white, of Horn’s text is impressive and easy to follow. The two work so seamlessly together that it’s hard to believe that not just one creator did it all. The novel ends in such a satisfying way that I was ready to sit back down and start it all over again. Don’t miss this recommended read. •Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

A Review of The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler for Read Your World 2025

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THE COLOR OF SOUND

Written by Emily Barth Isler

(CarolRhoda Books; $19.99, Ages 11-14)

★Starred Review – Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal

REVIEW:

In the opening paragraph of Emily Barth Isler’s The Color of Sound, readers meet 12-year-old Rosie, a child prodigy who is a violin virtuoso. They’ll also be rewarded with a fascinating and compelling read that hits all the right notes.

Rosie, it seems, has gone on strike. That hooked me immediately. I had to understand why she was refusing to practice her instrument or attend a prestigious music summer camp. Part of Rosie’s protest is a direct result of a fight she had with her best friend Julianne. Julianne could no longer play second fiddle to Rosie’s instrument, rehearsals, trips away, and frequent cancellations, including Julianne’s important birthday sleepover. However, the major reason Rosie goes on strike is to take time to find out all she has missed and to learn who she is rather than who her mother seems to be dictating she should be. “How can you love someone so much and also feel so angry at them?” Even though Rosie may have loved many things about the violin the loneliness accompanying the prodigy lifestyle was taking its toll on her. She feels her parents, especially her mother, can’t see her or hear her beyond their own visions, a strong theme woven into this moving novel. The exploration of the mother-daughter dynamic and intergenerational trauma, in this case, the Holocaust, are also themes that particularly resonated with me.

Readers also find out early on that Rosie, like the author Isler, has synesthesia, a neurodivergence that causes her to see music in colors. But Rosie does not divulge this to anyone. Not her parents. Not to Julianne. She knew instinctively it was something she had to hide … ” … a painting could be a symphony … a song can be a picture.” Colors and rich language unfurl on the pages and add meaning to Rosie’s self-exploration journey. “What if there’s a whole other range of colors and sounds I’m only beginning to hear?”

After the fallout with Julianne, Rosie feels more isolated than ever for someone her age. The violin is her only friend. Or is it? Isler does a great job of making readers wonder if perhaps the violin isn’t really as much of her friend as one might be led to believe. Choosing to bail on music camp, Rosie now has to join her mother to spend six weeks with her grandparents who she barely knows. Will time spent with these relatives in Connecticut, with whom she is neither close geographically nor emotionally, help Rosie grow as a person, and as a family member?

Readers get a clue as to the tone of each chapter with musical terminology as clever subheadings, mainly in Italian, such as prima vista, pianissimo, and staccato. I found myself looking out for examples of these in different character’s actions. While visiting for the summer, Rosie slowly gets to know her Grandpa Jack and her ailing Grandma Florence, who has Alzheimer’s and is nearing the end of her life. I liked these characters more than Rosie’s mother whose strictness felt OTT at times. They provided an entré to Rosie’s heritage that she did not know much about. It’s always seemed to be off-limits, part of some family secrets that Rosie needed to explore. Uncovering these secrets, likely written into her DNA, will yield clues as to why she is who she is.

Being away from her all-consuming violin lessons brings joy into Rosie’s life in unexpected ways and places. These scenes are some of my favorite parts of the book, feel-good moments that give us hope that Rosie can find a healthy way forward in her life. She befriends some older high-school students in an improv class at the local library, and she also enters a mysterious time-travel loop in the shed on her grandparents’ property. I don’t want to give this part away but suffice it to say that Rosie’s encounters in the shed may actually effect a positive change in her life. And, as Rosie spends quality time with her grandparents and appreciates the family history that slowly reveals itself, she experiences how connections to the past become life-affirming for her present. If Rosie’s mother (and her father) can learn to see Rosie for who she is and wants to be, then there’s a good chance that Rosie can break free from the restrictions and commitments playing the violin has represented and forge a more meaningful bond with her family.

Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

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Eighteen New Hanukkah Books for Children – Roundup 2024

NEW HANUKKAH BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

∼A ROUNDUP∼

To date, 2024 has had the most new Hanukkah books than any previous year since I began blogging. While this is certainly something to celebrate, it also means that I cannot devote as much space to each review as I’d like. Several books below include Hanukkah although they do not focus solely on the holiday. Of note is that this roundup ended up featuring 18 books, and if you’re not aware, the number 18 in Judaism stands for the “chai” or “life.” A big shout out to author Marcia Berneger for her help reviewing several books this year. I hope you’ll make tracks to your local indie bookshop to purchase these books or order them from Bookshop.org and read for yourself just how wonderful they truly are. Enjoy!

BOARD BOOKS

HANUKKAH HIPPITY-HOP
Written by Barbara Kimmel
Illustrated by Ana Zurita
(Kar-Ben Publishing; $9.99, Ages 1-4)

This lively board book is just the thing to help toddlers and pre-schoolers get their” wiggles out” while the grownups make the Hanukkah preparations. The bouncy rhyme works wonderfully with the different movements that Kimmel’s created in Hanukkah Hippity-Hop. “We’ll move and we’ll groove and we’ll bippity-bop.” Set up the kids in a safe space away from the menorah so they can dance to their hearts’ content. They can stomp like a Maccabee or shake like a jelly donut. The connections to all these Hanukkah is clever and catchy. Pick up a copy today and let your little ones celebrate with a beat that’s an infectious treat for their hands and their feet! Zurita’s spirited art includes a kitty who also can’t keep still, and colorful clothing with holiday sayings and designs.

MY DREIDEL
Written and illustrated by Ann Koffsky
(Apples & Honey Press; $10.95, Ages 0-1)

In My Dreidel, author-illustrator Ann Koffsky has created the perfect combination for our youngest readers. With a dose of Hanukkah, a theme kids will relate to, and an adorable puppy main character, the stage is set for total enjoyment. The young puppy has a dreidel, but when she tries to spin it, down it goes. She tries again and again, but the dreidel just stops and plops. Daddy comes to the rescue, showing that working together is the way to go. Little ones will learn that trying is good, but accepting help is also okay. This simple, action-filled book for ages 0-1 is destined to be a family favorite.

Reviewed by Marcia Berneger

PICTURE BOOKS

A DRAGON FOR HANUKKAH
Written by Sarah Mlynowski
Illustrated by Ariel Landy
(Orchard Books; $18.99, Ages 3-8)

With over 50 books to her credit, best-selling author Sarah Mlynowski delivers her debut picture book and it’s delightful! A Dragon for Hanukkah unfolds over the eight nights of Hanukkah and is about the power of imagination. And, when coupled with whimsical art by Ariel Landy, the prose shines like the gold coins and gems in Hannah’s treasure chest. When the main character’s mom announces the guests will be arriving soon, Hannah must tidy up and stop her pretend play. That’s when the real gifts are revealed. To be honest, that was a sweet surprise for me. From a dragon stuffie and a time machine dreidel to a pair of celestial socks, Hannah’s imagination took her back in time and up to the stars. Two pages of backmatter feature Nerry the dragon stuffed animal and Hannah in a helpful and playful Q+A about the Festival of Lights for those less familiar with the holiday.

BEAM OF LIGHT:
The Story of the First White House Menorah
Written by Elisa Boxer
Illustrated by Sofia Moore
(Rocky Pond Books; $18.99, Ages 4-8)

This fascinating narrative informational picture book is told from the perspective of a reclaimed beam of wood in the White House occupied by Harry S. Truman. The year, 1948. Adding important context to Beam of Light, Boxer notes that just five years before this story takes place, rabbis appealed to FDR at this very same White House to help save Eastern European Jews by allowing them to emigrate to America. They were brushed aside. The results meant over six million Jews perished during the Holocaust.

As the book opens, we quickly learn that the White House was not in great shape. “I was a witness to the weakening-a wooden beam, struggling to support this structure that once stood strong …” Truman decided the first family had to leave so that a major renovation could be undertaken. He wanted to be sure the house would be stronger and safer for future generations. This would be no small task. And, so the history of this one salvaged beam that would become the menorah begins. However, the wooden beam with its powerful refrain, “I was supposed to be destroyed,” gets put in storage as 13 presidents come and go.

Then, after seven decades in a warehouse, the beam returns to the White House. “I had come home.” There’s no denying that Boxer’s personification of what is to become the White House’s first menorah gets me so emotional each time I read that moving line. With Moore’s thoughtful rendering of a craftsman at work, we see how the beam is transformed into a nine-branched menorah or Hanukkiah, symbolizing triumph over persecution. Thanks to President Joe Biden, the menorah’s first lighting is aptly in the presence of Holocaust survivors, their children, and their children’s children. He “introduced me as the first Jewish artifact ever added to the White House’s permanent collection.” Thanks to Boxer, this little-known story can now be shared with and appreciated by readers of all faiths. The meaning of this menorah’s permanent place in the White House is not lost on those of us who know that prior to 2001, when George W. Bush lit a menorah that was loaned to the White House, one had never before been lit by a president. Don’t miss the enlightening Author’s Note in the backmatter. The book’s title, Beam of Light, with its double meaning, could not be more perfect and is a testament to the enduring “resilience of the Jewish people.”

