Invitations To Reading: 2012 Notable Children’s Books In The Language Arts

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page 288 Children’s Literature Reviews Invitations to Reading: 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts April Bedford, Patricia Bandré, Donalyn Miller, Nancy Roser, Tracy Smiles, Yoo Kyung Sung, and Barbara Ward T he Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts offer invitations to young readers to interact with excellent books highlighting many and varied uses of language. The collection of books selected for the 2012 list invites readers from kindergarten through eighth grade to participate in language play and use innovative texts as models for their own writing, to observe and marvel in the natural world surrounding them, to laugh at humorous incidents or unexpected ways with words, to imagine new and different experiences, to preserve and learn from diverse cultural heritages, to question their own thoughts and feelings, to take the perspective of others, and to take action on behalf of issues and people that matter to them. Invitations to Participation and Invention Shout! Shout It Out! Written and illustrated by Denise Fleming Henry Holt, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-0-8050-9237-0 On her signature handmade papers created from cotton pulp, Denise Fleming has created a picturebook that explicitly asks children to participate—to shout out what they know. Against bright background spreads, embellished numbers and letters dance across the pages as a classroom of diverse and exuberant round-faced children open wide, snaggly-tooth mouths to lead the exhibition of knowledge. What fun to show what you know by answering the invitation to “Shout! Shout! Shout it out!” A tiny mouse with bulging eyes appears on each page, urging, commenting, and repeating. Readers can also shout the names of colors and of spirited creatures—with open mouths, beaks, and bills—that seem to be shouting, too. At book’s end, Mouse (and readers) can shout out all the letters, numbers, and words reprised on a two-page spread. “Well done!” says the teacher. “Thank you,” says Mouse, and trips off across the endpapers. Language loud—but sanctioned! (NR) The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred Written by Samantha R. Vamos Illustrated by Rafael López Charlesbridge, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-158089-242-1 “This is the cow/ that made the fresh milk/ while teaching the cabra/ that churned the crema/ to make the mantequilla/ that went into the cazuela that the farm maiden stirred.” The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred is an enchanting bilingual story that follows the tradition of the classic nursery rhyme, The House That Jack Built. This cumulative tale begins when the farm maiden commences cooking by stirring a pot. Everyone helps through different tasks, such as going to the market, plucking limes off the tree, and planting the rice. Excitement leads to celebration, the characters sing and dance, and the arroz con leche is almost ruined. All is well when the cabra, vaca, pato, burro, gallina, campesina, and farm maiden stir the cazuela one more time. This irresistible book contains exuberant illustrations, delightful prose, and a short glossary of Spanish terms. (TS) Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Copyright © 2013 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Mar2013_LA.indd 288 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word Written by Bob Raczka Illustrated by Nancy Doniger Roaring Brook Press, 2011, 43 pp., ISBN 978-159643-541-4 Playing with ordinary words like lemonade and friend, Raczka creates unique poems using only the letters found in each word. Letters drop down from their positions, creating word pictures, which readers can track with a finger down the page, assembling each poem letter by letter. One poem titled “Constellation” reads, “a/ silent/ lion/ tells/ an/ ancient/ tale” (p. 12). On the reverse page, each poem appears in standard poetry form. Part anagram, part coded message, Raczka’s poems demand imitation and experimentation. Lemonade offers an excellent mentor text for word play, poetry exploration, and vocabulary development. (DM) Invitations to Observation and Wonder Me . . . Jane Written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell Little, Brown, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-0316-04546-9 This clever and appealing picturebook biography introduces young readers to Dr. Jane Goodall, “primatologist, environmentalist, humanitarian, and United Nations Messenger of Peace,” and to Jubilee, the stuffed chimpanzee who accompanied Jane on all her early adventures. Through childhood photographs, drawings, and puzzles shared by Jane herself along with the simple and child-like text and