Identity

Being

It was just supposed to be a routine exam. But when the doctors snake the fiber-optic tube down Robert Smith’s throat, what they discover doesn’t make medical sense. Plastic casings. Silver filaments. Moving metal parts. In his naked, anesthetized state on the operating table, Robert hears the surgeons’ shocked comments: “What the hell is that?” “It’s me,” Robert thinks, “and I’ve got to get out of here.” Armed with a stolen automatic and the videotape of his strange organs, he manages to escape, and to embark on an orphan’s violent odyssey to find out exactly who–exactly what–he is.

Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa

Emily is a Jewish girl from the suburbs of New York, end of story. Her mother has family in Puerto Rico, but Emily has never had any contact with them–not until she’s forced to go to the Caribbean for her grandmother’s funeral. Pampered Emily wants nothing to do with her Puerto Rican heritage– until a very special person shows her that that uncovering her roots is like discovering a secret part of her own heart.

Roots and Wings

Grace’s grandmother has died, and she and her mother must travel back to the Cambodian community to give her a proper Cambodian funeral. Grace wants to use the trip to solve a few mysteries, like who her father was, why her mother and grandmother moved from St. Petersburg to Pennsylvania, where they’re the only Cambodians Grace has ever seen, and what Cambodian culture is really about. Embraced by her mother’s old friends, Grace feels both at home and lost, fascinated by the traditions she’s never known, but strangely judged by some members of the community.

The Children of Bolivia (World’s Children)

Bolivia is home to two distinct native cultures the Aymara and the Quechua as well as mestizos, blacks, and Europeans. Lifestyle is determined in large part by whether one dwells in one of the large cities like La Paz or Santa Cruz, or in rural areas like the forested Yungas or Amazon Basin. In this largely pictorial book that focuses on children living in the different regions, some of this information is specifically stated.

The Scarlet Stockings

As an infant, Daphne was abandoned on the doorstep of an all-girls school. Now, at thirteen, she longs to discover the truth about her past and to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a prima ballerina. When a book containing a tantalizing riddle and a magical pair of stockings arrive, her dreams of glory and fame are suddenly within her grasp. Daphne is poised to win an audition for the Ballet Splendide in Paris. But will the magic be enough to help her overcome her childhood demons of loneliness and insecurity?

Jin Jin the Dragon

An enchanting story of a dragon that doesn’t know what it is and sets off on a journey of adventure and discovery to find out. Beautifully illustrated in Chinese watercolor, this wonderful read aloud includes information on Chinese dragons (and how they differ from what we usually think of when we think of dragons), Chinese written characters and a picture history of 13 Chinese characters that are central to the story.

Jade and Iron: Latin American Tales from Two Cultures

The part one of this anthology contains mythic tales from the native inhabitants explaining how the world came to be. There are warriors and princesses who turn into towering volcanoes, an opossum who steals fire for mankind, and a giant worm who drinks a river so people can find fish. The second part contains stories from the Europeans who came to the New World and is about people’s relationships with each other and with nature. There’s a mysterious woman magician who escapes from jail on a flying boat, horses the color of rainbows, and a jungle creature who enchants a young girl.

Angel’s Grace

Grace has always had wild red hair like no one else in her family and a birthmark on her shoulder that her mother told her was the mark of an angel. When Grace is sent from New York to spend the summer with her grandmother in Trinidad, she looks through the family album and discovers a blurred photograph of a stranger with a birthmark — her birthmark — and Grace is full of questions. No one is able to identify the man in the photo, and Grace is left with no choice but to find out who he is and what he might mean to her. What Grace does not know is that her search will lead to a discovery about herself and her family that she never could have imagined. Tracey Baptiste’s first novel is a tender coming-of-age story set on the island of Trinidad. Angel’s Grace explores the meaning of identity and truth, and the unbreakable ties of a family bound by love.

(Paula Wiseman Books)

Going Home

Carlos and his family are going home for Christmas across the border from California to Mexico. Mama and Papa are excited, but Carlos and his sisters are not so sure. To them, California is home now, even though they were born in Mexico. But as the family drives to their hometown through festive villages and sun-kissed landscapes, Carlos and his sisters discover there’s magic in their roots and that—whether in Mexico or California—home is where the heart is: with one’s family.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 4

Something for School

On the first day of kindergarten, a teacher asks the boys and girls to line up, and Yoon lines up with the other girls. But when some children mistake Yoon for a boy because of her short hair, Yoon bursts into tears.  At home, Yoon finds a solution. Her sister s special headband is perfect! When she wears it to kindergarten, no one teases or mistakes her for anything but who she is! Yoon has a lovely time with her new friends.But Yoon’s sister has been missing her special headband so when Yoon has to go back to school without it, she s worried all over again. Thankfully, her friends like Yoon exactly the way she is.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 1