CHARLEY AND SEYMOUR’S HANUKKAH MIRACLE
Written by Melody Howard Ritt
Illustrated by Nia Gould
(Kar-Ben Publishing; $19.99, Ages 4-8)

If you’re looking for a sweet animal-oriented story this Hanukkah, look no further than Charley and Seymour’s Hanukkah Miracle. The chipmunk and squirrel are best buddies and love spending together, so naturally, they plan to spend Hanukkah at Seymour’s. And while Charley is tasked with bringing the menorah and candles, when the time comes to gather up stuff for the celebration, Charley remembers the menorah. I can hear kids shouting, “Take the candles” when Charley’s searching his house because they are so invested in the story. He knows he’s supposed to bring something else beginning with the letter C but cannot recall exactly what. Maybe it’s cantaloupe, or maybe it’s carrots. Before long, he’s packing up lots of things that begin with the letter C, including candy (Hanukkah gelt), but not the candles. Children will be waiting to see how Seymour deals with this dilemma but when the time comes to light the menorah, it’s actually Charley who saves the day. How does he accomplish this? The same way the Maccabees did, with oil, only this time it’s oil from Seymour’s latkes.

DON’T INVITE A BEAR INSIDE FOR HANUKKAH – Marcia
Written by Karen Rostoker-Gruber
Illustrated by Carles Arbat
(Apples & Honey Press; $19.99, Ages 3-6)

With its delightful story and whimsical illustrations, Karen Rostoker-Gruber’s new picture book, Don’t Invite a Bear Inside for Hanukkah is a winner! What could go wrong if you invite a bear for Hanukkah? EVERYTHING! He’ll help you decorate your house and choose candles for the menorah. But a bear is big and somewhat clumsy. And once the food is on the table … watch out! Bears are terribly messy and somewhat greedy. If you send him away, he’ll be lonely and sad. Perhaps a compromise is in order? This is a fun story with lots of heart and a great message on being warm and friendly to your guests. A great Hanukkah tale, for sure!

Reviewed by Marcia Berneger

EIGHT SWEET NIGHTS, A FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS:
A Hanukkah Story
Written by Charlotte Offsay
Illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt
(Doubleday BYR; $18.99, Ages 3-7)

Love and light take center stage in this lyrical picture book that’s a beautiful blend of Jewish joy mixed with interesting fact boxes. Author Offsay’s story is a warm and welcoming look at how this big family celebrates Hanukkah traditions, including cooking latkes, eating jelly donuts, and lighting candles on the menorah.

Hanukkah begins on the twenty-fifth of Kislev.
Kislev is a month on the Jewish calendar,
starting in either November or December.

These elements come together to convey the wider experience of Hanukkah in this multigenerational story. Yiddish and Hebrew words are introduced. Delicious treats such as Sticky marshmallows and melty kisses spin into sweet candy dreidels are enjoyed. And memories are being made. The family gathering reminded me of when I was a child and spent the holidays with my cousins at my aunt and uncle’s home. While this book would appeal to Jewish readers, its helpful info makes it accessible to all readers who want to learn more about the Hanukkah or Chanuka or Chanukkah experience. Backmatter shares the Hanukkah story and provides an explanation as to why the holiday has many different spellings.

HANUKKAH PAJAMAKKAHS
Written by Dara Henry
Illustrated by Oleg and Aleksey Ivanov
(Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; $18.99, Ages 4-7)

Here’s a sweet Hanukkah story about something the majority of us wear and adore, pajamas! Ruthie is overjoyed to receive PAJAMAKKAHS on the first night of Hanukkah. Her dad says they’re for the Hanakkah Pajamakkah Party but Ruthie wants to wear them “all eight nights!” Ruthie’s mom tells her she needs to keep them spotless and Ruthie promises she will. Ha! We know what’s in store right? Henry takes readers for a rollicking ride as Ruthie finds a way to somehow do the very opposite of what she was told. Beginning with getting some latke oil on them the first night and candle wax the second, the pajamakkah’s stains mount despite Ruthie’s insistence they are spotless.

Kids will find Ruthie’s array of antics relatable and the messes unavoidable, which makes for an entertaining storytime. The sleepwear continues to display signs of what Ruthie’s been getting up to, splish after squelch after splash! Uh oh! Ruthie hasn’t kept her promise to keep the pajamakkahs spotless for the party. The fun is seeing what happens on the eighth night and whether Ruthie’s pajamakkahs can pass the spotless test and deliver a Hanukkah miracle. The Ivanov’s upbeat digital art literally propels the story forward. Created in a pencil and watercolor style, the illustrations are joyful, and full of emotion as readers see Ruthie immerse herself in the holiday festivities.
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LITTLE DREIDEL LEARNS TO SPIN!
Written by Rebecca Gardyn Levington
Illustrated by Taryn Johnson
(Cartwheel Books; $7.99, Ages 3-5)

Prepare for plenty of laughs in this charming rhyming tale of a frustrated little dreidel eager to spin like her more experienced cousins. The author deftly weaves in Yiddish words that add another level of fun to this story of perseverance.

Little Dreidel tries again.

She flails and fumble-tumbles.

“I’m such a klutz! I stink at this!”

She mopes and mumble-grumbles.

While Bubbie reassures her little dreidel it takes time and practice, the top tries and tries to no avail in humorous scene after scene. Johnson’s cute and colorfully rendered dreidels take on a life of their own as they twirl away. Gardyn Levington gives a clever nod to the beloved Dreidel song when she mentions Little Dreidel is made of clay that’s dry and ready. And I loved the wordplay when the teetering top falls on her shin, too! Just when she’s ready to give up, she’s hit with a new round of determination to get spinning and a happy Hanukkah miracle occurs. The Hanukkah story is not included in the backmatter, but a Yiddish glossary and pronunciation guide are. A recommended new spin this holiday!

OY, SANTA!:
Or, There’s a Latke to Learn About Hanukkah
Written by Joyce Schriebman
Illustrated by Gila von Meissner
(Intergalactic Afikomen; $19.99, Ages 4-9)

A Jewish boy named Oliver Overstreet begins corresponding with Santa via email, a 21st-century epistolary approach I always like in picture books. He’s writing to let Santa know he doesn’t need to come down his chimney because he’s Jewish. While an occasional holiday story may focus on how some Jewish children at this age wish Santa would visit, Schriebman’s tale has a fresh take inspired by a note from her son when he was little.

And though it may be Chrismukkah this year with the two holidays overlapping, Oliver is proud to celebrate just Hanukkah. His overarching message is “… mostly I don’t want you to smush Hanukkah and Christmas together anymore.” Santa’s replies indicate he is aware of the different holidays, though he occasionally makes a mistake, such as telling Oliver to enjoy the matzah, which is actually for Passover, or being confused about when the Jewish New Year occurs.

There is humor woven throughout both the text and the art. Kids will want to explore every inch of von Meissner’s whimsical illustrations, packed with interesting things to pick out, including kitties, Santa’s toyshop activity, and both his and Oliver’s interior decor. Meanwhile, Oliver’s messages serve as an engaging way to explain the significance of Hanukkah to both young Jewish and non-Jewish readers. It’s when Oliver becomes a bit more impatient and emphatic with Santa to learn everything that he starts to worry he might land on Santa’s naughty list. Oliver is presented as a bi-racial child, demonstrating the diversity of the Jewish community to young readers, something I’ve seen in more and more Jewish picture books over the past few years and a welcome depiction. I can see parents and educators using a letter-writing exercise as a way for children to express their feelings about Hanukkah traditions. Four pages of colorful backmatter feature instructions for the dreidel game, more Oliver/Santa emails addressing holiday details, Schriebman’s son’s actual note, and author and illustrator info.

URI AND THE KING OF DARKNESS:
A Hanukkah Story
Written by Nati Bait
Illustrated by Carmel Ben Ami
Translated by Ilana Kurshan
(Kalaniot Books; $19.99, Ages 4-9)

Written in rhyme, this atmospheric picture book takes place in what looks like Tel Aviv. It’s windy, rainy, and dark outside, causing Uri to worry as he awaits his father’s return. His concerns are mimicked in the drawings he’s making. Ben Ami’s loose sketch and watercolor style art depict Dad changing a tire so readers know what has held him up. No doubt the bad weather has added to the delay. Tension builds as Uri watches for his father. He imagines the King of Darkness leading his invading army, harkening back to when the Maccabees fought against King Antiochus for their religious freedom. Despite Uri’s mom’s assurances, Uri pretends to go to battle against the enemy. His sister, Shir, joins in the action. When Uri’s father comes home, a special treat comes with him. Now that the family is all together and the menorah is lit, Uri can return to his picture and draw away the King. Hanukkah’s light, along with help from brave Uri and Shir, has defeated the darkness. Two pages of backmatter share the Hanukkah story and prayers to recite when lighting the candles. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this holiday through Uri’s young eyes.

