It's Monday - Reading

           Every Monday, it's a pleasure to link up with a group that reviews books they want to share with others. Come discover some new books!

          Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who link up.   

Tweet #IMWAYR

          Don't forget this book at this time of year, and other times, too! Here is my review on Goodreads from a few years ago:  It's a terrific book by Janet S. Wong and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. I taught a short story group about looking through the lens of immigrants' eyes this past spring, and would have loved to have added this to the stories I read with the students. It is a wonderful story of the conflict people (children) have trying to please those in the new country, while keeping their birth country close to their hearts. More than one child thinks his or her parents have got it wrong in most things, whether from another culture or not, but Janet's story shows there is another layer when one's parents are from another culture. It's a wonderful book to encourage discussions about differences. 

                Lily started her life as Tim, Dunkin hates his given name, Norbert, but they still go to school, just started 8^th grade. How brave are those kids who are scared and know they don’t “fit”,  but keep going, despite the teasing, despite wishing they could be themselves, and without the constant worry to belong. All teachers need to read this book, to see that some kids keep dark secrets and continue to tell even their parents that everything is okay. But it isn’t okay, and sometimes it takes a crisis to discover what’s under all that bravado.  Donna Gephart has managed to tell a story full of anxiety and then of love all at the same time. We hear from Lily and Dunkin alternately, and see the parents’ worry and concern. We see kids who stand up for their friends, and those who can’t quite be brave enough. And we see one example of how bullying happens, passed down from a father. I wish I was still in the classroom, suspect that this is a book for all to read, those who see themselves in it, and those who need to understand what a classmate might be experiencing. From the text: “Sometimes our hearts see things our eyes can’t.”