Middle-Grade Review: Parachute Kids

One of my choices for Middle-Grade March and Fierce Women Reads was Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang. I'd heard a lot about this middle-grade graphic novel, and it lived up to my expectations. The novel was informative, engrossing, and entertaining.

Ten-year-old Feng-Li and her family are traveling from Taiwan to California for a family vacation in 1981. She's very excited and has been poring over guidebooks, picking out all the sites she wants to see. Her parents, older brother and sister, and she do have a nice week-long vacation. But then their parents break the news: the kids will be staying in America to get away from the volatile situation at home and to get a better education. Dad is returning home to go back to work, so he can support the family, and Mom plans to stay with the kids, in the house they bought. The kids all choose American first names because their Taiwanese names are too difficult for Americans to pronounce. After a month, though, mom has to return to Taiwan, too, when the U.S. won't extend her visa. There are good family friends from Taiwan who live in the same town with their daughter, Olivia, having immigrated a few years earlier. For the most part, though, sixteen-year-old Jessie, fourteen-year-old Jason, and Feng-Li with her new name, Ann, are on their own. They all have major challenges. Jessie knows English the best of the three, but she's the closest to college age and must be ready to take the SAT in less than a year. Jason has a secret and got in a lot of trouble in Taiwan; the only kids who talk to him at school are a group of Chinese boys (other parachute kids) who probably aren't the best influence. And poor Ann jumps into fifth grade without knowing a single word of English. She misses her friends and her old school, where she was a good student. At the same time, they have to manage a household, take care of the house, and get along with each other! They each make some mistakes and bad choices along the way, and Ann feels like it's up to her to keep her family together.

There is so much depth and complexity in this graphic novel! The issues these three kids are dealing with are huge, including some very adult issues. Their parents didn't abandon them, and both are trying to get new visas to come back, but the process takes a long time. I had never heard the term "parachute kids" before, but apparently, it's a fairly common experience (and one that has grown exponentially in the last decade) for Chinese parents to send their kids to the U.S. for a better education. Often, they have a host family to stay with or live in dormitories at private schools, but sometimes kids like the Lins must fend for themselves. I found news articles on the phenomenon in a Palo Alto high school newspaper and the New York Times. The novel provided an inside view to what it is like for these kids, living without their parents and trying to assimilate into American life. And it showed the language barrier by using yellow dialogue bubbles for Taiwanese and white for English. The author explains in a note at the end that she and her siblings were parachute kids in 1979, and her deep understanding of the challenges is evident. Despite the often harrowing subject matter, the novel is also entertaining, with a great sense of humor, and illustrates the love the siblings have for each other (behind the typical bickering!). I enjoyed reading it very much, and I feel like I better understand how difficult it is for kids like these.

(Note: the novel is written from Feng-Li's perspective, which is why it's middle-grade, but the teens' struggles are addressed as well, so it might appeal to older readers, too.) 

283 pages, Graphix (imprint of Scholastic)

This book fits in the following 2024 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

Alphabet Soup Challenge - P

Diversity Challenge & mini-challenge for March: #ownvoices

Literary Escapes Challenge - California

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. This sample is a note from the beginning, explaining about the Taiwanese language and accents in the audio.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too). This sample is from the main part of the book, so it shows the different voices and accents, along with sound effects. I wouldn't normally recommend an audio of a graphic novel, but this one might be an exception to better understand the language barrier.

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

  
  

Two Great Teen/YA Graphic Memoirs

I took advantage of Nonfiction November to  catch up on some graphic memoirs, and I read two of them that are perfect for teens and young adults (though I enjoyed them as an adult, too!).

