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FROM FAR AWAY

A sad, challenging, and ultimately hopeful real-life story.

Seven-year-old Saoussan writes a letter to her reading buddy explaining how she left her war-torn country and what life in a new country has been like.

Originally published in 1995 and based on Askar’s experiences as a child in a Toronto school, this now appears with new illustrations and revised text. Sadly, this story has not lost any of its relevance or immediacy. As Saoussan tells her story, readers learn she comes from far away. Though she never says where from, it is understood from her mother’s dress that it is a Muslim country. When war starts her parents decide to leave; in a note at the end of the book readers learn her new home is in Canada. The illustrations depict a very multiethnic school as well as a child in a wheelchair. Life in her new country is not easy. She doesn’t speak English and cannot understand or communicate with her teacher or her classmates. Even something as basic as asking to go to the bathroom—here called a washroom—becomes a trial. Traditional celebrations can also be traumatic: when Saoussan sees a Halloween paper skeleton, memories of war flood back and make her scream. The children’s faces are very expressive and help to further convey the feelings felt on all sides. The simple sentence structure and familiar situations make it easily accessible to young children. A note from a now-grown Askar concludes the book.

A sad, challenging, and ultimately hopeful real-life story. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-55451-940-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Annick Press

Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017

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CLAYMATES

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...

Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.

A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: June 20, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017

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SNOW PLACE LIKE HOME

From the Diary of an Ice Princess series

A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.

Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.

The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.

A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)

Pub Date: June 25, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019

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