We started our June discussion with our picture book, My Little Sister and Me written and illustrated by Maple Lam. We all agreed that this was a very nice, although slight, little story depicting a 'big' brother taking care of his little sister as he walked her home from her school bus stop for the very first time. We were a bit confused as to why the brother wasn't on the same bus as his sister, but figured maybe they went to different schools. We thought this story might feel somewhat dated since -- even though published in 2016 -- the idea of two little kids walking alone for several blocks sadly seemed unheard of in today's world, and we weren't sure if today's little ones would relate. We liked the relationship between the two as the brother tried to protect his little sister on the way and encouraged her to keep heading home when she dawdled along the way, picked up assorted 'stuff', missed her teddy bear, or needed the bathroom. We also liked the way they both bragged about being 'brave' through a twig duel and a thunderstorm, and we liked the heartwarming illustrated note she created for him when they finally got home extolling his caring and bravery. We all felt that the illustrations aided nicely in carrying the story along, although some thought that the brother should have been drawn as being a little bigger than his sister instead of practically the same size. We felt this book might be good as a read-aloud at bedtime or in a pre-K/Kindergarten class, and could certainly engage kids in comparisons between their own lives and those of the characters.
We were unanimous in our fondness for our novel, Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca. We loved the voice of 13-year-old Reha, who is trying to reconcile her two lives -- one as a member of the close-knit Indian community with all of its customs, expectations, foods, and relationships, and the other as an American kid concerned with MTV, hair, clothing, giggling with friends about boys, etc., -- the usual middle school angst. She feels a great love for her mom, her Amma, although their actual communication (in words) is limited to expressions regarding expectations of how she should behave. We loved how her story is developed in short, flowing, somewhat poetic entries. None of us like the term "novel in verse" but this is how this book is categorized. We loved her voice and the way we really got to know and care about Reha as she explains her life, her activities, her wishes and dreams, her trials and tribulations, and her coping with Amma's becoming ill, needing chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and finally (sadly) dying. We truly loved how the themes of Reha's story were all tied together at the end when she receives a hand-written letter from her mom that someone mailed exactly one month after her death. Reading the letter causes Reha to understand that her mother really did 'know' her and that she really leads just one life, where everything is intertwined, and that the memories of her mom are always around. [This book requires Kleenex.] We felt this book was so accessible to young readers with its spare writing, vivid descriptions, heartfelt tone, real emotion, and universal tropes related to parents, friends, family, school, community, hopes, dreams, and love. A definite plus all the way around. We were so taken with LaRocca's writing that we decided to read her nonfiction picture book about DNA (she is a doctor in real life) for our next meeting.
