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Lin, Grace. 2006. The Year of the Dog.

Call me prejudiced, but anytime the word “dog” is in the title of a book, I tend to regard it with suspicion. Is this another tragic dog story that is designed solely to make you weep??? Fortunately, the reviews (not to mention the cover and flaps) soon persuaded me that this was not that kind of ‘dog’ book. No, THE YEAR OF THE DOG is clearly a book about a Chinese-American family (or to be more precise a Tiawanese-American family). The bookend events of this book is Chinese New Year. The book follows the life of a young girl, “Grace” (or Pacy) through the course of a year. Along the way she makes new friends, learns some important lessons, and learns more about who she really is. The highlight of the book for me was the character’s transformation as she begins to take pride in who she is and embraces her culture by writing and narrating a book for a contest at school. Another highlight for me--that I absolutely loved--was the storytelling nature of the book. Chapters would be interrupted as family stories were shared. I loved the whole atmosphere of this book.

The author, Grace Lin, has written several picture books. This is her first novel. “I wrote it because this was the book I wished I had growing up.” I consider The Year of the Dog an essential must-have for any collection, and a must-read for every child. It really doesn’t get better than this. And the good news??? I just discovered that there will be a sequel THE YEAR OF THE RAT coming in 2008!!!!

http://www.gracelin.com/

Sonnenblick, Jordan. 2005. Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie.

Jordan Sonnenblick is one my new favorite authors. I read NOTES FROM A MIDNIGHT DRIVER a few weeks ago--although I haven't written the review yet--and absolutely loved it. This past week I read DRUMS, GIRLS, AND DANGEROUS PIE. I loved it too. Steven is a young teen--an eighth grader--who is about to face the toughest year of his life. In October, his younger brother (5 or 6???) is diagnosed with a serious life-threatening illness: leukemia. Suddenly, Steven's life is out of control. He's expected to behave much like before: go to school, do his homework, take his weekly drum lessons, practice for his All-Star Jazz Band...but he has even more responsibilities to shoulder. Now he has to tend for himself while his mom and brother are out of town a good percentage of the time. He has to deal with the fact that his father is emotionally shutting down and isolating himself from his family. He has to deal with the knowledge that his annoying little brother may not live very long. His brother's requests for games and attention can't be swept away and filed under "bothersome" any more. After facing days and weeks of horrible medical procedures, how can Steven be cruel and refuse to play a couple of games a night? And how can he beat his brother? Shouldn't his brother be allowed to win something at the end of the day. Yes, life is full of changes for Steven. Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie is the story of how he copes with those changes and becomes a stronger, more compassionate young man because of it.

http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/
Author Interview Jordan Sonnenblick at Cynsations
Another Interview with Jordan Sonnenblick
PW interview with Jordan Sonnenblick

Wright, Betty Ren. 2006. Princess for a Week. Illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers.

When Roddy Hall overhears his mother saying that "Princess" is coming to visit, he is excited--he's always wanted a dog. But then he finds out that--ick--Princess is a girl and--yuck--she'll be staying for a whole week.

Roddy is a young boy who has no use for girls and a lot of uses for a dog. When his mom's friend, Linda--who shows dogs for rich people--goes out of town she asks her friend to watch over Princess. Roddy is so excited he's practically speechless. In fact, he starts planning to rebuild a broken-down doghouse with his friend, Jacob. But the two best friends are in for quite a surprise when Princess turns out to be none other than "Princess Thornberry. My stepmother Linda dropped me off an hour ago. And if you think I'm going to sleep in a broken-down doghouse, you're crazy. Your mom said I get the bedroom with all the dinosaur posters" (5-6). That is only the beginning of Roddy's miserable adventures as Princess gets him in and out of trouble. It's bad enough, in his opinion, that Princess is a girl. But what really drives him crazy is that she's a girl who thinks she's a detective. A detective that is going to solve the mystery of the neighborhood's haunted house. How can he protect her when the place gives him the creeps. How can a girl have more courage and determination than a boy? And why is she so intent on proving herself to everybody???