Pénélope Bagieu has written and illustrated several graphic novels and graphic nonfiction books, including the award-winning Brazen, though her coming-of-age graphic memoir, Layers, was the first of her books I've read. I'm so glad I did! In it, she tells sixteen different stories about her life in France, covering the period from childhood to young adulthood, with warmth, emotional depth, and humor. Each of these is a separate vignette, not in chronological order, on a different topic, but together they paint a full picture of her early life and process of growing into an adult. Her first story is titled, Why Don't You Have a Cat?, and it tells the story of the kittens she and her sister got for Christmas when she was very young. But she had her cat for almost twenty years, and she tells stories of her relationship with her cat throughout those years, so we see every stage of her life through that lens, from small child to young adult. Some vignettes are very short and funny, like A Story About My Seduction Abilities, or short and dark, like the one-page story about noticing signs that a friend in school was being abused. Sometimes she digs a bit deeper into some serious topics, as in Deja Vu, where she compares, side-by-side, two instances of unwanted sexual attention, one as a child sleeping over at a friend's and another as a young adult. That one, like many of them, uses very creative story-telling techniques and makes maximum use of her drawing talents. These aren't illustrated stories but truly a graphic memoir, where the pictures tell the story. Often funny, sometimes thought-provoking, and always intimate, Layers is a truly unique, though very relatable, memoir that uses the graphic form perfectly.

144 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Nonfiction November - Published in 2023

Travel the World in Books - France

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 
  

Dreamer: Growing Up Black in the World of Hockey by Akim Aliu (co-written by Greg Anderson Elysee and illustrated by Karen de la Vega) is another coming-of-age graphic memoir with an international flavor but quite different. Akim was a professional hockey player in the NHL who here tells the story of the terrible racism he faced, from youth hockey all the way up to the pros. Akim's mother is Ukrainian and his father is Nigerian, and when he and his brother were children, they lived in both countries. As a biracial couple, his parents found prejudice and racism in both places--even from family members--so they moved the family to Canada, hoping to provide a better life for their sons. Life was generally better in Canada, but Akim and his brother were still often the only Black kids in their school or neighborhood. Akim fell in love with hockey from the first moment he saw it, and when his parents got him some used skates at a yard sale, they discovered he was a natural. He loved the sport and was very good at it. So good, in fact, that he qualified for an elite teen league in Canada. At age sixteen, he moved to a town four hours away from his family to live with a host family and play hockey. He eventually went pro and joined the NHL, but Akim encountered horrific, often violent racism at every step of his journey--from teammates, spectators, and most alarmingly, sometimes his own coaches. As dark as this story is, there's a happy ending because Akim started a foundation, the Hockey Diversity Alliance, and has dedicated his life to making hockey, the sport he loves, more inclusive and to stamping out racism on the ice and off. The way that he turned his pain around to help other kids is truly inspiring.

120 pages, Graphix (Scholastic)

If you want to know more, as I did, here's a short interview with Akim Aliu about his experiences and his important work.

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Nonfiction November - Sport

Diversity Challenge

Travel the World in Books - Canada (several different provinces)

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

  
  

National Book Awards 2023 Announced!

In a ceremony yesterday, the National Book Award winners were announced. You can see the full list of 2023 nominees and winners here.

I was thrilled to hear that a book I reviewed (and loved) earlier this year won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature: A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat. This is a wonderful middle-grade/teen graphic memoir about the author's life-changing experience traveling across Europe with a student group the summer before high school. Part memoir and part travelogue, this moving, funny book perfectly captures the awkwardness of adolescence, the joy of travel, and the process of starting to grow up. You can read my full review here and order this new award-winner. I'm so glad this unique book was recognized with an award and will hopefully find an even wider audience!

Middle-Grade Review: Bea Wolf

I was intrigued by the title and cover of middle-grade graphic novel Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, illustrated by Boulet, and I absolutely loved this smart, clever, funny riff on the Old English classic Beowulf.

The graphic novel begins with a short history lesson, about a long succession of child kings (and queens), going back generations, ruling benevolently over the other kids in the suburban neighborhood, ensuring there was plenty of candy, toys, and fun for all:

"Listen to the lives of the long-ago kids, the world-fighters,
the parent-unminding kids, the improper, the politeness-proof,
the unbowed bully-crushers,
the bedtime-breakers, the raspberry-blowers,
fighters of fun-killers, fearing nothing, fated for fame."