illustrations, readers are invited to share Jane’s wonder in the natural world. Inspired by her love of animals, her avid reading and insatiable curiosity, and her careful observations of and reverence for the world around her, young Jane dreams of traveling to Africa and helping the animals there. In a delightful surprise photo, adult Jane is pictured waking up to her dreams come true. (AB) 289 Over and Under the Snow Written by Kate Messner Illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal Chronicle, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-0-8118-6784-9 Alternating between life above and below the snow, this picturebook combines beautiful language and accurate scientific detail in an exploration of the subnivean zone—the hidden spaces between the snowpack and the ground. Rich with imagery and specific vocabulary, Messner describes the beauty of a winter landscape and the secret world beneath the snow. “Over the snow I glide, past beech trees rattling leftover leaves and strong, silent pines that stretch to the sky. On a high branch, a great horned owl keeps watch. Under the snow, a tiny shrew dodges columns of ice; it follows a cool tunnel of moss, out of sight.” Over and Under the Snow serves as an excellent mentor text for both expository writing and figurative language. (DM) A Butterfly Is Patient Written by Dianna Hutts Aston Illustrated by Sylvia Long Chronicle, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-08118-6479-4 How would you define a butterfly? In this nonfiction Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 289 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page 290 picturebook, Aston begins her definition by telling the reader, “A butterfly is patient. It begins as an egg beneath an umbrella of leaves, protected from rain, hidden from creatures that might harm it . . . until the caterpillar inside chews free from its eggcasing, tiny, wingless, hungry to grow.” Subsequent openings describe additional characteristics, teaching how a butterfly may be helpful, protective, poisonous, a traveler, and ultimately patient yet again as it lays its eggs, waiting for metamorphosis to occur once more. This story, like the life of a butterfly, is cyclical in structure. Written with an informative, personable voice and accompanied by vibrant watercolor illustrations, Aston and Long’s stunning book will encourage readers to experience the beauty and magic of a butterfly’s life time and time again. (PB) Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People Written by Monica Brown Illustrated by Julie Paschkis Henry Holt, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-08050-9198-4 Not only can words express emotions powerfully, but they can also inspire others and motivate change. This picturebook biography lovingly traces Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s lifelong affection for “words that whirled and swirled.” From childhood, Neruda was observant, fascinated by the natural world. Using some of Neruda’s own writing, the author paints vivid word pictures of the scenes that intrigued Neruda, a careful observer who noticed nature’s artistry through the “stones rolled by waves onto the beach and stones polished by sand and salt.” The text follows the budding poet into forests to look closer at hidden natural treasures and along Santiago’s streets with his poet friends, describing “velvet cloth the color of the sea.” Using his words to fight for justice, this Nobel Prizewinning people’s poet “loved wild things wildly and quiet things quietly.” The bilingual vocabulary and softly hued images fill the pages with colors reminiscent of nature, clearly illustrating the undeniable power of words. (BW) Invitations to Laughter and Delight Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku Written by Lee Wardlaw Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin Henry Holt, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-08050-8995-0 Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku is a charming story told through the thoughts of a cat as he is adopted from a shelter and begins life anew with “his boy.” Won Ton’s humorous story is told entirely through haiku, or actually senryu, a type of haiku that focuses on “the foibles of human nature—or in this case, cat nature.” It includes funny anecdotes about how naughty Won Ton discovers that the couch makes a superb scratching post, accidently makes a squishy in a shoe, and prefers to sleep on dirty socks rather than fancy cushions. This book would make an excellent mentor text for writing an alternative kind of haiku (senryus), and will appeal to poetry and cat lovers alike. (TS) BookSpeak!: Poems about Books Written by Laura Purdie Salas Illustrated by Josee Bisaillon Clarion, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-0547-22300-1 Books finally receive