Reviews
School Library Journal Reviews "In Andal's House"
In this introduction to the Hindu caste system, Kumar is invited to his friend Andal’s house to watch the fireworks for the celebration of Diwali. Andal is high-caste Brahmin, and his family is very wealthy. Kumar’s family had been outcasts and are concerned about the visit. Kumar is… View →
School Library Journal Reviews "Jasper's Story"
After her first encounter with the horrific practice of bear farming in China, Robinson made it her life’s work to rescue and rehabilitate as many of these abused animals as possible. She has also worked to end the cruel practice of bile extraction. Jasper’s Story tells of one moon bear… View →
A Book and A Hug Reviews "Jasper's Story"
“The small cages clattered and clanked and clanged as the truck made its way toward the Moon Bear Rescue Center” near Chengdu, China. This truck is carrying the precious cargo of Moon Bears who have been rescued from “horrid captive conditions” where their bile… View →
School Library Journal Reviews "Johnny Kaw"
This folk hero is larger-than-life in every sense of the word. In an effort to find a farm big enough for their boy, who seems to “gain a pound every hour,” the Kaw family heads westward. After crossing the Missouri River into what will become Kansas, the Kaws feel that they have found a View →
Midwest Book Review: "Johnny Kaw: A Tall Tale"
“Johnny Kaw: A Tall Tale” is a legendary folk hero creation tale from the plains and valleys of Kansas. In the tradition of Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan, Johnny Kaw is a young giant of a lad born to ordinary parents who finds his best landscape in the great… View →
Midwest Book Review: "Memoirs of a Hamster"
Everything can be perfect until someone else shows up and ruins it all for us. “Memoirs of a Hamster” children’s picturebook following the unusual adventures of Seymour the hamster who tries to escape the arrival of a new cat in his home to screw up in his perfect life. View →
School Library Journal Reviews "Paper Son: Lee's Journey to America"
Lee, 12, lives with his grandparents. His parents have died, but it was their wish that he go to America for better opportunities. In 1926, conditions are difficult in China, and the boy’s loving grandparents sadly agree that leaving would be the best thing for him. Immigration… View →
The Old Schoolhouse Reviews "The People of Twelve Thousand Winters"
In The People of Twelve Thousand Winters, Walking Turtle shares what it is like to be part of the Lenni Lenape tribe. Speaking in first person, he tells us how he got his name, about his cousin and his family. He shares some of the tribe’s beliefs. We get a glimpse of what his… View →
Booklist Reviews "In Andal's House"
Why would a little boy be invited to a classmate’s house to watch the Diwali fireworks only to be cruelly sent away by his friend’s grandmother? In this solemn but hopeful tale of one boy’s sad experience, readers will learn that lightness and darkness exist within all of us. Kumar is… View →
Las Vegas Review-Journal Reviews "Finnegan & Fox"
“It was the scariest half-hour of your… You were somewhere with Mom or Dad, and they let go of your hand for just a minute. Just a minute, and suddenly you were in a sea of legs with no idea what happened. You were totally, completely lost. You might’ve cri View →