“I don’t need a mother,” I say. “Where’s yours?” Silence. Then, “By her phone. I’m killing her.” From EITHER THE BEGINNING OR THE END OF THE WORLD Author Terry Farish weaves a taut web of colliding threads in this young…
Category: cultural
Review: Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed
High school senior Naila’s conservative immigrant parents believe that they offer her ample freedom. She may choose how she wears her hair, she has a non-Pakistani best friend, and they are even planning to allow her to go away to…
In a Village by the Sea by Muon Van
In a Village by the Sea by Muon Van and illustrated by April Chu introduces kids and adults alike to another part of the world through a simple story about a fisherman and his family who live in a small…
Peace and Understanding Through the Performing Arts: Give Me Wings and Watch Out for Flying Kids!
When young people come together through the performing arts, the effects can be transformational. Working together, they see each other as equals, learn to trust each other, and learn about lives and experience beyond their own. The effects they have…
Papa Gave Me a Stick by Janice Levy
This book reminded me of the hundred times I pleaded with my parents for some toy or game or electronic that I had to have or I was going to sink into a deep depression. And it reminded me of…
BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Celebration of Books, New & Old
This month, Black History Month, we celebrate books by and about African- Americans, old and young, who have been leaders, artists, musicians, teachers, activists, and courageous citizens. Last month as a nation we celebrated the life, work, and words of…
The No. 1 Car Spotter, in honor of MLK Jr.
I suppose it’s sort of an odd choice to review The No. 1 Car Spotter by Nigerian author Atinuke in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. But it’s not as odd as you might think. Bear with me and…
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
I always thought plastic grocery bags were a terrible idea, but who was listening to me during their advent in the early 1980s? They are cheap to manufacture, cheaper than paper sacks, and that has always trumped environmental concerns.…
Ellis Island by Molly Aloian
My grandparents were not quite of the humble origins they claimed to have been, something I found out years after they were gone. I’d assumed, based on their complaints about of the rough crossing of the seas from Sicily to…
A Cat’s View of Palestine: Deborah Ellis does it again
You know, if somebody just told me the premise of this book (“American girl dies suddenly and finds herself reincarnated, with all her memories intact, as a cat living in Palestine”) I would have thought, That is too cheesy for…