much-merited attention through 21 lively poems and mixed-media illustrations paying homage to the print- and paperfilled treasures themselves. Clearly, a bibliophile lovingly crafted the poetry, since a book plate is “a paper love tattoo” and a book’s end is “not so Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 290 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page much/ The End/ as I am an/ invitation back/ to the beginning.” “If a Tree Falls” wonders whether unopened books “trap words inside a cage?” “Skywriting” regards print as “line after line of inky black birds/ forming the flocks that shift into words,” which then fill pages that become “tales winging by,/ singing a story against a/ white sky.” Book characters plead for their lives or, in the case of “Cliffhanger,” desperately beg the author to “write/ a sequel fast!” Two poems even describe the plight of a pristine book left on a shelf “unread,/ unshared,/ unloved” and the havoc wreaked by mischievous, misbehaving books after the lights go out. (BW) The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale Written by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright Illustrated by Barry Moser Peachtree, 2011, 229 pp., ISBN 978-1-56145-595-9 This feline-filled adventure might seem a little “catty” or even a bit “cheesy” to some, since a celebrated type of cheese is central to its plot. A literary Valentine to Victorian writers, the story is filled with clever word play that will make readers chortle. For instance, news spreads through “Word of Mouse” (p. 100), and the authors notice how “Curiosity raised its feline head again” (p. 100). The plot revolves around a cheese-loving alley cat named Skilley who strikes a bargain with Pip, a literate mouse, to catch and release the inn’s mice in return for all the cheese he wants. Things go awry with the arrival of Skilley’s enemy, Pinch, who hates mice. The inn is a favorite meeting place for authors, including Charles Dickens who seeks distraction as he desperately searches for the right opening line for his latest story. Dickens’s own “great expectations” (p. 221) are eventually realized with Pip’s help. (BW) Dead End in Norvelt Written by Jack Gantos Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011, 341 pp., ISBN 978-0-37437993-3 Eleven-year-old Jack Gantos’s dreams of a carefree summer in 1962 are quickly dispelled when, caught in the crossfire between his parents, he is grounded for disobeying his mother. Mostly confined to his room, he spends his days reading and typing obituaries for Miss Volker, the elderly town medical examiner whose crippling arthritis prompts her to enlist his services as her scribe. Miss Volker has a way with words and a knack for adding historical side notes to her stories, and she knows the background of the citizens of Norvelt, named for Eleanor Roosevelt. Unexpectedly, several of the town’s elderly citizens die during that summer, and Jack becomes suspicious of everyone around him. His eccentric neighbors and the Hell’s Angels who roar through the streets provide humor to this poignant tribute to the art of storytelling and a dying town. Readers may also be drawn to read the books that Jack reads due to his appealing summaries. (BW) 291 Invitations to Imagination Stars Written by Mary Lyn Ray Illustrated by Marla Frazee Beach Lane, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-14424-2249-0 In a paean to stars (“A star is how you know it’s almost night”), Mary Lyn Ray reminds young readers that stars are everywhere. There are the “stars” that dot June grasses to become July strawberries, and those cut from shiny paper to make a wand or label a sheriff. The tall rectangle of the picturebook design provides both for big skies, as well as plenty of white space for Marla Frazee’s vignettes of tumbly, tousled children who stargaze or who feel “shiny as stars.” Double-page spreads show children sliding beneath showers of snowflakes, blowing swirls of dandelion star seeds, or charmingly tucked within a moss-starcovered hollow tree to share a story. But the book’s culmination is an evening scene, with the children snuggled with families along a low stone wall, all Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 291 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page 292 looking skyward to find the first evening star: “And another/ and another/ and another.” Ray’s quiet, simple words reassure: “And if sometimes you can’t see them,/ they’re still there.” (NR) Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade Written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet Houghton Mifflin, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-0-547-19945-0 This nonfiction picturebook is a story of an idea becoming a reality. One of New York’s iconic events, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, is