Layla Elliott and Griffin Silk are best friends, and she’s become a virtual Silk family member. So rather than ask her busy, distracted mom, who never quite hears her, Layla turns to the Silks for help finding an elderly person she can bring to school for Senior Citizens Day. Griffin offers to share his grandma, Nell, since Layla’s own beloved nana died recently. But Nell sees that Layla longs for someone of her own. When their list of Likely Candidates doesn’t pan out, Nell introduces Layla to Miss Amelie. This charming elderly lady remembers some things vividly—such as the mysterious John William she waits for—but forgets who Layla is between visits. Can—should—Layla bring her to school? The theme running through Millard’s Silk family chronicles is the transformative power of empathy. Emotional balm, the source of inspiration and ideas that nourish and enrich the soul, empathy works its magic on everyone, from Miss Amelie to Layla’s impatient mom. Barton’s illustrations gently convey the bonds of affection among the author’s eccentric, engaging characters. (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-34360-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2010
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read.
Tyler is the son of generations of Vermont dairy farmers.
Mari is the Mexican-born daughter of undocumented migrant laborers whose mother has vanished in a perilous border crossing. When Tyler’s father is disabled in an accident, the only way the family can afford to keep the farm is by hiring Mari’s family. As Tyler and Mari’s friendship grows, the normal tensions of middle-school boy-girl friendships are complicated by philosophical and political truths. Tyler wonders how he can be a patriot while his family breaks the law. Mari worries about her vanished mother and lives in fear that she will be separated from her American-born sisters if la migra comes. Unashamedly didactic, Alvarez’s novel effectively complicates simple equivalencies between what’s illegal and what’s wrong. Mari’s experience is harrowing, with implied atrocities and immigration raids, but equally full of good people doing the best they can. The two children find hope despite the unhappily realistic conclusions to their troubles, in a story which sees the best in humanity alongside grim realities.
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-85838-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite its lackluster execution, this story’s simple premise and basic vocabulary make it suitable for younger readers...
From the author of the Animorphs series comes this earnest novel in verse about an orphaned Sudanese war refugee with a passion for cows, who has resettled in Minnesota with relatives.
Arriving in winter, Kek spots a cow that reminds him of his father’s herd, a familiar sight in an alien world. Later he returns with Hannah, a friendly foster child, and talks the cow’s owner into hiring him to look after it. When the owner plans to sell the cow, Kek becomes despondent. Full of wide-eyed amazement and unalloyed enthusiasm for all things American, Kek is a generic—bordering on insulting—stereotype. His tribe, culture and language are never identified; personal details, such as appearance and age, are vague or omitted. Lacking the quirks and foibles that bring characters to life, Kek seems more a composite of traits designed to instruct readers than an engaging individual in his own right.
Despite its lackluster execution, this story’s simple premise and basic vocabulary make it suitable for younger readers interested in the plight of war refugees. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-312-36765-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
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