CHAPTER BOOKS

A DONUT IN TIME:
A Hanukkah Story
Written by Elana Rubinstein
Illustrated by Jennifer Naalchigar
(Apples & Honey Press; $16.95, Ages 8-10)

For those meeting Saralee Siegel for the first time, you’re in for a treat. Saralee has a remarkable,
and somewhat unusual, superpower—a nose that sniffs out foods down to their smallest
ingredients. After learning her great-grandmother Gigi’s famous Hanukkah donut recipe inspired
the opening of the Seigel House Restaurant, Saralee just has to whip up a batch for herself. But
the smells are so powerful as she bakes, a smell-cloud opens a portal back to Gigi’s time.

Unfortunately, everyone in Gigi’s family has convinced her to stop using her super smeller and
lead a “normal” life. She abandons her dreams of selling her donuts at the Hanukkah festival, a
decision that reaches far into the future. When Saralee returns to her own time, everything is terribly different. To put things right again, she must convince Gigi to be strong, to be herself, and to pursue her donut-selling dream. A Donut in Time is a great Hanukkah chapter book with an important theme—stand up for yourself and for what you believe in, just like the Maccabees did so long ago.

Reviewed by Marcia Berneger

RACHEL FRIEDMAN AND THE EIGHT
NOT-PERFECT NIGHTS OF HANUKKAH
Written by Sarah Kapit
Illustrated by Genevieve Kote
(Henry Holt and Co. BYR; $17.99, Ages 5-9)

I’m glad I got to spend time getting to know Rachel Friedman. This chapter book, the second in Kapit’s series, revolves around Rachel’s goal to complete the eight items she and her BFF Maya have created for a Hanukkah to-do list. School’s out and, at age 13, Rachel’s older brother Aaron doesn’t seem to find Hanukkah that cool anymore. Rachel is determined to change his mind. On top of that, she is still pretty peeved that her classmate, Mason, could not understand the big deal about Hanukkah after seeing a drawing Rachel had made. She was tired of people thinking Christmas was better and her list would prove it.

When Maya gets ill and cannot join Rachel to partake in all the planned activities, and Aaron has no desire to leave his laptop, Rachel has to go solo. However, building the annual Lego porch menorah is a struggle without help. So not fun! Plus the latkes Dad usually makes on the first night are not happening. He forgot to get potatoes and driving to a store in the snowy weather is not a good idea. Pizza will have to do. Things continue to go downhill despite a surprise Hanukkah present Rachel loves. Kapit makes sure to bring in positive experiences for Rachel so it’s not one disappointment after another. For example, when Aaron finally takes a break from video games to beat his sister at dreidel spinning, she sees the bright side. “Aaron did a Hanukkah thing with me! Even if he is annoying, I’m glad that he did.” It’s only when she causes Aaron to fall while ice skating at the park that, ironically, things slowly begin to improve. He admires a comic she made him and they have a meaningful heart-to-heart. Fifteen fast-flowing chapters include illustrations by Genevieve Kote that convey emotion and humor adding to the page-turnability of this story. The cover art is a perfect example of the sibling dynamic and Rachel’s personality. Kids new to chapter books will feel accomplished with this book’s accessibility, and eager to see what Rachel gets up to next.

MIDDLE-GRADE ANTHOLOGY

THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS:
16 Hanukkah Stories
Compiled by Henry Herz
(Albert Whitman & Co.; $18.99, Ages 9-12)

Every single short story in this engrossing collection is superb and I can assure you there is something for everyone here. Whether you like poetry, magical realism, historical fiction, humor, mythology, or memoir, you’ll find something in and out of your go-to genre that just makes you feel good.

There’s a story about an enchanted spoon, a girl messenger in Bletchley, 1943, a Girl Scout troop member connecting with a Jewish resident at a senior home holiday party, several about characters with previously unknown Jewish ancestry, the moving meaning of wax buildup on a menorah and much more. Several stories mention how many Christmas and holiday songs in general were written by Jewish creators and others focus on how often Jewish children are asked to sing religious Christmas songs when Jewish songs are given short shrift. I’d be remiss not to share my delight when Alan Katz’s short story mentioned the iconic department store of my childhood in my husband’s hometown of Douglaston, NY – Korvettes. Katz’s recollection of family gift-giving talked about the toy department. I recall the record department where I bought my first single, “I Think I Love You” by David Cassidy! I’m a big anthology fan, so perhaps I’m partial, but I loved reading such a rich and varied amount of approaches to the Hanukkah celebration. How terrific that this talented group of authors accepted the challenge! Read it slowly to savor every special story. It’s a keeper!

INTERFAITH FAMILIES PLUS HOLIDAY TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORLD

GINGERBREAD DREIDELS
Written by Jane Breskin Zalben
Illustrated by Thai My Phuong
(Charlesbridge, $17.99. Ages 4-7)

It doesn’t happen often, but this year, the first night of Hanukkah falls on the same day as Christmas. When the two holidays coincide, some people refer to it as Chrismukkah. For families who celebrate both, it means double the excitement. Sophie and Max are waiting for their two sets of grandparents, the Golds and the Feathers, to arrive, but the snowy weather might be holding them up. To “make the time go faster,” the children’s mom suggests baking. A mess ensues, but the time indeed passes, and soon the grandparents show up. The kitchen is a flurry of cooking activity before everyone heads out to enjoy the snow. The combination of a Hanukkah song and Menorah lighting followed by “Silent Night” and Christmas tree lighting makes for a memorable evening. My Phuong’s illustrations add to the warmth of this diverse gathering which includes Grandma Gold, an Ethiopian Jew. This picture book accurately depicts the Hanukkah and Christmas story so kids in interfaith families can see themselves reflected on the pages. Best of all is the blending of sweet traditions in the form of gingerbread dreidels, opening presents from under the tree, and of course, the priceless gift of being together. I like how Breskin Zalbin’s prose flows effortlessly much like how the family respectfully and joyfully honors the two faiths shared in the story.

WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT
Written by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple
Illustrated by Jieting Chen
(Rise X Penguin Workshop; $18.99, Ages 3-6)

When Jane Yolen and daughter Heidi E. Y. Stemple write a story together, the results are bound to be spectacular, and their latest picture book, WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT does not disappoint. This gentle book, illustrated by Jieting Chen’s whimsical art, whisks readers around the world to experience seven joyful winter holidays. As the title implies, these celebrations are all bound together by light. Lights adorn both Christmas trees and the bodhi, a Ficus tree decorated for the Buddist Bodhi Day. The Chanukah menorah and the Kwanza Kinara both hold multiple candles, while lanterns are lit for Diwali and for the Lunar New Year. The seventh holiday, the Solstice, celebrates the sun’s light. Each spread shows families enjoying songs, games, and tables filled with traditional foods. Chen’s warm, autumn palette weaves calmness and joy through every page. This is a holiday book you’ll want to take out every winter and read about each holiday as it arrives.

Reviewed by Marcia Berneger

THE LIGHT FROM MY MENORAH:
Celebrating Holidays Around the World
Written by Robin Heald
Illustrated by Andrea Blinick
(Pajama Press; $18.95, Ages 4-8)

The cover of The Light from my Menorah exudes warmth. The first spread simply doubles down on that ambiance. A fire is burning in the fireplace, a daughter is playing dreidel, Dad and Mom are reading and a son is watching the glow of all nine candles in the menorah. And I can’t forget the comfy-looking kitty asleep on the rug.

Enchanted by the light of the candles burning, the boy thinks of the Hanukkah miracle of “long-lasting light.” He wonders where the miracle of the light is now as a swirling strand of light leads the boy to Scandinavia where a group is celebrating St. Lucia Day when people dress as the saint and candles light up the headpiece of the leader. (Kids should look out for the owl and other creatures making appearances in Blinick’s charming illustrations.) Next, “the light from my menorah zigzags up mountains.” It travels fast, and it travels far, touching down in Thailand, where darkness takes on a magical quality during Loy Krathong. Here, people light candles and incense sticks and place them on decorated floating bases. They make wishes and set the “krathong” off in hopes any bad luck will go with it. Other light-filled holidays are covered including Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Diwali. More detailed explanations can be found in the backmatter.