We learn about each of these renowned child leaders, including the famed Carl, who eventually succumbed to teendom: "Lament not his low fate. Time lingers for no kid." Finally, we get to the current kid king, Roger:

"Kids who knew the crown-line of Carl flocked to their cause.
So that by the reign of Roger, so rich was the candy cache,
so much bully-gold was berthed, so well-betoyed were boy and girl,
that Roger, game-giver and toy-sharer,
turned his thoughts to treehouses."

Roger and the other kids build an amazing treehouse, which comes to be known as Treeheart and provides a place for raucous, unfettered, un-chaperoned kid fun. But Mr. Grindle watches all this unbridled chaotic joy from his yard:

"He would stride the starless dark, staring over hedge, stirring his temper,
harrowing his hearing, hating the gum-smacking, the blowing of bubbles,
the butt-jokes and belching laughter, the bursting of bang snaps,
the vast-volumed video games of no educational value whatsoever!"

Mr. Grindle, "the fun-grinder, the grim-faced joy-gobbler," won't stand for such unproductive, noisy activity, and he attacks Treeheart, with his cleaning supplies and educational materials. Things become sad and hopeless for the kids for a while, until Bea Wolf, a five-year-old cousin of Carl, who lives upriver in Heidi's domain, comes to save them.

I just had to include several quotes from this book because the text is so delightfully clever and fun! Every page is like that, as the author mimics the cadence, rhyming, and alliteration of the original Beowulf. I never read the epic poem myself (so you don't need to know it to appreciate this wonderful book), but I remembered my son studying it in Brit Lit, and I looked it up while reading this graphic novel to further enhance my enjoyment. I knew about Beowulf and Grindle, but Weinersmith also takes some other character names from the original, like King Hrothgar (Roger), as well as the general storyline. But the writing is only half of the fun here! The fabulous illustrations are just as enchanting, and I often took my time to reread the text and enjoy the pictures before turning the page.

When my sons were young, they would have loved this joyful, witty, ingenious book! I'm sure we would have read and reread it, as they said, "again!" and I can just see them poring over each detailed illustration intensely. This is the best kind of book for kids--the kind that adults will love, too.

208 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Diversity Reading Challenge
R.I.P. Challenge

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

    
  

Middle-Grade Review: A First Time for Everything

I finally have an iPad Mini to replace my very old Kindle, and I finally learned how to download review PDFs to it and open them up in the Books app. That means I am back to reviewing graphic novels (which went all digital last year). Yay! I missed them. The first one I read was a winner: A First Time for Everything, a graphic memoir by Dan Santat.

Dan wasn't very happy in middle school. Like many kids that age, he felt very self-conscious. He had some friends but found that the bullies in middle school were really mean. Then, a teacher asked him to recite a poem in front of the entire school at an assembly, and the teasing really ramped up. He was not looking forward to high school. His parents encouraged him to sign up for a three-week European study abroad program during the summer before high school, and he did, reluctantly. The only kids going that he knew from his school were some girls who were sort of mean to him usually, so Dan didn't have high hopes for the trip. But that trip changed his life. As the group from two cities traveles across Europe to four different countries, Dan experiences a string of firsts. He discovers a popular soda in Europe called Fanta, and aims to try every flavor. He makes new friends. He sees amazing things and, when his camera breaks, discovers how much he loves to draw. Maybe he'll even meet his first girlfriend?

Based on the author's real middle-school experiences taking a European trip, this graphic memoir captures the awkward, embarrassing, funny, and unforgettable moments of adolescence that most of us can relate to. It's part coming-of-age memoir and part travelogue, with the illustrations showing both traditional story-telling panels and also Dan's wonderful drawings of the trip and the things that they saw. It's a wonderful story that reminded me of my own trip to England and France in high school. I enjoyed every page of this beautiful graphic memoir.

