 Set in 1980s Vietnam, Tho and his best friend, Lam, love cricket fighting, and soccer, but there is fear in his village that twelve-year-old boys, like them, will be conscripted into the Communist army. People are trying to leave Vietnam and move to safer countries. One day, Lam and his brother disappear. Tho’s family sells their furniture to make money to send Tho and his brother, Vu, away. Vu leaves first and a year later Tho boards a small boat to escape. He stows away on a pirate boat, crosses the South China Sea, and eventually gets to a refugee camp in Palawon in the Philippines, where he stays for six months. Finally, a Canadian elementary school teacher adopts him and he flies to his new home in Toronto. This harrowing story is based on true events in the author’s life. A map, a pronunciation guide, an afterword, and a brief recent history of Vietnam further enhance Tho’s intense account of his journey. mjw |
| Title: The Cricket War Author: Tho Pham and Sandra Mc Tavish Publisher: Kids Can Press Ltd., Toronto Copyright: 2023 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-5253-0655-6 Hardcover pages: 160 Age range: 9-12 Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: Vietnam; Palawan, Philippines; Toronto, Canada Author’s ethnicity: Vietnamese Author’s residence: Ottawa, Canada (Pham), Madoc, Ontario (McTavish) Subjects: Asian- Canadian authors, Boat people, Diverse characters, Hunger, Loneliness, Immigration, Pirates, Refugee camps, Refugees, Survival, Vietnam |
The Cricket War
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Vera and her family live on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, which seems like the edge of the world. A map of the peninsula includes geographical features and native animal life. Vera shares her most valuable things – her feather collections; her favorite book: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; her flashlight; and her favorite food – syrniki (cottage cheese and pancakes). She introduces her mom and her grandma but says that she doesn’t have any friends. She also describes her sekretik – a secret treasure of blue glass, Legos, and forget-me-nots. Lucas and his family live in a small town on the coast of Chile, which also seems like the edge of the world. A map of his country also includes geographical features and native animal life. Lucas shares his most valuable things – ammonite fossils, his soccer ball, his flashlight, his favorite food – a hamburger, and his favorite book: The Hobbit. He introduces his mom, dad, and his grandma. He, too, has no friends. One evening, both Vera and Lucas go to the beach, and blink their flashlights into the dark using the international language of Morse Code. “What if I had a friend over there, beyond the edge of the world?” If they look hard enough, they’ll find that we’re all so very similar, and connected to each other. One set of endpapers shows the Morse Code. The other endpapers present a map depicting Russia, Chile, and the 9942 miles of Pacific Ocean between the children’s homes. The interesting illustrations were created digitally in this unique flip-formatted, two-story picture book
Heidi, the Swiss classic, is one of the bestselling books of all time. This new picture book version tells about Heidi and her grandfather living in the Alps, Heidi’s difficult move to Frankfurt to live with wheelchair-bound Clara, and Heidi’s return home to the mountains and her grandfather, complete with Clara’s recovery. Thirty bold, handcrafted paper-cut and digital collage illustrations capture Heidi’s heartwarming story, which is as relevant today as ever. mjw
Jojo is learning to dance between two worlds. His grandmother, who learned the tinikling in the Philippines and now lives in America, encourages him to dance to the bamboo beat. She teaches the dance at the cultural center. He finds it difficult at first, but eventually, he “spins and hops to the rhythm of his life,” jumping between the two clapping bamboo poles. Ample use of onomatopoeia with the clapping, clicking, and tapping of the bamboo poles and Tagalog words are integrated into the music of this festive story. At the end of the book, there is more information about the dance, which will inspire Americans of all cultures to appreciate the Filipino national dance. mjw
After her parents’ divorce, ten-year-old Electra (Ellie) moves to a new town with her mother and older brother. She is a spunky and stubborn girl who wants to make friends at her new school. Unfortunately, all of her new classmates are into sports and her mother pushes her to join a sports team. She is clumsy, fails at every sport, and consequently gets bullied. One night she attends a ballet performance with her family and discovers that what she really wants to do is dance. A new boy at school helps her to realize her dream. This positive graphic novel for middle graders is filled with humor and energetic cartoon illustrations that will make young readers smile. mjw
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