LET’S GET FESTIVE!:
Celebrations Around the World
Written by Joanna Kończak
Illustrated by Ewa Poklewska-Kozietto
Translated by Kate Webster
(NorthSouth Books; $27.95, Ages 4 and up)

I learned about a host of holidays in Let’s Get Festive! that made me want to visit many of the countries covered at those times of year. Kończak chose to organize the book according to theme rather than in chronological order. The themes featured in 175 pages are “Welcoming the New Year,” “Celebrations of Nature,” “Religious Holidays,” “Carnivals,” “For the Dead,” “In Memory of People and Important Events,” and “Special Occasions.” Not only is Hanukkah thoughtfully covered but three other Jewish holidays are featured.

One holiday I particularly enjoyed reading about is called Vesak. It celebrates Buddha’s birthday and focuses on spreading joy and offering prayers for peace. It’s also been “designated an international holiday by UNESCO,” something I had no idea even existed. Another lovely and surprising holiday, this one from Japan, is called Hanami and means “flower viewing.” When the stunning pink blossoms of the beloved cherry trees are at their peak people gather for picnics to bask in their brief but undeniable beauty.

The art in this comprehensive compendium of international celebrations is cheerful and festive and would please even the youngest reader. However, the text may be better suited for ages 7 and up. With over 35 holidays and celebrations to read about, I recommend skipping the deep dive and, instead, picking one theme at a time. This extends the experience and helps what you’ve read sink in.

WE ALSO RECOMMEND:

The Day I Became a Potato Pancake
(Apples & Honey)

Let it Glow
(Feiwel & Friends)

ABOUT GUEST REVIEWER MARCIA BERNEGER:

Marcia Berneger is an educator, speaker, and writer. A retired teacher who taught elementary school children for over three decades, she has worked mainly with first and second-graders and children with special learning challenges. Marcia’s passionate about helping children navigate their world and many of her stories are taken from her teaching experiences working with fidgety students or those experiencing typical childhood fears.

Find her here.

Check out last year’s roundup here.

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Middle Grade Novel Review – Remember Us

January 9, 2024
goodreadswithronna
African American, African American Interest, Ages 10 and up, Family - Parents, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction, Middle School, Multicultural Story, Single Parent Families, Social Issues

REMEMBER US

Written by Jacqueline Woodson

(Nancy Paulsen Books; $18.99, Ages 10 and up)

★Starred Reviews – Booklist, Horn Book, Indie Next, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal

In Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson, twelve-year-old Sage and her widowed mother live in Flatbush, Brooklyn, in the house that was her father’s childhood home. She has strong connections to her firefighter father, who was killed in the line of duty. Like him, she loves basketball and dreams of playing professionally.

Sage’s tight-knit community is affected by the near-constant threat of fires breaking out all over the city during one summer in the 1970s. Homes and even lives are lost. Survivors leave, the neighborhood changes and childhood friendships shift. Some of Sage’s friends are more interested in being glamorous than in joining her, as they once did, in a game of basketball. Hardest of all is the revelation that her mother wants to leave the only home, her father’s home, that Sage has ever known.

Basketball is the only constant in her life. Freddy and his family move into the neighborhood and she finds out this kind boy loves basketball as much as she does. They become fast friends. One day, Sage experiences a traumatic event that shakes her to her core and leads to a harrowing act of destruction as she wrestles with doubts about who she is and what she wants to be.

Will she join the girls who paint their nails … or will she remain true to herself?

Using vivid and lyrical prose, Woodson draws on her Brooklyn roots and actual events to poignantly and richly capture the story’s characters and Sage’s neighborhood during a tense and fearful summer. Exquisitely written, Woodson once again explores the theme of memory and storytelling (Brown Girl Dreaming, Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014) in this spare novel of a young girl grappling with change and learning the importance of memories and the value of moving on.

Click here for a teacher’s guide.

Reviewed by Dornel Cerro

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Review of 2023 Newbery Winner – Freewater

FREEWATER

by Amina Luqman-Dawson

(Little, Brown BYR; $16.99, Ages 10+)

Awards: John Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award

An Indiebound Bestseller

★Starred reviews: Booklist, Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Connections

“A gripping story of friendship, survival, and courage as a group of young children overcome trauma and fear to pursue freedom for themselves and their community.”

Freewater is the award-winning novel by Amina Luqman-Dawson published a little over a year ago. It opens with the harrowing flight of two enslaved children, twelve-year-old Homer and his younger sister Ada, from the Southerland Plantation. Their escape goes horribly wrong when their mother, Ruth, returns to rescue Homer’s friend Anna and is captured. The two siblings, pursued by slavers and their dogs, stumble into a nearby swamp and flounder in an unfamiliar world.

Bravely forging ahead in the unfamiliar and frightening environment, the children are rescued by Suleman, a formally enslaved man, who takes the exhausted children to Freewater. Homer and Ada are welcomed to this hidden village, a safe haven for its formerly enslaved residents and their freeborn offspring. The supportive community draws the children into their society, beliefs, and traditions, which are based on a complex relationship with the swamp.

Homer, wracked with guilt, is determined to rescue his mother and makes plans to return to Southerland to rescue her. When his new friends learn of this, they help Homer organize a rescue. Meanwhile, at Southerland, clever Anna is making plans to disrupt the plantation daughter’s wedding in order to flee with Ruth. Will Anna manage to escape? Will Homer and his new friends be able to rescue his mother … without getting caught?

In a compelling, multi-voiced narrative, five children, some freeborn, some formerly enslaved, relate the story from their POV. Even the plantation owner’s youngest daughter, Nora, contributes to the narrative, describing her struggle to understand the implications of slavery. Through their narratives, the reader learns about the children’s pasts, secrets, traumas, fears, and dreams.

The author imagines a fascinating world, not just of survival in the swamp, but of a nurturing society and culture flourishing there. Family life and supporting the community are paramount. Jobs and tasks include weaving vines into rope, hollowing out giant trees for shelters or boats, tending to the crops, and hunting and fishing. Sky bridges made from rope help the community travel safely above the ground where they cannot be seen or caught by slavers or militia. Huge, moving partitions, woven out of branches and leaves are created to close off parts of the swamp for protection. A few members, like Suleman, stealthily visit the plantations at night to “liberate” supplies (like matches) that cannot be made in the swamp.

Luqman-Dawson has populated the story with well-developed characters and a richly described setting, both beautiful and deadly. The author does not hesitate to include the horrific treatment of African Americans by white people. Woven into the story’s many dramatic events are moments of friendship, selflessness, joy, and even budding young love.

The author’s endnote details the historical background including references to African American scholars working on Maroon society in the Great Dismal Swamp, which was the inspiration for this story. Visit Luqman-Dawson’s website to see a video of her summary of Freewater and more resources on the Dismal Swamp.

Reviewed by Dornel Cerro

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Middle Grade Book Review – In the Beautiful Country

June 28, 2022
goodreadswithronna
Ages 8-12, Asian & Asian American, Fitting In, Immigration, Middle Grade Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction, Middle School, Multicultural Story, Novels in Verse, Prejudice and Racism

IN THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY

Written by Jane Kuo

(Quill Tree Books; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

★Starred Review – School Library Journal

Novels in verse are powerful. Jane Kuo’s debut middle grade, In the Beautiful Country, is a novel in verse set in 1980 about ten-year-old Ai Shi, an American immigrant from Taiwan. What a good format choice for a novel reflecting the experience of children new to the U.S.! Especially accessible for English language learners and for reluctant or struggling readers, the short, straightforward poems are no less engaging for those who read with ease.

I love how a poem gives me broad strokes of what is happening, takes me to the correct emotional address, and then I get to fill in the details. Wait, that sounds wrong. Kuo’s book, for example, gives me many details, things I wouldn’t know to imagine myself, that help me understand Ai Shi’s experience. It’s more like a connect-the-dots puzzle. Rather than broad strokes, the poems set down carefully-placed images and details, the dots. Then readers use their imagination to get from one dot to the next and draw a complete understanding of who Ai Shi is, what she values the most, and what she goes through as she and her parents face the disappointing reality of their new life.

The story begins when Ai Shi is anticipating moving to “the beautiful country” (the Chinese name for America) and follows her through a year of adjusting to life as Anna, American fifth-grader. Before moving, Ai Shi says America is her “happily ever after place,” but once she’s here, reality hits hard. She dreads going to school with her limited English:

I used to love school,

the place where I was the loudest girl in class.

Now I’m robbed of words.

Suddenly, I have nothing to say.

Her family struggles to keep their heads above water financially. They sold everything to buy an American fast food restaurant, depending on a fraudulent profit record the seller provided. Ai Shi thinks the items she left in Taiwan will be replaced with better California models, but that’s not how it goes.