320 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Alphabet Soup Challenge - F

Nonfiction Reader's Challenge (my first of the year!) - Memoir category

Travel the World in Books - UK, France, Switzerland, Germany

 

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

 

Or you can order A First Time for Everything from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

2 Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: Pinball and The Reading Life

Since I am still writing November reviews at the end of December, I decided to combine some into mini reviews in a single post. Here are short reviews of my last two books read/listened to for Nonfiction November. I enjoyed both of them.

I read a graphic nonfiction book, Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball by Jon Chad. Believe it or not, pinball's history begins in the 17th century, in the court of King Louis XIV! There, a game called bagatelle was played by the wealthy French and later carried to the New World. Pinball was hugely popular in the early 20th century, among immigrants and as a distraction during the Depression. Most surprising of all to me was that pinball was illegal in both NYC and LA from the 1940's through to the early 1970's! The history here was fascinating, but this book also details how pinball works, technological advancements over the years, different components of a pinball game, and pinball designers. All of it is illustrated in vibrant colors and dynamic pictures that capture the movement and excitement of a pinball game. I learned a lot and was entertained by this unique, lively book.

208 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Challenge

Nonfiction Reader Challenge 

Fall Into Reading Challenge - orange on cover 

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local:

Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball

 

 

With just a few days left in November, I squeezed in one last nonfiction audio book, The Reading Life: The Joy of Seeing New Worlds Through Others Eyes by C.S. Lewis. This short book is a collection of excerpts from Lewis' essays, articles, and even personal letters, all about books and reading. It includes his thoughts on science fiction and fairy tales, the value of continuing to read older books as well as new, his reviews of J.R.R. Tolkien's works, Huck Finn, and Jane Austen, and a wide variety of interesting musings about books and reading. My favorite parts were his writings about why children's books are not just for children, and in particular, his commentary on The Wind in the Willows, an old favorite of mine, too. The audio book was only two hours long and provided a thoughtful and entertaining discussion on my favorite topic.

192 pages, HarperOne

HarperAudio

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

 

Nonfiction Reader Challenge

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local:

 

 The Reading Life: The Joy of Seeing New Worlds Through Others Eyes

 

Disclosure: I received these books from the publishers in return for honest reviews. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Middle-Grade Graphic Novel Review: Booked

This is probably my strangest reason ever for choosing a book! At the end of September, I realized I hadn't read a book for the Monthly Motif Challenge yet (you can see all of my reading challenges here). September's motif was "a book with a clever title that uses a play on words, a pun, or a double meaning." I didn't have time to fit another regular book in, but while in the library on September 29, I realized I could fit in a graphic novel! I went to the kids' section and found the perfect graphic novel: Booked by Kwame Alexander, with illustrations by Dawud Anyabwile. Not only does the title have multiple meanings, but the book itself is filled with clever word play that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Twelve-year-old Nick has a pretty good life as the novel opens. He is a star soccer player, playing for both his school team and a travel team. His best friend, Coby, also plays for the school team and is the star player on a competing travel team. Nick's mom has signed him up for old-fashioned etiquette/dancing classes, which are pretty lame, but he has a crush on a girl named April in the class, and he thinks she might like him, too. Then, things begin crashing down in Nick's life: his parents have a devastating announcement, bullies are bothering him, and even his beloved soccer is threatened. Just when it seems like he's hit bottom, Nick begins to realize he has a lot of people in his life who care for him--not just his parents and Coby but a teacher at school and The Mac, the school's rapper librarian. He even begins to develop an appreciation for books.