retraced through the inventor, Tony Sarg. The young Tony loved to figure out how to make things move. He was just six years old when he became a marionette maker for the first time. After he grew up, his marionette arts became so popular that Macy’s hired him for a “puppet parade,” which eventually grew to become the Macy’s Parade. The story succinctly but compassionately tells how the homesickness of Macy’s immigrant employees for their holiday traditions were validated through Tony’s parade. The evolving process of the large puppets transforming into enlarged balloons demonstrates how Tony Sarg persistently challenged himself to make improvements and shows how asking “What if?” can achieve desired realities, such as the moment when “the magnificent upside-down marionettes rose up to the skies!” Readers learn that imagination is the first step toward magical realities. (YKS) The Friendship Doll Written by Kirby Larson Delacorte/Random House, 2011, 201 pp., ISBN 978-0-37585089-9 In 1927, 58 exquisitely crafted dolls were sent from Japan as “Ambassadors of Friendship” (p. 38) to the children of the United States. Kirby Larson’s imagined journey of one doll, Miss Kanagawa, transports readers from Depression-era New York to Chicago to the Appalachian Mountains, and finally to Oregon. In each locale, Miss Kanagawa is bestowed upon a new owner, and each of these girls—Bunny, Lois, Willie Mae, and Lucy—help transform her from a haughty, unlikeable character into a true friend. Incorporating newspaper articles, letters, famous quotations, and an author’s note outlining the factual and fictional aspects of the text, this book invites immediate response to learn more about the actual dolls, to see their photographs, and perhaps to solve the mystery of the 13 dolls that have disappeared—or to imagine their journeys the way this author did. (AB) The Scorpio Races Written by Maggie Stiefvater Scholastic, 2011, 416 pp., ISBN 978-0-545-22490-1 Every November on Thisby Island, the Scorpio Races take place—a heartpounding contest on the beach between the capaill uisce: wild, flesh-eating water horses. Many riders and horses don’t survive, but the winners become heroes. Puck Connolly, desperate to save her destitute family, and Sean Kendrick, the reigning champion, must race for what they love most. Thisby’s culture is inextricably linked to the sea and the dangerous horses that consider it home. Stiefvater’s precise writing communicates both the sea’s dangerous beauty and the emotional current underneath characters’ actions. Based on ancient water horse legends, The Scorpio Races isn’t a book about horses. It’s about the power of a place to hold you and the love that keeps you there. (DM) Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 292 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page Invitations to Preserve and Bear Witness These Hands Written by Margaret H. Mason Illustrated by Floyd Cooper Houghton Mifflin, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-0547-21566-2 In poetic language, a loving African American grandfather directs his young grandson to “look at these hands, Joseph,” as he recalls what his hands “used to do,” and reminds what they still do, including help “a young fellow learn to tie his shoes,” “play ‘Heart and Soul,’” and “hit a line drive.” But Grandpa also shares memories of a time’s injustice: “Did you know these hands/ were not allowed to touch /the bread dough/ in the Wonder Bread factory?” Through the evocative but sparse text, Joseph learns what his grandfather did to help change things, so that “now any hands can mix the bread dough, no matter their color.” Grandpa’s words are confident, proud, and hopeful. Joseph responds with what his own hands are learning to do, and Grandpa assures him young hands can do “anything at all.” With its rhythmic refrains, this book is for reading aloud. Cooper’s large-scale oil wash paintings offer a textured softness of warm, near-sepia shades. (NR) Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom Written and illustrated by Shane W. Evans A Neal Porter Book/Roaring Book Press, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-1-59643-538-4 dramatic illustrations to convey strong feelings related to events surrounding the Underground Railroad. Bright colors are only used at the end of the story to accentuate the joy of arrival to a free state. The book includes information about the Underground Railroad that teachers can use to talk with young students about the history of slavery in the United States. (TS) 293 Passing the Music Down Written by Sarah Sullivan Illustrated by Barry Root Candlewick Press, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-0-7636-3753-8 Inspired by the lives of Melvin Wine and Jake Krack, two accomplished old-time fiddle players, this book tells the story of a young boy, his