I was particularly touched by a poem about the family’s new apartment. Ai Shi sleeps in the lone bedroom; her parents sleep on a fold-out couch in the living room. The only entertainment is watching television, and Ai Shi thinks their new set is broken. Really, it’s just black-and-white. The poem ends:

I sit facing the flickering television.

This TV is twice as small as our old one.

Here,

in the land of more,

our world is so small.

Racism adds isolation and a sense of injustice to Ai Shi’s disappointment. She is teased at school: “It’s as if making fun of my food / has become a group lunchtime activity.” When the class is learning about alliteration, a bully waits until they are on the playground to share his example: “Ching Chong Chinaman.” At the store, her parents face customers who have no patience for their problems with English.

Last week, a man became very huffy and puffy,

as if not understanding English

was some kind of insult.

It gets worse when someone throws a brick through the store’s large front window in the middle of the night. The poem “Nothing is Missing” describes the violation, ending, “They didn’t take anything. / They took so much.”

It is painful seeing through Ai Shi’s eyes when her family is struggling. I always say that if a book makes me cry, it had better be for a good purpose. Being sad with Ai Shi is worth it, helping me develop more understanding of and empathy for immigrants, children and adults alike. But I am especially enthusiastic about recommending this book because Kuo doesn’t leave Ai Shi or the reader in insurmountable pain. When the family considers giving up and going back to Taiwan, their dynamics change. It is a pleasure to keep reading and see how their shared values put them on a path to an authentically hopeful future.

Guest Review by Mary Malhotra

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Middle Grade Book Review – Singing with Elephants

May 31, 2022
goodreadswithronna
Animals, Animals, Historical Fiction, Immigration, Loss & Grief, Loss & Grieving, MG Fiction, Middle Grade Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction, Multicultural Story, Novels in Verse, Stories in Verse, Zoos & Zoo Vets

SINGING WITH ELEPHANTS

Written by Margarita Engle

(Viking BYR; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

★Starred reviews – Kirkus, Publishers Weekly

Struggling to belong, Cuban-born eleven-year-old Oriol discovers her voice in Singing with Elephants, a beautifully moving middle-grade novel in verse written by Newbery honoree and Pura Belpré Award-winning author, Margarita Engle.

The story takes place in 1947 in Santa Barbara where Oriol lives with her family. She helps take care of injured animals in her parents’ veterinary clinic, located near a “wildlife zoo ranch” that has connections to Hollywood (6). Grieving the recent death of her grandmother and facing hardships at a school that is unwelcoming to immigrants, she struggles with loneliness–until she befriends “la poeta” Gabriela Mistral who has moved near Oriol’s home (12). While the meeting (and subsequent story) is fictional, the poet is a real person, the first Latin American winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature. Oriol is relieved to have found someone who speaks her native tongue, but little does she know the unexpected gift she’ll be receiving from her new friend: learning the language of poetry.

These lessons are for all of us. “There is no better home for emotions than a poem,” la poeta advises, “which can easily be transformed into a song” (27). The book is rich with simple yet profound expressions of love, loss, heartache, and wholeness. As we learn along with Oriol, poetry is the soul’s way of singing, whether that soul is human or animal. This lesson becomes more apparent as Oriol’s connection to the animals she cares for grows stronger and stronger, in particular her relationship with a pregnant elephant named Chandra whose rhythmic sways and sounds remind her of poetry.

Through her mentor’s gentle encouragement and guidance, Oriol’s writing blossoms–from using it as a source of healing to using it as a force for change. Bit by bit, she “no longer yearn[s]” for Cuba and Abuelita “every moment of every day” (106). And when a famous movie star takes special interest in Chandra, Oriol drafts “poetry-petition[s],” eventually organizing a protest against animal abuse (188). Fighting for her beloved elephants, Oriol finds a sense of belonging.

Singing with Elephants is the kind of book readers will want to read again and again, catching the pieces of poetry missed from the previous read. An author’s note at the end details Cuban cultural traditions as well as Gabriela Mistral’s life. A list of further readings about and by the poet is also included.

Reviewed by Armineh Manookian

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Middle Grade Graphic Novel – The Legend of Auntie Po

October 15, 2021
goodreadswithronna
Ages 10 - 14, Asian & Asian American, Diversity, Folktales & Myths, Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Immigration, Middle Grade Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction, Multicultural Story, Social Issues

THE LEGEND OF AUNTIE PO

Written and illustrated by Shing Yin Khor

(Kokila; $22.99, Ages 10-14)

Finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

★ Starred reviews – Horn Book, Kirkus, School Library Journal

A re-imagined Paul Bunyan legend gives one Chinese American girl
the courage to face adversity.

Thirteen-year-old Mei lives and works in an 1885 Sierra Nevada lumber logging camp in the graphic novel, The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor. Her father, Hao, cooks for the workers, and Mei is famed for her pies. Mei, unlike the other women in the camp, does not wear a dress and is conflicted about her budding sexuality and her feelings towards Bee Anderson, the camp foreman’s daughter.

Within the camp, racial tensions simmer and the Chinese workers face discrimination and violence. Abusive behavior towards women in the camp also adds to an increasingly hostile environment. Camp foreman Hel Anderson, Bee’s father, turns a blind eye to all that is happening.

To help her and the other women and children cope with these injustices, Mei invents a Bunyanesque character, Auntie Po, only she can see. The stories she spins about Auntie Po and her blue water buffalo, Pei Pei, give courage and hope to the others.

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The Legend of Auntie Po int1 — Interior art from The Legend of Auntie Po written and illustrated by Shing Yin Khor, Kokila ©2021

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Following the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Chinese workers are forced to leave the mill. Mei stays with Bee’s family, but Hao and the other Chinese workers leave to find work in San Francisco. When camp conditions severely deteriorate, Anderson travels to Chinatown to persuade his former workers to return. Hao, mindful of Anderson’s acceptance of the discriminatory conditions, negotiates a better deal for the Chinese workers. Anderson agrees and Hao and the others return to the camp. Father and daughter are reunited.

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The Legend of Auntie Po int2 — Interior spread from The Legend of Auntie Po written and illustrated by Shing Yin Khor, Kokila ©2021

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Author/illustrator Khor’s colorful illustrations authentically capture 19th lumberjacking life, demonstrating the amount of research she did to convey the details of daily life and conditions experienced by the workers and their families. In addition, this graphic novel highlights the art of storytelling and how each story can be shaped or reimagined by the experiences of the teller and the listener.

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The Legend of Auntie Po int3 — Interior spread from The Legend of Auntie Po written and illustrated by Shing Yin Khor, Kokila ©2021

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As the story concludes, Mei and her father decide it’s time for her to go away to school. Mei has also resolved some of her identity issues:

“I know who I am. I am a good cook. I have good friends, I have the best pa in the world” (p. 272).

The author’s endnote and her bibliography contain valuable information, as does her video on how this book came about for anyone who wants to learn more about the legends and history behind this engaging graphic novel. This is truly the middle-grade at its finest.

Reviewed by Dornel Cerro

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A review of The Magical Imperfect and an Interview with Author Chris Baron

June 16, 2021
goodreadswithronna
Ages 9-12, Author Interview, Bullying, Contemporary Issues for tweens, Disability, Friendship, Growing Up & Facts of Life, Historical Fiction, Jewish Fiction, Middle Grade Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction, Novels in Verse

THE MAGICAL IMPERFECT

by Chris Baron

(Feiwel & Friends; $16.99, Ages 9-12)

A Book Review, and Interview with Author Chris Baron

by Karol Silverstein

★Starred Review – Booklist

REVIEW:

In The Magical Imperfect, Etan has had trouble speaking since his mother checked into a hospital to get well, and his friends at school don’t know what to make of his silence. Baseball is about the only thing he can share with his father, but luckily, 1989 is looking like a good year for their Giants. Spending time with his immigrant grandfather, a shopkeeper in the local village, is much easier for Etan. Though his family is Jewish, their small hometown north of San Francisco is home to many refugees from various countries, so he’s exposed to many different cultures.

On an errand to deliver items for one of his grandfather’s fellow shopkeepers, Etan meets Malia, a girl who has severe eczema and began being homeschooled when the bullying at the local school became too much. These two outcast kids have an instant connection and build a moving friendship. Etan’s grandfather has a small supply of clay from “the old country,” which is supposed to have curative properties. Could the clay possibly cure Malia’s eczema? Etan wonders. Malia has tried many medicines and “cures” and is more interested in connecting with and learning from the nature that surrounds her, particularly the trees. Malia also dreams of singing in the town’s talent contest—unthinkable before she met Etan. As the talent show—and the World Series—draw closer, Malia practices her performance with Etan’s encouragement and Etan secures some of his grandfather’s “magic clay,” hoping it will help a particularly bad eczema outbreak Malia is experiencing. If only the scary tremors would let up…

As was the case in author Chris Baron’s 2019 debut All Of Me, the gentle unfolding of character and emotion through evocative verse is again on full display in The Magical Imperfect. The juxtaposition of Etan and Malia’s small tremors of growth with San Francisco’s devastating 1989 earthquake provides a potent metaphor for how life can shake you up but not necessarily knock you down. I worried a little that this book might delve into “magical cure/disability that needs to be fixed” territory that hampers many books with disabled and/or chronically ill characters and can actually be harmful to that community. But I don’t think that’s the case here. Etan’s clay isn’t really the magic fix he’d hoped for, and I believe both kids come to realize that acceptance and small victories are, in the end, what matter most.

