Book Review- Bibliography- Young, E. (2011). The house baba built: An artist's childhood in china . Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0316076289 Plot Summary-  In Ed Young's childhood home in Shanghai, all was not as it seemed: a rocking chair became a horse; a roof became a roller rink; an empty swimming pool became a place for riding scooters and bikes. The house his father built was transformed as needed into a place to play hide-and-seek, eat bamboo shoots, and be safe. Outside the home's walls, China was at war. Soon the house held not only Ed and his four siblings but also friends, relatives, and even strangers who became family. The war grew closer, and Ed wa...

                                                                                Book Review: Bibliography- Kadohata, C. (2013). The thing about luck . Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-1442474659 Plot Summary-  Summer knows that kouun means “good luck” in Japanese, and this year her family has had none. Just when Summer thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong, an emergency whisks her parents away to Japan, right before harvest season. Leaving Summer and her little brother, Jaz, in the care of their elderly grandparents, Obaachan and Jiichan. Obaachan and Jiichan are old fashioned, very demanding, and easily disappointed. Between helping Obaachan cook for the workers, all the other chores, and worrying about her little brother, who can't seem to make any friend...

                                                                        Book Review: Bibliography- Patel, S. (2021). Rani patel in full effect (1st ed.). Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN 978-1941026502 Plot Summary-  Almost seventeen, Rani Patel appears to be a kick-ass Indian girl breaking cultural norms as a hip-hop performer in full effect. But in truth, she's a nerdy flat-chested nobody who lives with her Gujarati immigrant parents on the remote Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, isolated from her high school peers by the unsettling norms of Indian culture where "husband is God." Her parents' traditionally arranged marriage is a sham. Her dad turns to her for all his needs―even the intimate ones. When Rani catches him two-timing with a woman barely older than herself, she feels like a widow and, like...

                                                                             Book Review Bibliography- Say, A. (2009). Tea with milk . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0547237473 Plot Summary-  At home in San Francisco, May speaks Japanese and the family eats rice and miso soup and drinks green tea. When she visits her friends’ homes, she eats fried chicken and spaghetti. May plans someday to go to college and live in an apartment of her own. But when her family moves back to Japan, she soon feels lost and homesick for America. In Japan everyone calls her by her Japanese name, Masako. She has to wear kimonos and sit on the floor. Poor May is sure that she will never feel at home in this country. Eventually, May is expected to marry and a matchmaker is hired. Out...

                                                                             Book Review: Bibliography- Bruchac, J. (2005). Code talker . Scholastic Paperbacks. ISBN- 978-0142405963 Plot Summary-  Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years. Now Joseph Bruchac brings those stories to life through the riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His grueling journey is eye-opening and inspirin...

                                                                           Book Review:   Bibliography- Tingle, T. (2015). How i became a g host . Roadrunner Press. ISBN 978-1937054557 Plot Summary-  Told in the words of Isaac, a Choctaw boy who does not survive the Trail of Tears, How I Became A Ghost is a tale of innocence and resilience in the face of tragedy. From the book's opening line, "Maybe you have never read a book written by a ghost before," the reader is put on notice that this is no normal book. Isaac leads a remarkable foursome of Choctaw comrades: a tough-minded teenage girl, a shape-shifting panther boy, a lovable five-year-old ghost who only wants her mom and dad to be happy, and Isaac’s talking dog, Jumper. The first in a trilogy, How I Became A Ghost, t...

                                                                       Book Review:   Bibliography- Boulley, A. (2021). Firekeeper's daughter . Henry Holt and Co. ISBN - 978-1250766564 Plot Summary-  Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concern...

                                                                    Book review- Bibliography- Bruchac, J. (1998). The first strawberries (1st ed.). Puffin Books Publisher. ISBN- 978-0140564099 Plot Summary-  From an award-winning Native American storyteller comes a captivating re-telling of a Cherokee legend, which explains how strawberries came to be. Long ago, the first man and woman quarreled. The woman left in anger, but the Sun sent tempting berries to Earth to slow the wife's retreat. Luminous paintings perfectly complement the simple, lyrical text. Critical Analysis- This book shares a Native American folktale that explains the origins of strawberries and explores themes of forgiveness, love, and the consequences of actions. The cultural representation in this book is authentic and factual. ...