love for playing the fiddle, and the experienced musician who teaches him the songs of the past. Root’s lush watercolor and gouache illustrations mingle with Sullivan’s rich, lyrical text to place the reader in the heart of the Tennessee hills. “Come August, with corn strutting high in the fields and tomatoes plumping out on the vine, folks get to talking about tuning up and heading over twisty mountain roads to hear fiddle players and banjo pickers make music under the stars.” Gradually, the boy and the old man spend more time together, play their fiddles, work side-by-side on the old man’s farm, and become friends. “Their lives are stitched together in a quilt of old-time tunes. Passing the music down.” (PB) Underground is an emotionally compelling picturebook about the Underground Railroad. The sparse text (two or three words on a page) and striking images tell the story of a family of slaves that embarks on a dangerous journey to find freedom. They find safe havens and friends, are nearly captured, and experience exhaustion and fear, but they persevere until they stand together in front of the rising sun and proclaim, “Freedom.” Evans pairs exquisitely precise text with dark, Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans Written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins, 2011, 108 pp., ISBN 978-006-173076-4 Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 293 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page 294 “Many of us are getting up in age and feel it’s time to make some things known before they are gone for good. So it’s important that you pay attention, honey, because I’m only going to tell you this story but once” (p. 7). With these words, Nelson’s grandmotherly narrator begins weaving a story from the threads of American history, African American history, and her family’s history. Divided into chapters, the book begins at the time of the Revolutionary War and culminates with the Civil Rights Act. In the epilogue, the narrator fittingly remembers all those who came before her as she casts her vote for Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States. “I thought about them all and smiled; and as I walked away, I closed my eyes and said, ‘Thank you’” (p. 99). Accompanied by Nelson’s rich, dramatic oil paintings, the text gives voice to a fresh perspective on an important topic. (PB) Requiem: Poems of the Terezín Ghetto Written by Paul B. Janeczko Candlewick Press, 2011, 89 pp., ISBN 978-0-76364727-8 “False hope/ said those who spoke/ of transports and rumors of gas./ You are making music/ in the shadow of the gallows./ They were right, we knew,/ but we played nonetheless” (p. 23). Requiem is a poetry collection of different voices during the dark era of World War II in the Terezín Ghetto in Czechoslovakia where the Jewish artists and intellectuals of Prague were temporarily relocated before they were transported to concentration camps like Auschwitz. Each poem sketches cruelty with trembling or hateful screams. The anger and hate from the prisoners are understandably real, being as desperate and powerless as they were. The complexity of humanity is illustrated through the voices in the poems. (YKS) Invitations to Question Addie on the Inside Written by James Howe Atheneum/Simon &Schuster, 2011, 202 pp., ISBN 978-1-4169-1385-6 Words are powerful. Addie understands this fact. She hears the gossip spread in the hallways of her middle school, reads the daily news, and interacts with her grandmother and the other adults in her life. Figuring out who you are and how you fit into the world isn’t easy when there are so many voices telling you what you are and who you ought to be. Sometimes, though, saying nothing can be more important than saying something. Through prose poetry, Addie eloquently shares her thoughts about the challenges of attending middle school, having relationships, being a good friend, and finding your own way in the world. Ultimately, in the poem “I Am Who I Say I Am,” Addie realizes: “I am who I say I am. / I’m not some fantasy. / I am the me I am inside / I am who / I choose/ to be” (p. 202). (PB) Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart Written by Candace Fleming Schwartz & Wade/ Random House, 2011, 118 pp., ISBN 978-0375-84198-9 Readers are propelled back to 1937 during the days immediately following the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her plane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. The author accelerates the book’s dramatic appeal by skillfully shifting the narrative back and forth from Amelia’s formative years to vignettes describing Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 294 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page those days in July when the nation awaited news of the aviator who was on a daring around-the-world flight. Readers