Ultimately, the intertwined themes of love, culture, baseball and just a touch of magic . . . or is it faith? . . . make this a wonderful and wonder-filled read.

INTERVIEW:

Karol Silverstein: The Magical Imperfect is set around the time of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. How and at what point in the writing process did you decide on that time period? What led to this decision?

Chris Baron: This is a great question with a very twisty-turny answer. Let me see if I can straighten it out enough. Just like in All of Me, this book takes place in the Bay Area, where I went to middle school. This place is just a part of me. The setting lives in my heart—from the ocean to the redwoods and beyond. I’d experienced earthquakes before, but somehow this one, in the middle of the World Series seemed to disrupt life in such an unpredictable and deep way. This story is all about the ways in which life is disrupted for the people in the story in unexpected ways by things that are beyond their control. Something as a big as an earthquake is terrifying, but it also has a chance to bring people together.

Karol: Baseball, music, food, and cultural traditions are wonderfully intertwined in your book. Can you talk about how you worked with these themes to tell Etan’s story?

Chris: Intertwined is actually a beautiful word for this. I think all of these things are intertwined in the story. When we hear a song, we feel the beat and hum the melody. We can remember the words no matter how long it’s been. Not only that, if the song has a special meaning to us, the music and the lyrics come together to fuel the memories that bind us together. I think it’s the same with cultural and sacred traditions, (which of course include food). The traditions, the tastes, the people—they become intertwined in who we are. They connect us. Even though Etan and Malia are from different cultures, and even though traditions might look different, they find that their values are actually intertwined.

As for baseball: Baseball is its own tradition—a symbol, an activity played at every level, and just a very fun game. For so many of us, baseball represents normal life, but it’s powerful enough to bring so many kinds of people together. For Etan, baseball is one of the only ways he can connect with his father. When things get tough, they at least can talk about baseball.

In 1989, when a unifying tradition like the world series was shaken by an earthquake, it caused many of us to feel scared and uneasy, but the quake also brought many people together. I tried to weave that into the backdrop of the story. There is so much news coverage from that day, and it’s fascinating to watch. I wanted to explore what it would be like for this close-knit town to experience this event together. I also have to confess that writing poetry about the earthquake was all-consuming. I think I wrote one hundred pages of “moments’ from the quake, but of course only a few made it into the book.

Karol: Both Etan and Malia have health conditions. What drew you to create characters with selective mutism and eczema, respectively? If you don’t have personal experience with these conditions, what type of research did you do?

Chris: Great question. I have the deepest respect and empathy for those of us who live with these health conditions. Both selective mutism and eczema are extremely complex.

I wrote about the life of an artist’s family quite a bit in All of Me. But there was one behavior that Ari didn’t express that Etan does in The Magical Imperfect. In the book, Etan stops speaking when his mother has to leave because of her severe depression. He didn’t choose it. His anxiety came on suddenly, and like most kids his age (and especially in 1989), he doesn’t know how to recognize it. In Etan, I am writing a character I know well—someone who suffers from anxiety. Because my mom is an artist, we moved all the time. Whenever I moved to a new town, a new state, a new school, I may have seemed calm on the outside, but inside of me was a storm of emotions: There was always joy and excitement of moving to a new place, new friends, new adventures, but of course it was all mixed together with the brutal pain of being taken out of one life (routine, friendships, and environment), and then suddenly dropped into another. I suffered from anxiety. I didn’t know how I would fit. For a kid, it can be a complete loss of control. Often, the way I reacted to this loss of control was to find something I could control. It was sometimes eating, but it was also something quieter. I found myself often unable to speak, so I embraced that. I stopped talking at school. I was quiet. I kept all my words to myself. Eventually, I found friends and teachers I could trust who helped me through it, and slowly the words came out.

Eczema is very complicated. Most people have rashes that itch, but as my wife Ella deCastro Baron explains it, she has itches that rash. Ella has had extreme eczema off and on her whole life. Her memoir, Itchy Brown Girl Seeks Employment (2012) is all about a life lived with eczema. When we first got married, she had eczema that ravaged her body from head to toe. The triggering effects of the condition caused so many secondary problems: depression, insomnia, isolation, and hopelessness. If you know Ella, then you know that she is a luminous, hilarious person full of life. Watching her deal with chronic bouts of eczema has been some of the hardest parts of our life together (and still are at times). In The Magical Imperfect, Malia experiences a similar bout of eczema. It’s so bad that she is isolated from school because of the way other kids treat her and because of her own discomfort.

The healing process for both of these conditions is not simple magic. In each case, it’s a complex journey, but the hope itself leads to moments of magic that provide joy and healing from the most unexpected places. That’s a big part of what I explored in the book.

I also want to note. Even though these conditions are integrated into my own life, I did more research than I expected. I know that these conditions vary from person to person, so I talked to many. I interviewed doctor friends about both subjects, and a few others who have firsthand experiences with these conditions. I also read Christina Collins’s stunning book, After Zero which I highly recommend.

Karol: The “magic” in your book is very much left up to your readers’ interpretation. Can you discuss what role you feel magic plays in helping Etan and Malia get to a better place emotionally by story’s end?

Chris: I know one thing I hope readers don’t take away—the idea that magic is some sort of cure for everything. Without too many spoilers, I would say that the magic in the story connects the many worlds of the characters. There is ancient magic from the worlds more connected to Etan’s grandfather and the other immigrants in town, but also hidden everywhere. This is the part I had the most fun writing. I think the magic is crucial for Etan and Malia—not because it cures things—but because it provides hope and makes it tangible in their everyday lives. The story is rooted in the idea that magic is all around us—that if we might only stop and listen—pay attention—we will see and hear the trees, or discover the ancient things living right beside us.

But also—I love trees—and I know that they are made of magic.

AUTHOR BIO:

Chris Baron is the author of the middle-grade novels in verse, ALL OF ME and THE MAGICAL IMPERFECT (2021) from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, a Junior Library Guild Selection. He is a Professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center. Learn more about him on Twitter: @baronchrisbaron, Instagram: @christhebearbaron, Facebook: Chris Baron – Author, Poet, Educator, and on www.chris-baron.com.
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WHERE TO BUY THE BOOK:

Click here to purchase from Run For Cover Bookstore
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Click here to purchase from Mysterious Galaxy

Guest Review and Interview by Karol Ruth Silverstein
Karol writes all genres of children’s books and screenplays. Her debut young adult novel, Cursed, published by Charlesbridge Teen, won the prestigious Schneider Family Book Award, given annually by the ALA. She is represented by Jen Linnan of Linnan Literary Management.

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Middle Grade Book Review – Doctor Dolittle: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1

May 21, 2020
goodreadswithronna
Ages 8-12, Animals, Historical Fiction, Humor, Juvenile Fiction, Middle Grade Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

DOCTOR DOLITTLE:

THE COMPLETE COLLECTION, VOLUME 1

Text and art by Hugh Lofting

Updated by Christopher Lofting

(Aladdin; $59.99 Set, $24.99 each, Ages 8-12)

Doctor Dolittle vol1 cvr

Looking for the perfect stuck-at-home, want-to-read-a-classic book? It’s Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 (three different tales of Dolittle’s world travels, accompanied, of course, by his animal friends). Don’t let the 700+-page size scare you away; the short chapters and Lofting’s comical illustrations move the stories along quickly. A middle-grader will feel a great sense of accomplishment after reading this huge book that’s “fully updated for the modern reader by the author’s son, Christopher Lofting.”

Int art from doctor dolittle pg166 — Interior illustration from Doctor Dolittle: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 written and illustrated by Hugh Lofting, Aladdin ©2019.

Kids may know the various Dolittles represented on the screen, but the real character supplants the others. The literary Dolittle isn’t handsome or debonair; instead, it’s his good-natured, kindhearted personality that quickly wins you over. I like that this Dolittle is a bit on the short and tubby side, it adds to the humorous appeal. Picture a slightly clownish man squished into a matador’s outfit as he tries to bring the cruel sport of bullfighting to an end. Fortunately, he can talk to animals, and always seems to have luck on his side.

spot int art from_doctor dolittle pg368 — Interior illustration from Doctor Dolittle: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 written and illustrated by Hugh Lofting, Aladdin ©2019.

