Juv Quartet: The Years, by Andrea Cheng

I picked these up because we're reading American Born Chinese for a local bookclub, and I wondered if there were any recent books that would address a lot of those concerns for a younger set.

The Year of the Book
Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Abigail Halpin
ISBN: 9780547684635

The Year of the Baby
Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Patrice Barton
ISBN: 9780547910673

The Year of the Fortune Cookie
Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Patrice Barton
ISBN: 9780544105195

The Year of the Three Sisters
Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Patrice Barton
ISBN: 9780544344273

I like how well these flow together (read all of them in two afternoons) and how they include sub-plots for each character that is introduced.  Our lead is Anna, who is an American-Born Chinese girl living in Cincinnati with her parents and her younger brother.  As the stories progress, she matures from an impulsive bookaholic who is slightly embarassed by her heritage into a graceful. literate, (still impulsive, but working on it) young lady who visits China and hosts exchange students.

In addition, the supporting cast is lovely.  There are other girls who come and go through the series: best friend Laura, new friends Camille and Andee, and Chinese friend Fan.  All of the girls are sketched out in interesting shades: Laura has to deal with an overbearing mother and her parents' separation/divorce.  Camille has a learning disorder.  Andee's family is wealthy, and she tries too hard to help people sometimes.  Fan is a migrant worker from Beijing, and is determined to study and work her hardest in America while she has the opportunity.  All of these girls interact with each other and revolve around each other (each one becoming more or less important depending on the individual storyline) in a very realistic manner.

I still think that I like the Violet Mackerel books better than these, but for a slightly older audience who wants to read easy chapter books about interesting and diverse characters, this is a solid sell.

Storytime Potentials: The Invisible Boy, Trudy Ludwig; The Most Magnificent Thing, Ashley Spires

The Invisible Boy
Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton
ISBN: 9781582464503
Read June 18
Watercolor washes and peculiar animated faces make the one grey "invisible" boy stand out.

I want to like the illustrations in this book, but Barton gives her children, especially the invisible boy, nearly black lips, stretched out in their caricatured heads, and it just gives me the willies.  Other than that, the art is sensitive and painterly, with care taken in physical expressions and posture.  The storyline is equally sensitive, showing an "invisible" boy who is simply overlooked by his classmates, until a new kid comes in and upsets the status quo.



The Most Magnificent Thing
Ashley Spires
ISBN: 9781554537044
Read June 18
A girl inventor and her pug battle through the struggle to get your inventions to "just go right."

This is the perfect book for anyone who has ever tried to create anything ever.  I am serious.  It absolutely nails the frustration of having a perfect vision in your head, and trying so hard to make it real, and failing miserably and continually until you finally get it almost (but never exactly) right.

So perfect.