experience vicariously the anxiety and growing frustration of ship crews trying to catch her radio signal and the stories of two teens in Wyoming and Florida who heard Amelia’s voice on their shortwave radios but were unable to convince authorities of their reports’ authenticity. Fleming avoids romanticizing Earhart’s life, describing her business partnership and romance with the already-married George Putnam and her carelessness in familiarizing herself with the plane’s equipment. She even wonders if more experience with the plane’s radio might have saved the life of this ever-fascinating woman. (BW) A Monster Calls: A Novel Written by Patrick Ness (Inspired by Siobhan Dowd) Illustrated by Jim Kay Candlewick Press, 2011, 205 pp., ISBN 978-07636-5559-4 Every night at 12:07, Conor O’Malley, a 13-year-old boy whose mother is dying, receives a visit from a monster at his window. The ancient creature promises to stop terrorizing him if Conor will admit the truth about his recurring nightmares. Heavy with grief, love, and fear, Conor finally lashes out: “And the fire in Conor’s chest suddenly blazed, suddenly burned like it would eat him alive. It was the truth, he knew it was. A moan started in his throat, a moan that rose into a cry and then a loud wordless yell and he opened his mouth and the fire came blazing out, blazing out to consume everything, bursting over the blackness, over the yew tree, too, setting it ablaze along with the rest of the world . . .” (p. 188). This lyrical, haunting tale about the monsters we imagine and the monsters that are all too real will launch honest discussions about our experiences with loss. (DM) Invitations to Empathy and Compassion 295 Hound Dog True Written by Linda Urban Harcourt, 2011, 149 pp., ISBN 978-0-547-55869-1 When Mattie Mae’s Uncle Potluck says something is “hound dog true,” he doesn’t necessarily mean truth verifiable in traditional ways. Instead, Uncle Potluck, Director of Custodial Arts at Mitchell P. Anderson Elementary School, means something that should be true. Stuff like: If you talk to the moon, the moon talks back. In the week before her fifth-grade year, Mattie Mae and her peripatetic mom have moved in with Uncle Potluck at the old family farm where Uncle Potluck and Mattie’s mom grew up. Shy Maggie hopes to avoid the awkward newness of her fourth school by becoming Uncle Potluck’s custodial apprentice. In her new writer’s notebook, she keeps detailed notes on the “Custodial Wisdom” he delivers cheerfully and eloquently. Potluck is a lover of words, and he uses them with both precision and poetry. Urban’s narration reverberates with the action, effectively using fragments, offering fresh language (“puddles orphaned” and “hair tornadoed”), and displaying an ear for a young girl’s longing for a place to belong. (NR) The Great Wall of Lucy Wu Written by Wendy WanLong Shang Scholastic, 2011, 312 pp., ISBN 978-0-545-16215-9 This story is about 11-year-old Chinese American Lucy Wu and her journey to become the captain of a winning basketball Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 295 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page 296 team in the sixth grade. Such success delivers self-confidence in her multiethnic identity, a quality the passive Lucy has been lacking. When Lucy’s father returns from a business trip to China accompanied by a long-lost aunt, Yi Po, the surprising guest interrupts Lucy’s longed-for plan to have her own room after her big sister leaves for college. To Lucy, her new aunt and the Chinese language school her parents require her to attend are unwanted tensions until she discovers Yi Po’s survival story from the Cultural Revolution. Through Yi Po, Lucy learns to embrace her Chinese heritage and discovers her interest in the Chinese language. Chinese proverbs are inserted as storytelling devices throughout the book, enriching the reader’s cultural experience. Code switching between Mandarin and English adds realism to this humorous and multilayered text. (YKS) Inside Out & Back Again Written by Thanhha Lai HarperCollins, 2011, 260 pp., ISBN 978-0-06196278-3 “I step back, hating pity, having learned from Mother that the pity giver feels better, never the pity receiver” (p. 133). Instead of the typical experience of refugee victims, this story invites us to experience the dignity of the young Vietnamese protagonist, Hà, and her family’s bonds created by their native culture, language, history, and love. In the year 1975, after Hà’s family celebrates New Year’s, they leave their country before it is invaded by the Communists. After a long ocean voyage filled with fear, anxiety, and unpredictability, Hà’s family settles in Alabama. Hà’s self-respect shines as she makes proactive adjustments to new places and to her new language. Her attitudes toward learning English highlight her pride