by Maria Testa ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005
Testa writes stories told in poems of surpassing beauty, fragility and depth. The narrator of these poems is 13, living in Maine with her parents, refugees from Kosova. She loves America, loves her place and her family but suffers because she knows her parents miss their homeland. They cannot return, however, as their daughter needs the medical care provided in the US. When she was four, she was burned badly, although as she says in “Fire can be kind,” her face was untouched. When her father hears of a protest against Somali immigrants in Lewiston, Maine (a true incident), he helps organize a rally in support of the Somalis that draws thousands of people. His daughter’s voice seems artless, and yet is full of youthful wisdom and candor: “ . . . we could be / a slice of pizza / with everything on it,” she says of her school’s diversity, and she thinks it’s pretty funny that her father learned English from watching TV so much. Riveting—and tender. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7636-2528-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2005
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More by Maria Testa
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by Maria Testa
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by Maria Testa & illustrated by Diane Paterson
by Faith D’Aluisio & photographed by Peter Menzel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2008
Can too much information give readers intellectual indigestion? When is it better to graze through a book rather than consuming it in one sitting? Is it possible to make good-for-you information as delicious as (guilty) pleasure reading? The adapted version of Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (2005) raises all of these questions. Intended to inform middle-schoolers of the wide variety of food traditions as well as discrepancies in access to adequate nutrition, this collection of photos, essays and statistics will require thoughtful concentration. Adapted and abridged text, a larger font size, the addition of small maps and basic facts about each country and the deletion of some photos that might have been judged inappropriate or disturbing help to make the wealth of information accessible to this audience. The plentiful photos are fascinating, offering both intimate glimpses of family life and panoramic views of other lands. Whether used for research or received as a gift from socially conscious adults, this version offers children plenty to chew over—but it’ll take them some time to truly digest. (Nonfiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-58246-246-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Tricycle
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
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by Haya Leah Molner ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2010
In this rich, insightful memoir, Molnar offers a child’s-eye view of life in Romania in the late 1950s. Known as Eva Zimmerman then, she lived in a crowded but loving Bucharest home that included her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. They are a lively, eccentric bunch brought vividly to life in a simple first-person, present-tense narration. Especially endearing is Eva’s relationship with her grandfather, who encourages her to embrace her Jewish heritage. Her cinematographer father, a survivor of several concentration camps who lost his parents to the Holocaust, is haunted by his experiences. Eva learns from her grandmother the complicity of Romania’s World War II fascist regime in the murder of thousands of Jews. With anti-Semitism still pervasive in Communist Romania, Eva keeps her Jewish identity secret from classmates when she begins school. The author vividly depicts the harsh realities of life under fascist rule: scarcity of food and housing, ideological indoctrination in school and constant fear of the Securitate, the secret police who are always watching and listening. Black-and-white family photographs illustrate this poignant, memorable memoir. (Memoir. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-31840-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
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