New year, new books, let’s goooo! There’s something immensely satisfying and exhilarating about looking ahead to a brand new year of books. Here’s what caught my eye for January, but there are so many more I didn’t have space to write about! My accidental theme this month (I love it when that happens) is families and immigrants.
Picture Books
“The Interpreter” written by Olivia Abtahi and illustrated by Monica Arnaldo
“Some kids had one job: to be a kid. Cecilia worked two.” Cecilia is constantly called on to be an interpreter for her Spanish-speaking parents. While it means she gets to go to special grown-up places like the DMV, it also means she doesn’t get much time to play with friends. Sometimes she’s so overwhelmed by switching back and forth between her two jobs that it’s hard to keep track of everything. When a sympathetic teacher asks how she’s doing at a parent-teacher conference, Cecilia finally has the opportunity to ask for help. While this could be a serious subject, it’s written and illustrated with wonderful humor. When working as an interpreter, Cecilia drinks coffee, carries a briefcase and wears an oversized green power suit that gets bigger and bigger as she gets overwhelmed. The Spanish and English dialogue is shown in different colored speech bubbles, and the characters’ facial expressions are eloquent. Bilingual kids in this situation will feel seen and valued, and kids outside this experience will gain understanding and sympathy.
“Zayde Babysits Before Passover” written by Jane Sutton and illustrated by Kate Chappell
It’s Zayde’s (Yiddish for grandfather) first time babysitting Ruthie all on his own. The other adults are preparing the Passover seder, so Ruthie’s mom gives Zayde an itemized list of activities for babysitting. With tasks like going to the grocery store, making a Passover art project, playing at the park and taking a nap, they have a full day planned. While they do stick to the list, Zayde and Ruthie put their own spin on things. Ruthie gleefully pushes Zayde in the shopping cart, while he victoriously waves the parsley they bought for the seder. Zayde does handstands and whooshes down the slide at the park, and he ends up taking a nap while Ruthie is wide awake. But everything comes together beautifully for the seder, and Zayde leads the family through the meal for a special night of family, traditions and joy. You don’t need to be Jewish to appreciate the intergenerational love and fun in this book!
Chapter Books
“No Purchase Necessary” by Maria Marianayagam
Ajay is tired of being known as “Obnoxious Ajay,” the boy always obsessed with his grades as he tries to please his strict immigrant parents. Now that he’s starting eighth grade at a new school, he wants desperately to get on the good side of the popular kids. When cool kid Jacob commands Ajay to steal a candy bar from the local convenience store, Ajay jumps at the opportunity…but Jacob rejects both the candy bar and Ajay. When he unwraps the bar to eat it himself, Ajay discovers the grand prize ticket for one million dollars. Now he’s facing not only the dilemma of being uncool in middle school, but what to do about a life-changing prize that he didn’t earn. Soon Ajay is lying to his parents and taking a part-time job at the convenience store to try and cover up the evidence of his theft, all while he wrestles with his own conscience. Apart from the compelling moral dilemma in this book, all of the side characters and Ajay’s family are wonderfully developed.
“Chickenpox” by Remy Lai
This is a loosely autobiographical graphic novel, perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier. Abby is a twelve-year-old who is constantly irritated by her four younger siblings. She just wants to spend time with her friends, at school and at their houses—far away from sticky fingers, bickering and potty humor. When she finally relents and invites her best friends to her house, they’re unimpressed by her attitude toward her little siblings. To make matters worse, her best friend unknowingly had chickenpox and infected the whole house! Now Abby is stuck quarantining with her brothers and sisters for the next two weeks, which might provide just the opportunity she needs to learn to have a little more grace for her family. Relatable family dynamics shine in this book, as does the setting in Indonesia in the 1990s. Landline eavesdropping, VHS and neon colors abound. As a bit of a fun twist, while this is based on the author’s childhood, the author is one of the annoying younger siblings, not the protagonist.