Sample page from Booked

Describing the plot (even though it is an excellent plot) doesn't even scratch the surface of this wonderful book! Kwame Alexander is known for his novels-in-verse, and this one includes a wide variety of storytelling techniques: verse, dialogue, narration, texts, and more. The illustrations by Anyabwile are stunning, in black, white, and green. The action just leaps off the page, and the characters come to life. And, as I mentioned, the book is loaded with fun, clever word play, well beyond just the multiple meanings of "booked." Nick's dad is a literature professor who's written his own dictionary of "weird and wonderful words" that Nick's required to read from each day (reluctantly), so the novel is packed with fun new vocabulary Nick is learning in spite of himself. This original, fun graphic novel has it all: friendship, family, action, humor, and plenty of emotional depth. I'm so glad my reading challenge led me to this wonderful book I might have otherwise missed!

320 pages, Clarion Books

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

 

Monthly Motif Challenge - Title Play

Diversity Challenge 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

   

 

Or you can order Booked from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Middle-Grade/Teen Review: Button Pusher

I noticed last weekend that one of my 2022 Reading Challenges, The Monthly Motif Challenge, had for its August theme, "Quick Lit," to read something short. Since I have been immersed in my own Big Book Summer Challenge, all I've read all month (and all summer) have been books with over 400 pages! So, I chose a shorter graphic novel from my shelves to squeeze in. I thoroughly enjoyed Button Pusher by Tyler Page and learned a lot from this intriguing graphic memoir about growing up with ADHD.

Tyler tells his childhood story mostly from the perspective of the age he was at the time, starting at just eight years old. Through a novel-like story, we see that Tyler is a happy, friendly kid who does well in school but is always in constant motion. He gets in trouble in school for fidgeting and not staying in his seat, he gives into impulses and does things that get him into big trouble, without understanding why, and even in the doctor's office, Tyler is moving nonstop, touching and playing with everything in sight. But Tyler is also a sweet kid who enjoys playing video games with friends, building with Legos, and who loves to draw. Visits to his pediatrician start him down the path to an ADHD diagnosis, which was relatively new at the time, and eventually to treatment with Ritalin, as it becomes clear that his behavior is disruptive both at school and at home. Tyler and his family have other issues, as well, though. Money is very tight, Tyler's parents fight constantly, and his dad often loses his temper and screams, hits things, and spanks Tyler. Things get so bad that Tyler starts to spend most of his time either in his room, drawing, or at friends' houses. The story follows Tyler and his family all the way from elementary school to middle school to high school. It ends as Tyler heads off to college to start a new chapter of his life ... though he points out on that last page that his hardest challenges with ADHD were still ahead of him.

Sample page from Button Pusher

On its surface, this is a very enjoyable, beautifully-drawn graphic story of childhood and adolescence, told from a boy's perspective. But there is also so much emotional depth to this memoir, plus fascinating information about ADHD. The colorful panels depicting Tyler's story are interspersed with copies of notes from his pediatrician and a few brief sections of informational graphics, explaining the science behind ADHD, Ritalin, labels, and other related topics. It's the perfect combination of entertainment and education, and I learned a lot while enjoying the story. It actually made me think back to my own childhood classmates and perhaps better understand certain behaviors from them. I'm sure back in my day, some kids (especially boys) were labeled trouble-makers and written off at a young age when they probably had ADHD. The age recommendations from the publisher say 10-14 years old, but I think any kids or teens who have ADHD or know someone who does (probably most kids in school) would benefit from reading this enjoyable book. I hope there's a sequel about his college years!

245 pages, First Second 

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Challenge

Monthly Motif - Quick Lit

Nonfiction Reader Challenge - Medical Memoir

Diversity Challenge (August mini-challenge: mental health)

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

  

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

   
  

Or you can order Button Pusher from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Middle-Grade Review: Margo Maloo - The Tangled Web

I am a huge fan of Drew Weing's creative, fun middle-grade graphic novel series. I enjoyed the first two entries in the series, The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo and its sequel, The Monster Mall (my reviews at the links). So, I was excited to see the release of book 3, The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web. It was just as much imaginative, creepy fun as the first two books!

