DRAWN TOGETHER by Minh Le and Dan Santat and ONCE YOU KNOW THIS by Emily Blejwas

We had delicious nibblies for our last meeting, and great discussions on both of our books. We started with our picture book, drawn together [sic] by Minh Le and Dan Santat. Most of us agreed that the illustrations were beautiful, at least the large, colorful ones and the detailed line drawings when the little boy and his Thai-speaking grandpa began to communicate with each other through 'drawing together'. We liked the way they came to understand each other, and the happiness that the little boy, his mother, and his grandpa felt as a result. However, some readers were not thrilled with the comic-book-like illustrations that showed the actual scenes of the story. One reader thought it might make a good graphic novel....although a very short one! We all agreed that it was not a great read-aloud for a group, since even the good illustrations needed to be seen up close, and there wasn't really that much to actually read. We did think it might be good for an adult to share with a young child who might be experiencing the same lack of communication with an older relative because of language differences. We felt that the theme of the story was quite relevant, but that this book did not completely fill the bill for telling it.

Many readers felt that the writing in our novel, Once You Know This by Emily Blejwas was stunning. We were amazed that the book was this author's first attempt at middle-grade fiction. We loved the voice of Brittany, the main character, and the way her relationships with her mother, her dementia-impaired granny, her best friend Marisol, and her neighbors were developed. We also loved the character of Mr. McInnis, Brittany's teacher, and the fact that he guided Brittany into solving her problems rather than telling her what to do. She was the hero of the story. She had to think and do research and talk to various people in order to solve the problem of her mother living with an abuser and how they could get away. We liked the way it showed the strength in Brittany's low-income community, and how the neighbors looked out for each other even though they were all struggling to survive, as well as the way it portrayed a (very smart) child in an abusive situation finding a way for a good resolution at the end. We are eager to see more from this author.