Children can explore this world’s appealing mix of reality and fantasy such as the Pushmi-Pullyu, a nearly extinct two-headed creature. These classic tales, “The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle;” “The Story of Doctor Dolittle;” “Doctor Dolittle’s Post Office,” will especially delight children fond of animals. Lofting connects with readers, drawing them into his imaginary world. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that the stories were originally written as a series of letters to his kids from the front lines during World War I. Though penned in wartime, his entertaining stories resound with the peaceful love of people and animals from everywhere around the globe.

Read more about Dolittle’s creator here.

Reviewed by Christine Van Zandt (www.ChristineVanZandt.com), Write for Success (www.Write-for-Success.com), @ChristineVZ and @WFSediting, Christine@Write-for-Success.com

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Middle Grade Book Review – Serafina and the Seven Stars

January 21, 2020
goodreadswithronna
Ages 8-12, Children's Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

SERAFINA AND THE SEVEN STARS

Written by Robert Beatty

(Disney-Hyperion; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

Serafina, our favorite, fierce heroine, is back in the fourth installment of this New York Times best-selling series, Serafina and the Seven Stars, and we sure have missed her. The Serafina books seamlessly blend fantasy, mystery, and thrilling spookiness. Set around 1900 at Biltmore Estate in the Great Smoky Mountains area of North Carolina, these books include real people and historical details.

Serafina once lived unnoticed in the mansion’s basement with her father. Now Master Vanderbilt gives her free roam, counting on her as Biltmore’s protective guardian. While her best friend, Braeden, is seemingly away at boarding school in New York, the estate’s momentary quiet shatters with nonsensical crimes. Serafina prowls the premises trying to keep everyone safe. When someone she trusts appears to have taken an evil turn, Serafina must hurriedly solve who or what is behind the crimes before matters become insurmountable.

The Serafina books are one of my top middle-grade series of all time because of the amazing setting and period details, close family bonds, fierce friendships (with a dash of romance), and mysterious happenings that keep you guessing until the end. In a word, the Serafina books are awesome. The “STAY BOLD” motto echoes strong girl-empowerment messages throughout this series and complementary book, Willa of the Wood.

Because young readers engage with the content, these books are being taught in over a thousand classrooms nationwide; comprehensive teaching material is available online. If you’re new to the series, explore Beatty’s website for video book trailers, interviews, and much more. You can also read my interview with the author.

Reviewed by Christine Van Zandt (www.ChristineVanZandt.com), Write for Success (www.Write-for-Success.com), @ChristineVZ and @WFSediting, Christine@Write-for-Success.com

Read Christine’s review of another novel by Robert Beatty here.

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Middle Grade Book Review – All the Greys on Greene Street

ALL THE GREYS ON GREENE STREET
Written by Laura Tucker
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
(Viking BYR; $17.99, Ages 8-12)

★Starred Reviews – Booklist, BookPage, Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly
Junior Library Guild Selection

In the new middle grade novel, All the Greys on Greene Street, twelve-year-old Olympia is trying to solve a mystery with her two friends, Alex and Richard. She knows her father, an art restorer, has left the country. She knows why her mother hasn’t gotten out of bed since her father left. And she knows something is amiss with an art piece her father and his business partner and devoted friend, Apollo, have been working on restoring. What she doesn’t know is why her father decided to leave so suddenly and why there are people knocking on the doors of her parents’ Soho loft, demanding answers.

All the Greys on Greene Street is Laura Tucker’s debut novel, a historical fiction story set in 1981 when Soho’s large industrial lofts housed artists instead of chain stores and the subway cost 75 cents. Narrated in first-person by Olympia, (Ollie to her family and friends) Ollie is a keen observer, and tries to make sense of the complex adults in her life. She is devoted to her parents and to Apollo, whose studio she visits and who cares for her like his own child. When her father leaves, Ollie tries but can’t rally her mom to get out of bed. She hides her mother’s depression, trying to move through her world as if everything is fine. For weeks, she gets herself to school, concentrates on school projects and eats lots of canned soup. She refuses to ask for help or even share what’s happening with her mom. She manages to convince the neighbors that things are okay, but her friends discover her secret. Ollie pleads for secrecy, but Richard and Alex refuse, and betray her trust. Ollie is just beginning to work through her feelings when catastrophe rocks their neighborhood.

Like the title suggests, Ollie has the eye of an artist. Everyone in her life encourages her to look closely at her world and really try to understand what is happening. Kelly Murphy’s pencil illustrations help the reader see what Ollie sees and what she draws. And the writing is beautiful. There are no easy answers and there is no villain, just friends trying to do their best with what they have. Tucker offers some very smart history and art lessons imparted with the lightest touch. Apollo teaches Ollie about color and craft and the lessons will stay with the reader, as much as they impact Ollie.

Kids and parents were different in 1981 and these sixth graders are allowed to navigate New York City in a way that tween and teen readers with hovering helicopter parents might be surprised by. But even with absent parents and independence, Ollie and her friends are never alone. Their own friendship, their strong community and their neighbors keep them safe. Readers might be tempted to compare Ollie to Harriet, from Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy. They both have keen observation skills, but Ollie is softer and savvier than Harriet. Ollie’s biggest lessons are about how to ask for help, and friends who become family and how some of life’s hardest questions have more than one answer.

Reviewed by Guest Reviewer Cynthia Copeland
Cynthia Copeland is a television and digital producer, who is always writing on the side. She is currently writing a YA contemporary novel. She lives in Pasadena, California with her family. Follow her on Twitter at @listenupbucko and she’ll share the small mystery that author, Laura Tucker revealed to her about the novel, All the Greys on Greene Street.

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SEARCHING FOR LOTTIE
Written by Susan L. Ross
(Holiday House; $17.99, Ages 8-12)

When is a Holocaust book not a Holocaust book? When it’s Searching for Lottie, a contemporary fiction, historical and mystery novel that beautifully and sensitively conveys the connectivity the past has with the present. Author Susan L. Ross’s multi-layered story, which won the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award and is a PJ Our Way selection, also emphasizes the importance of individual identity, the supportive role of family and friends, and the power of music.

Twelve-year-old Charlie (Charlotte) Roth has an assignment for 7th grade social studies, a family history project. She’s chosen to research her namesake, Great-Aunt Lottie (Charlotte) Kulka, a violin prodigy who likely died during the Holocaust. While living in Vienna, Charlie’s grandmother, Nana Rose (who was Great-Aunt Lottie’s younger sister) and Lottie’s mother escaped to safety in America. “When the Germans invaded Austria, the Jews were at the mercy of the Nazis.” Far from home, Lottie was not as lucky. She had been sent to continue her music studies in Budapest, Hungary so when her mother and sister fled Austria after her father’s arrest, Lottie vanished without a word and was always presumed dead.

Once Charlie begins digging into the past, her Nana Rose starts to reveal some details from the past that even Charlie’s mom wasn’t aware of. First there is the old black and white photo of her namesake. Then, when Charlie is given a diary and eventually a necklace that once belonged to Lottie, bits and pieces of the past begin rising to the surface causing Charlie to wonder whether her Great-Aunt might still be alive. Could she still be in Hungary? Or America? Charlie’s mom reminds her that “The Holocaust was a tragedy that touched every Jewish family,” and there may not be a happy ending. However, with the encouragement of her friends and family, and despite what she may discover, Charlie vows to find out what really happened to Lottie. It’s clear Charlie is going to be learning about herself and her family as much as she will about her long lost relative as her journey into the past continues.

Unusual incidents and people are discovered along the way that pull the reader into the story and make them feel invested in the outcome. It turns out that Lottie had played with the Vienna Philharmonic. Charlie, also passionate about the instrument, would like nothing more than to please her devoted Nana Rose by being selected for the concertmaster position after her upcoming audition. As Charlie prepares for the big day, her crush on a fellow musician, Devin, could become a distraction from both her violin dreams and her genealogical journey but she perseveres.

The many interesting and exciting things happening in every chapter serve to keep Charlie’s mind off the audition and Devin. There is never a dull moment as Charlie delves deeper into the mystery of Lottie’s disappearance. Exploring every lead for her family history project will ultimately give her a greater understanding of how the Holocaust impacted survivors and children of survivors, in Charlie’s case, her grandmother and mother. “‘After I had children of my own,'” ‘Mom said softly,’ “‘I realized––or at least, I understood a bit better—that my mother had to bury the sad parts of her life in order to live happily.'”