Charles recently moved to Echo City when his parents bought a historic apartment building there. Discovering a large troll living in the basement (and stealing his Battlebeanz), Charles takes the advice of his new friend in the building, Kevin, and calls Margo Maloo, Monster Mediator, to help. It turns out that Echo City has a thriving monster community living in the shadows, underground, and in all kinds of places where humans are unaware of them. Margo, a smart, fierce kid, helps Charles with his troll problem and takes him under her wing, as he promises to always protect the monsters' secrets from adults and help her to mediate monster-human problems. In this third book, Margo is engrossed in her own project, so Charles is on his own. He and Kevin notice a teenager online who is trying to stir up trouble by giving away monsters' secret hiding places, and Charles discovers a family of giant spiders who are about to be destroyed by a massive human demolition project. What can Charles do on his own? And how can he get a message to Margo?

Sample pages from Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web

As always, Weing packs a lot of clever, imaginative fun into this third installment. His brightly colored drawings of Echo City and its unique monster residents provide plenty of entertaining details to peruse. Accompanying the unique drawings are a suspenseful, gripping storyline that keeps you turning the pages. And this time, while the spiders are saved and the immediate peril has passed, there is an ongoing mystery that can only mean ... a fourth book! I can't wait to read more adventures of Margo, Charles, and Kevin--and their monster acquaintances.

126 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

 Mount TBR Challenge

Alphabet Soup Challenge - C

Diversity Challenge

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

    

 

Or you can order The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Middle-Grade Review: Marshmallow and Jordan

I've been hearing good things about the middle-grade graphic novel Marshmallow and Jordan by Alina Chau, and I finally had a chance to read it for myself. I enjoyed this charming, moving story of the challenges a newly-disabled girl faces and the unlikely ally she finds to support her.

Jordan was the captain--and star--of her championship middle-school basketball team in Indonesia. Then an accident left her wheelchair-bound. She seems remarkably well-adjusted, and her kind teammates still support her, while she watches their practices and games and sometimes even helps the coach or plays from her chair during practice. But Jordan misses being a full part of the team and competing. One day on her way home from school, she finds an injured white baby elephant. I guess elephants are common in Indonesia because Jordan doesn't seem surprised but helps the baby elephant back to her home so that her mother, a veterinarian, can help the injured animal. Her parents agree to let the elephant, whom Jordan has named Marshmallow, stay at their house while its leg heals. Wanting to pay back her kindness, Marshmallow mysteriously creates a pool in the backyard one night and the next day helps Jordan learn to swim without the use of her legs. Jordan loves the newfound freedom of being able to move in the pool! After a wonderful day of playing water basketball in the pool with her friends, Jordan joins the water polo team. Since she's entirely new to the game, her teammates aren't very welcoming at first and worry she could mess up their chances to make it to the finals this year. Jordan feels left out, by both old and new teammates, but she practices hard every day after school, putting in extra hours on her own, until her strength, stamina, and skills in the water improve. A crisis at the end of the school year is resolved in a very surprising way.

Sample: Jordan with her basketball team

 

Sample: Jordan takes Marshmallow home

As someone who is disabled by chronic illness--and had two young sons disabled by the same illness when they were very young (one is now recovered)--I can tell you with certainty that it is very rare to see a disabled child in a book for kids and adolescents. It's even more rare to see a disabled child who is a talented athlete. But this wonderful book is about more than just Jordan's disability. It's about friendship, family, and overcoming all kinds of challenges. I like that Jordan's challenges here are both related to her disability--not being able to play her favorite sport anymore--and entirely "normal" kinds of challenges that all kids face with friendship, acceptance, and trying to learn a new skill. There is also a touch of fantasy woven throughout the story, for extra fun. The gorgeous, colorful watercolor images help to tell the story and also to literally paint a full picture of what daily life in Indonesia is like (and some extras at the back add to that). Together, the pictures and text/dialogue tell a magical story of an ordinary girl in a different culture than most readers are familiar with, facing challenges that all kids can relate to.

365 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Challenge

Diversity Challenge

Travel the World in Books - Indonesia 

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

    

 

Or you can order Marshmallow and Jordan from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.