A girl struggling with change finds herself swept into a fantasy “world next door” heavily informed by her Lebanese-immigrant grandmother’s stories.
Samara Washington lives in Coconut Shores, Florida, with her mother, Alia; brother, Tony; and maternal grandmother, whom they call Teta. Her American-born father passed away when she was young. Although it’s been about a year since they moved from Ithaca, New York, she has not made “real friend-friends” like the ones she left behind. Worse, Teta’s changed, speaking gibberish to everyone except Sami, when they are alone. Alia is thinking about moving Teta to a nursing home, something Sami energetically opposes. Teta’s told Sami stories about the magic in their family—stories about another world with magical sprites called Ifrit and air and light beings called Flickers. Convinced that Teta is under a spell, Sami finds her grandmother’s charm book and uses it, entering Silverworld, a parallel world that, like Teta, is in terrible danger. Sami must decide whether she will confront the force that threatens Silverworld or go back home. In the tradition of epic fantasy, Sami will be tested and face her greatest fears. In her first novel for children, Abu-Jaber (Life Without a Recipe, 2016, etc.) includes pieces of Beirut that were part of Alia’s and Teta’s lives in Lebanon—meals they prepared together like kibbee, bamia, and tabbouleh; the adthan, or call to prayer—evoking a powerful image of that place while acknowledging Sami’s bicultural American experience.
An exciting fantasy with familiar elements—magical creatures, high stakes, and courage—rich with Lebanese texture. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-553-50967-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)
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A multiaward–winning author recalls her childhood and the joy of becoming a writer.
Writing in free verse, Woodson starts with her 1963 birth in Ohio during the civil rights movement, when America is “a country caught / / between Black and White.” But while evoking names such as Malcolm, Martin, James, Rosa and Ruby, her story is also one of family: her father’s people in Ohio and her mother’s people in South Carolina. Moving south to live with her maternal grandmother, she is in a world of sweet peas and collards, getting her hair straightened and avoiding segregated stores with her grandmother. As the writer inside slowly grows, she listens to family stories and fills her days and evenings as a Jehovah’s Witness, activities that continue after a move to Brooklyn to reunite with her mother. The gift of a composition notebook, the experience of reading John Steptoe’s Stevie and Langston Hughes’ poetry, and seeing letters turn into words and words into thoughts all reinforce her conviction that “[W]ords are my brilliance.” Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25251-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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With Ivan’s movie out this year from Disney, expect great interest—it will be richly rewarded.
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Tiny, sassy Bob the dog, friend of The One and Only Ivan (2012), returns to tell his tale.
Wisecracking Bob, who is a little bit Chihuahua among other things, now lives with his girl, Julia, and her parents. Happily, her father works at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary, the zoo where Bob’s two best friends, Ivan the gorilla and Ruby the elephant, live, so Bob gets to visit and catch up with them regularly. Due to an early betrayal, Bob doesn’t trust humans (most humans are good only for their thumbs); he fears he’s going soft living with Julia, and he’s certain he is a Bad Dog—as in “not a good representative of my species.” On a visit to the zoo with a storm threatening, Bob accidentally falls into the gorilla enclosure just as a tornado strikes. So that’s what it’s like to fly. In the storm’s aftermath, Bob proves to everyone (and finally himself) that there is a big heart in that tiny chest…and a brave one too. With this companion, Applegate picks up where her Newbery Medal winner left off, and fans will be overjoyed to ride along in the head of lovable, self-deprecating Bob on his storm-tossed adventure. His wry doggy observations and attitude are pitch perfect (augmented by the canine glossary and Castelao’s picture dictionary of dog postures found in the frontmatter). Gorilla Ivan described Julia as having straight, black hair in the previous title, and Castelao's illustrations in that volume showed her as pale-skinned. (Finished art not available for review.)
With Ivan’s movie out this year from Disney, expect great interest—it will be richly rewarded. (afterword) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299131-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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