Ross has created a vibrant and resourceful young girl in the character of Charlie. Her hunt through history to uncover hidden truths about Lottie, if successful, will surely solve decades of doubt and we’re all rooting for her. It was hard for me to believe that, though based on Ross’s family, all the characters were fictional. They felt so real, their situations so possible. It’s helpful to read the Author’s Note to learn about Ross’s story inspiration. I found myself heading over to the Ellis Island Archives as I was reading the novel because, like Charlie, and the author, I too, have many unanswered questions about my Eastern European family.

Searching for Lottie will get tweens thinking and hopefully talking about the Holocaust, about their own heritage, and how we often need to look to our past before moving forward. I recommend this novel as it’s not only one of hope and inspiration, but it powerfully demonstrates how one determined young girl can make a difference.

Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

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- Happy Book Birthday to Searching for Lottie by Susan L. Ross

Step Back in Time to the Fantasy World That is Willa of the Wood

August 14, 2018
goodreadswithronna
1800s, Ages 8-12, Children's Book Reviews, Fantasy & Magic, Historical Fiction, MG Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories, United States, United States

WILLA OF THE WOOD
Written by Robert Beatty
(Disney-Hyperion Books; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

In Willa of the Wood, a middle-grade fantasy novel, twelve-year-old Willa is one of the last woodwitches in her Faeran clan. Willa lives with her mamaw, who teaches her how to communicate with plants and animals. Their kind are called “the old ones” by the Cherokee and “night-spirits” by the white-skinned homesteaders. Though Willa’s streaked and spotted skin blends into natural surroundings, she is as real as any other creature.

The year is1900 and, in the Great Smoky Mountains, Willa’s world is changing. The day-folk build unnatural dwellings from the carcasses of murdered trees and hunt the forest’s animals with their killing-sticks. The Faeran dwindle under the strict rule of their deified leader, the padaran. He demands that the young ones steal from the day-folk. Willa is the clan’s best thief because those who don’t return to Dead Hollow with a full satchel are denied food or physically punished. The padaran convinces them, “There is no I, only we.”

When Willa’s discoveries make her question the padaran’s decisions, she must choose between subservience to her clan’s new ways or accept the consequences of defiance.

The book’s twists will keep you guessing! Beatty pulls you into this captivating world with depth of setting and by showing us Willa’s many facets. Because of the scenes involving death, the padaran’s cruelty, and other complex issues, younger children may benefit from reading this book with an adult. Rich in story and detail, Willa of the Wood satisfies with its conclusion and promises to make readers eager for the next installment.

Willa of the Wood is the first book in a new series by Robert Beatty, known for his #1 New York Times best-selling Serafina series.

Reviewed by Christine Van Zandt

Writer, editor, and owner of Write for Success www.Write-for-Success.com

@WFSediting, Christine@Write-for-Success.com

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Front Desk by Kelly Yang – A Not-to-be-Missed Debut Novel

July 18, 2018
goodreadswithronna
Ages 8-12, Asian & Asian American, Family, Family & Relationships, Family - Parents, Immigration, MG Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

FRONT DESK
Written by Kelly Yang
(Arthur A. Levine Books; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

★Starred reviews – Booklist, Kirkus and School Library Journal

Where do I possibly begin with Kelly Yang’s FRONT DESK?

FRONT DESK is a timely and needed narrative for so many reasons. And Yang, as demonstrated in her debut novel, is one heck of a storyteller. She’s destined to be an author that kids and adults clamor to meet so they can soak up her pearls of wisdom. Drawing from firsthand experiences and keen insights from when she arrived in America as a Chinese child immigrant along with her parents, Yang’s tale provides many kids a chance to find themselves and find hope inside the pages of this moving middle grade historical novel.

It’s 1993 when we meet our heroine Mia Tang. At 10-years-old, Mia is one of the most empathetic, intelligent, persevering characters of this age I have seen in a long time. The truth is there are so many like her whose voices deserve to be heard. I am grateful to Yang that tweens now have a chance to get to know this plucky protagonist and her struggles. Mia’s family are employed at a hotel with unpleasant owners after working for a short time at a restaurant where they were taken advantage of, then fired shortly after. While the hotel seems like a dream come true at first with free rent, the negatives and danger of managing the hotel take their toll on the family.

One of the moments that broke my heart is when Mia is sitting with one of the “weeklies” at the motel she helps run with her parents. The “weeklies” stay at the hotel for a week at a time, paying a lump sum. An older Black gentleman, Hank, is sitting slumped over, defeated by yet another instance in his life where he is targeted for a crime he did not commit simply because he isn’t White. He’s been labeled for so long that at this point he has no more will to fight. He exposes this vulnerability to Mia, and it is a powerful and haunting exchange. Hank isn’t feeling sorry for himself, nor is he bitter or angry when he has every right to be. He’s just tired, the kind of tired you cannot possibly understand unless you’ve been judged by the color of your skin your whole life. Mia later advocates for him and shows us how you are never too young or too old to stand on the side of justice and equality for all.

Resiliency. Mia and her family, along with the “weeklies” and some other friends, have this in abundance. Even when their own families decline to help them in their hour of need, their community rallies around them so they can take control of their destinies.

I dog-eared many pages to go back and look over for this review, and I’m still at a loss as how best to describe my favorite parts because there are so many. I’ve also purchased more than one copy of this book to give to others. It is one of those stories that will creep into your heart and linger there for quite a while.

FRONT DESK needs to be in every school library and as many homes as possible.

Reviewed by Ozma Bryant

Read another recent review by Ozma here.
Check out Kelly Yang’s new global issues video series for teenagers: www.facebook.com/kellyyangproject or www.youtube.com/kellyyangproject.

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FOR PASSOVER 2025

~ A ROUNDUP ~

If only I had more time! This year’s offering of new Passover books for children seems to be the largest I’ve seen in a long time. It was so hard to choose what to include, and I really hoped to cover them all. Please scroll to the end to see other books I was unable to review but recommend.

REVIEWS:

MORE RECOMMENDED PASSOVER READS:

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Written by Emily Barth Isler

(CarolRhoda Books; $19.99, Ages 11-14)

REVIEW:

Read Your World’s mission is to raise awareness of the need to include kids’ books celebrating diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission and history HERE.

Read Your World is honored to be Supported by the below Sponsors:

Read Your World 2025

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∼A ROUNDUP∼

BOARD BOOKS

PICTURE BOOKS

CHAPTER BOOKS

MIDDLE-GRADE ANTHOLOGY

INTERFAITH FAMILIES PLUS HOLIDAY TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORLD

WE ALSO RECOMMEND:

ABOUT GUEST REVIEWER MARCIA BERNEGER:

Check out last year’s roundup here.

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Written by Jacqueline Woodson

(Nancy Paulsen Books; $18.99, Ages 10 and up)

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FREEWATER

by Amina Luqman-Dawson

(Little, Brown BYR; $16.99, Ages 10+)

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Written by Jane Kuo

(Quill Tree Books; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

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Written by Margarita Engle

(Viking BYR; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

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Written and illustrated by Shing Yin Khor

(Kokila; $22.99, Ages 10-14)

A re-imagined Paul Bunyan legend gives one Chinese American girl the courage to face adversity.

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by Chris Baron

(Feiwel & Friends; $16.99, Ages 9-12)

A Book Review, and Interview with Author Chris Baron

by Karol Silverstein

REVIEW:

INTERVIEW:

AUTHOR BIO:

WHERE TO BUY THE BOOK:

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THE COMPLETE COLLECTION, VOLUME 1

Text and art by Hugh Lofting Updated by Christopher Lofting (Aladdin; $59.99 Set, $24.99 each, Ages 8-12)

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Written by Robert Beatty

(Disney-Hyperion; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

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ALL THE GREYS ON GREENE STREET Written by Laura Tucker Illustrated by Kelly Murphy (Viking BYR; $17.99, Ages 8-12)

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SEARCHING FOR LOTTIE Written by Susan L. Ross (Holiday House; $17.99, Ages 8-12)

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WILLA OF THE WOOD Written by Robert Beatty (Disney-Hyperion Books; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

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FRONT DESK Written by Kelly Yang (Arthur A. Levine Books; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

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A re-imagined Paul Bunyan legend gives one Chinese American girl
the courage to face adversity.

Text and art by Hugh Lofting

Updated by Christopher Lofting

(Aladdin; $59.99 Set, $24.99 each, Ages 8-12)

ALL THE GREYS ON GREENE STREET
Written by Laura Tucker
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
(Viking BYR; $17.99, Ages 8-12)

SEARCHING FOR LOTTIE
Written by Susan L. Ross
(Holiday House; $17.99, Ages 8-12)

WILLA OF THE WOOD
Written by Robert Beatty
(Disney-Hyperion Books; $16.99, Ages 8-12)

FRONT DESK
Written by Kelly Yang
(Arthur A. Levine Books; $16.99, Ages 8-12)