in her native language as she refuses to accept the inferior status conferred upon English language learners. Hà’s love for her mother and brothers continually empowers her to stay strong despite her hardships. (YKS) Bluefish Written by Pat Schmatz Candlewick Press, 2011, 240 pp., ISBN 978-07636-5334-7 Travis is living with Grandpa in a different house, leaving behind the woods he loves and his dog, Roscoe, who disappeared before the move. Vida (Velveeta) is missing her neighbor and friend, Calvin, a trusted adult in whom she could confide. For both of them, change is hard, life is lonely, and there is plenty of baggage to carry around. With the help of a knowledgeable reading teacher, a caring librarian, and a loyal friend named Bradley, Travis and Velveeta learn to support one another and find that change can be okay when you have friends by your side. In Bluefish, Schmatz presents characters that are like night and day but complement one another beautifully. Travis’s melody and Bradley and Velveeta’s harmony combine with the other elements of the book to create a tune not easily forgotten. (PB) Invitations to Advocacy and Action True (. . . Sort of) Written by Katherine Hannigan Greenwillow/ HarperCollins, 2011, 360 pp., ISBN 978-0-06196875-4 A “surpresent,” according to Delly, is “a present that’s a surprise; the best kind of present possible” (p. 359). That was Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 296 1/29/13 12:57 PM C h i ld r en ’ s L i te r at u r e Rev i ews | 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts page what Delly predicted was coming her way the day Ferris Boyd came to town. True (. . . Sort of) is a poignant story centering around two young girls: Delly Pattison, a high-spirited trouble magnet who is convinced she is inherently “horribadible (a horrible, terrible bad )” (p. 359), and the new kid, Ferris Boyd, a tomboy with exceptional basketball skills and the ability to befriend wild animals, though she never speaks or allows herself to be touched. Through their friendship, the girls discover how the truth about people is learned and often misunderstood. Together, they confront an inexplicable crime through the courage they have found in each other. Hannigan’s beautiful descriptions, coupled with Delly’s uniquely expressive vocabulary and Ferris’s determined silence, could invite explorations of language as a means of alienation, of empowerment, and as an agent for change. (TS) Breadcrumbs Written by Anne Ursu Illustrated by Erin McGuire Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins, 2011, 312 pp., ISBN 978-0-06-201505-1 Hazel and Jack were friends, but when Jack begins to avoid her and spends time playing with other boys, Hazel’s parents tell her it’s normal. Refusing to accept that Jack would abandon her, Hazel suspects that Jack has been enchanted by the evil Snow Queen. Armed with the knowledge she’s gained from her beloved fairy tales and fantasy books, Hazel travels into the woods to rescue Jack. From the characters’ names to Hazel’s heroic journey to extensive references to children’s works like Alice in Wonderland, the Narnia books, and When You Reach Me, Ursu weaves literary allusions throughout the text, providing opportunities for readers’ connections and recommendations for further reading. (DM) 297 Okay for Now Written by Gary D. Schmidt Clarion, 2011, 360 pp., ISBN 978-0-547-15260-8 Okay for Now tells the story of Doug Swieteck, an eighth grader and minor character first introduced in Schmidt’s previous novel, The Wednesday Wars. The novel begins when Doug’s father loses his job, necessitating his family’s move to the small town of Marysville in upstate New York. Doug’s life is not easy. His seemingly helpless mother, abusive father, crippled and dejected Vietnam-vet brother, and another bully of a brother pose unimaginable challenges for Doug. While in the town’s small library, he discovers a new talent for drawing and embarks on a mission to recover missing plates to the town library’s original John James Audubon book. As he learns to draw, Doug also learns to understand and accept the people in his community and his family. The honest, no-frills language and first-person narrative powerfully portray how a troubled boy finds hope and healing through the power of art, friendship, and advocacy. (TS) 2012 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Committee Members: April Bedford (AB), Chair, University of New Orleans; Patricia Bandré (PB), Baker University; Donalyn Miller (DM), Northwest Independent School District, Fort Worth, TX; Nancy Roser (NR), University of Texas, Austin; Tracy Smiles (TS), Western Oregon University; Yoo Kyung Sung (YKS), University of New Mexico; and Barbara Ward (BW), Washington State University. Language Arts, Volume 90 Number 4, March 2013 Mar2013_LA.indd 297 1/29/13 12:57 PM