Readers will cheer for Nadia as she responds to prejudice and affirms her identity.
Nadia Youssef is starting sixth grade, trying to navigate friendships, and tackling tough issues like racism and bullying.
Nadia is an Egyptian American immigrant, living in California with her physician parents; Baba’s a cardiologist, and Mama’s a pulmonologist. Based loosely on co-author Youssef’s real daughter, Nadia loves facts, collects bobbleheads, spends her summers in Egypt, and is very close to her best friends, Adam, who’s White, Sarah, who’s Korean American, Chloe, who's Black, and Vikram, who’s Indian American; together they’re the Nerd Patrol. The quintet is excited to learn that the Museum of American History is inviting students to team up and present ideas for an exhibit. Struggling with what it means to be a team leader, Nadia must also cope with a bullying new White student. Jason demands, “Where exactly are you from, anyway?” and sneers at her “desert people food.” Mystifyingly, Adam seems to want to be friends with Jason even though he hears the mean things Jason says. With a little help from a magical amulet, advice from her parents, and the help of her friends, Nadia makes a plan. Youssef and Daly draw a strong character who is proud of her heritage and culture and is not afraid to show her Egyptian roots. Holgate’s black-and-white cartoon vignettes pair well with the text, especially bringing out certain personality quirks and moments of humor. Nadia and Vikram make connections about similarities between their cultures, such as the “practice of snake charming” and some foodstuffs.
Readers will cheer for Nadia as she responds to prejudice and affirms her identity. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-57228-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit...
The author of the Anastasia books as well as more serious fiction (Rabble Starkey, 1987) offers her first historical fiction—a story about the escape of the Jews from Denmark in 1943.
Five years younger than Lisa in Carol Matas' Lisa's War (1989), Annemarie Johansen has, at 10, known three years of Nazi occupation. Though ever cautious and fearful of the ubiquitous soldiers, she is largely unaware of the extent of the danger around her; the Resistance kept even its participants safer by telling them as little as possible, and Annemarie has never been told that her older sister Lise died in its service. When the Germans plan to round up the Jews, the Johansens take in Annemarie's friend, Ellen Rosen, and pretend she is their daughter; later, they travel to Uncle Hendrik's house on the coast, where the Rosens and other Jews are transported by fishing boat to Sweden. Apart from Lise's offstage death, there is little violence here; like Annemarie, the reader is protected from the full implications of events—but will be caught up in the suspense and menace of several encounters with soldiers and in Annemarie's courageous run as courier on the night of the escape. The book concludes with the Jews' return, after the war, to homes well kept for them by their neighbors.
A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit of riding alone in Copenhagen, but for their Jews. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 1, 1989
ISBN: 0547577095
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1989
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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