Growing Minds Through Reading

  Watch the book trailer for Almost American Girl . BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha, Robin. ALMOST AMERICAN GIRL:  AN ILLUSTRATED MEMOIR.  New York: Balzer + Bray, 2020. ISBN: 9780062685117. PLOT SUMMARY:  Chuna lives in Seoul, Korea with her mother.  She shares memories of how her childhood has been being an only child with a single mom in Korea.  One day, her mom takes her on vacation to Huntsville, Alabama.  Chuna believes it’s just a trip to America which excites her.  When Chuna realizes that the stay is permanent because her mom has decided to get married, she is devasted.  She was unable to say bye to her friends and gather her belongings.  From one day to another, Chuna’s life has changed dramatically.  One of the big changes is having to change her name so she can “blend in” at school.  She decides to change her name to Robin.  She starts school where she struggles with understanding because of her limited English, being bull...

BIBLIOGRAPHY Saeed, Aisha. Amal Unbound. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-399-54468-2. PLOT SUMMARY:  Amal is a twelve-year-old who loves to learn and hopes to become a teacher one day.  As the eldest daughter, Amal must stop attending school to help with the house chores after her mom has a hard timer recuperating after her delivery.  One day, on her back home from the market, Amal has an incident that changes her life drastically.  After insulting Jawad Sahib, the village’s powerful landlord’s son, Amal must leave her beloved family and go to the Khan’s estate as a servant.  Amal with other servants takes a big risk to win their freedom as well as free their village from the control of the Khan family.  ANALYSIS: Amal is a twelve-year-old Pakistani girl who has many dreams.  She is very studious and loves to learn new things.  She considers many of things unfair such as not being able to spend time with her good friend Omar...

  Watch the author, Joanna Ho, read her story Eyes that Kiss in the Corners .  BIBLIOGRAPHY Ho, Joanna and Dung Ho. EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS. New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2021. ISBN: 978-0-06-291562-7. PLOT SUMMARY:  A young girl observes that her eyes are different from other girls.  Her eyes are like her Mama’s, eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.  Her Mama’s eyes tell the girl how much she means to her Mama just like her Mama means a lot to her.  Her Mama’s eyes are like Amah’s eyes, her grandmother.  Amah’s eyes kiss in the corners and even though her eyes do not work the same, her eyes still tell many stories.  The girl’s sister, Mei-Mei has the same eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.  They all have the same eyes that are just beautiful. ANALYSIS: This young girl recognizes the beauty in her eyes and the eyes of the women important in her life.  She knows that her eyes ho...