CUBA IN MY POCKET by Adrianna Cuevas and EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung Ho

We began with our novel, Cuba in my Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas. We all liked the sensory picture that twelve-year-old Cumba painted of his native Cuba and his loving family and friends -- we could see, hear, feel, smell all that he described of the life he loved but had to leave in 1961 after the Revolution. We also liked his first-hand description of his experiences as a new immigrant in the U.S. -- getting used to a new language, food, people, activities, school, and missing his quite affluent family and his country. We felt that many young readers, immigrants themselves, could relate to this and that non-immigrant kids could get a feel for what some of their fellow-students might be experiencing -- perhaps creating some empathy. We also liked Cumba's voice, and were gripped by his feelings as he had to leave the home he had known in order to avoid being conscripted into the military, and we thought that the tension in the story was well-maintained throughout. We understood the author's need to fictionalize the story of her own father's journey from Cuba to the U.S. in 1961 and were thankful for her note at the end of the story as well as the Glossary of many Cuban terms. However, a couple of readers had mixed feelings about this book, since they were fans of the Revolution, and what it had accomplished for the millions of mostly poor, mostly black, and mostly illiterate Cuban peasants, namely: a 98% literacy rate due to the Literacy Brigade; free education for all; and free health care in every neighborhood. It was noted that the very poor peasants did not have the opportunities that Cumba had, due to his professional parents' knowledge, connections, and wealth. All of that considered, we were all happy that -- in the story -- Cumba's family was ultimately able to join him in Florida in the end. We felt that this could be a very useful book for middle-schoolers to further their knowledge about immigration, trying to 'fit in', and the universal 12-year-old angst that many young folks experience.

We all agreed that the biggest strength of our picture book, Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung Ho was the group of vibrantly colorful, detailed, and in some places quite fanciful digitally created illustrations that we felt really served to tell the story in the voice of a little girl who compares her eyes with those of her mom, grandma, and little sister. We liked the inclusion of the folkloric/mythic images from the stories her grandma told, and the warm connection between three generations of females. We felt that much of the text was glowing and poetic, but that other parts were a bit overwritten. We had a hard time determining exactly where this story took place, and would have been very thankful to have been able to read an Author's Note with further details. We loved the fact that the story (and the title) placed value on something that has been de-valued -- the eyes of people with Asian ancestry -- and the fact that this very short picture book served to define their beauty. We thought it could be a great read-aloud, and gave it a 'thumbs-up'!

EVERYTHING SAD IS UNTRUE by Daniel Nayeri and BIDDY MASON SPEAKS UP by Arisa White and Laura Atkins and illustrated by Laura Freeman

We began with our novel, Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri. A few readers said they were put off at the beginning of the book due to the non-linear story development which inserted ancient Persian myths and old family history into middle schooler Daniel's explanation of his life as an immigrant kid who fled Iran with his mother and sister for religious reasons and ended up in Oklahoma. But fortunately, those doubters returned to the book and finished it and were glad they did. We all agreed that it was an amazing feat of storytelling that provided a real window into the immigrant experience as Daniel related his story with insight, wisdom, humanity, and humor. We got used to the insertions of 'Sheherezade-like' stories, and the lessons they were trying to impart. We loved learning about the ancient roots of the Persian/Iranian culture. We all loved Daniel's 'rules' -- things he figured out as he tried to reconcile his past with his present: describing the struggles of an immigrant family, the cruelty they had to endure on their journey, but holding on to his cultural identity as he faced the challenges (typical to all middle schoolers) of just trying to fit in. Some readers felt that parts of the story were shocking and gripping, with no pleasure, and very hard to read. We marveled at the strength of Daniel's mother, and were happy when his father finally showed up -- after many years -- and spoke to the class. We all agreed that perhaps this book should have been 'billed' as a YA title, or even a book for adults, since we weren't sure that younger middle-grade readers would be able to stick with it due to the very non-Western style of storytelling. But we agreed that often it's not the story, but the connection between teller and listener that's important, and we felt that this book definitely accomplished that. We agreed that it was a tribute to the human spirit and we all felt richer for reading it.

Our discussion of our nonfiction picture book, Biddy Mason Speaks Up by Arisa White and Laura Atkins and illustrated by Laura Freeman brought up several interesting issues We were all glad that it honored this African-American enslaved woman who had been brought to Los Angeles because of her talents as a healer and a midwife in the 1850s, won her freedom in an important court case, and later became a successful entrepreneur as she continued a life of standing up for herself. We loved her story, which some (not all) felt was poetically written. We also loved the colorful illustrations which included small, individual boxed photos of some of the plants Biddy used in her healing maneuvers. We did have some issues with this book however. First, we had some problems with the actual story, which, though inspiring, made it hard to tell what was real and what wasn't due to the insertion of fictional characters into a true story. We felt that a picture book biography should only include characters and incidents that were real. Secondly, we had a problem with the format. Some readers likened this book to a web page with multiple 'clickbaits'. Although some young readers might like this, we felt it was distracting. Between the Timeline, maps, photos of related historical events, plus a sidebar Glossary and a moral issue for readers to consider on almost every page, it felt like it was trying to be a reference book in addition to just presenting Biddy Mason's story. We felt that it presented just too much information to digest, and several of us read the book more than once: for the story; for the Timeline; for the photos; for the issues raised. We weren't sure kids would do this, but we also felt that it was probably OK if they just bounced around and read what interested them -- even if that interrupted the story. We thought all of that information in addition to the Back Matter was more for adults, and could be very helpful for teachers, since this book could be used in a variety of curricular areas. We appreciated the authors' excellent research and citations, and we felt that anyone who read this book would certainly learn a lot, and perhaps be moved to do further research to find out more about this amazing Los Angeles heroine.