Annotations+for+Contemporary+Realistic+Fiction

Annotations for Contemporary Realistic Fiction
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//Pat's picks:// __How to Steal A Dog__ by Barbara O’Connor, Farrar Strauss & Giroux 2007, grades 4-6 Georgina’s family is stuck in hard times since her father left and she and her mother and younger brother were evicted from their apartment. Her mother says living in the car is “temporary” while she works two jobs and tries to save for an apartment. Georgina looks after her younger brother and tries to come up with a way to make money to help out her mother, and is inspired by a lost dog poster that offers a $500 reward. All she has to do is find the right dog owner (one with money), steal the dog, return the dog, collect the money, and her life will be better. Her plan works well on paper, but is undermined by her conscience.

This is a good story with a moral ending, and Georgina’s pull-and-tug of conscience all along the way is very interesting reading. The most intriguing part of the story, though, is Georgina’s description of homelessness, and how it affects her outlook on friends and school. Her words are pointed and powerful as she tells of her former friends going to ballet school and girl scouts while Georgina hides in the car with her brother. Told from the perspective of a 10-year-old, I think this story can be easily understood by children, and will inspire lots of discussions about homelessness.

__So B. It__ by Sarah Weeks, Laura Geringer, 2004, grades 5-7 Twelve-year-old Heidi lives with her mentally-retarded non-verbal mother, and foster mom/neighbor who is agoraphobic. She has always wondered about her mom’s life, and doesn’t even know her real name, so Heidi has little hopes of ever finding about more of her mother, herself, or the father she never knew. She finds photos of her mother and follows the clues on a cross-country journey from Reno, Nevada to Liberty, New York to find out her mother’s real name and where she came from.

Brave little Heidi is smart and resourceful, a most realistic character, who deals with life’s hardships by being a survivor. Heart-tugging story of a little girl who is surrounded by love, but must go on the journey alone because the adults in her life are incapable. This was a respectful handling of the mother’s mental retardation, and the foster mom’s agoraphobia, which I liked a lot, but the story’s ending was a bit too predictable.

__Drita, My Homegirl__ by Jenny Lombard, Putnam, 2006, grades 4-6 Maxine is a popular and strong-willed girl who tends to tease others. Drita is a refugee from Kosovo who is learning English, and happens to be the person Maxine teases. As a punishment, Maxine is assigned to learn about Kosovo, and she is forced to associate with unpopular Drita. As she learns more about Kosovo, and why Drita’s family escaped, Maxine becomes a mentor to Drita and the two girls gradually come together as friends.

This is a lovely and realistic friendship story that incorporates family, learning, and respect. Maxine’s journey to understanding is the whole story, and it is very believable because she struggles and resists the change. This would make a wonderful read aloud (despite the few phrases written in Albanian), and would begin many discussions about tolerance.

Helen's picks. Two Old Potatoes and Me describes life with divorced parents, indirectly. The girl is not very happy about going to her dad’s. Then she finds two gross potatoes in the back of the cupboard and her dad suggests they plant them. In future visits they tend the potato garden, which reinforces the notion of extended time between visits. In one visit she discusses her room at mom’s house. It is a very gentle, thoughtful book that gives young children the reassurance that even though things will be different, they will just be a different sort of normal. The protagonist has a happy and meaningful relationship with her estranged parent. Young elementary K-2.
 * Coy, John. //Two Old Potatoes and Me//. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2003.**

Jimmy needs to cope with a new home and all it’s connotations along with playing in a new baseball team. He moves from a house with his parents to a small apartment with his dad. It is not overly sentimental nor preachy, the focus is on Jimmy learning to cope through his game. Mom is mentioned a little, it is more the absence of mother that speaks volumes. There are a lot of sports action details for the baseball fans. Good for older elementary, grades 3-5.
 * Wallace, Rich. //Southpaw//. New York, Viking, 2006**

When the story begins a formerly excellent student, Curtis, is struggling in school. His parents are recently divorced after a lot of fighting. Mom allows him to get a dog but problems ensue and Curtis has to deal with them. A good illustration of the sorts of stresses and anxieties common with the upheaval of divorce and a good story too! Grades 3-5.
 * Hurwitz, Johanna. //One Small Dog//. New York, Harper Collins, 2000**

** This story tackles cultural diversity at the same time as many other important familial and gender issues. When Young Ju Park is five years old, her family moves from Korea to California. Young Ju park thinks America will be a wonderful place,Heaven, and when she discovers otherwise she is so disappointed that she wants to go back to Korea and live with her grandmother. Uncle Tim, trying to console his niece, suggests that maybe America can be “a step from Heaven. However, life in American, presents many problems for Young Ju’s family. While jobs and money are few and far between, her father becomes depressed, angry, and very violent. When they first arrive to California her little brother is born. Young Ju experiences firsthand her father’s sexism as he favors the little boy. Toward this end of this story her father beats her mother so severely that Young Ju has to call the police. We experience Young Ju Park’s accimation to a new culture and her own family within the pages of this suspenseful tale. ** This is a wonderful story about a young Hispanic boy named Tomas. Tomas' family has to move every summer miles away in order for his parents to find work picking fruit out in the fields. Tomas' grandfather tells him many stories, and Tomas decides to visit the library to learn some new stories to share with his family. Tomas is welcomed by a sweet librarian who takes an interest in helping him find books. They become good friends and Tomas teaches her some words in Spanish. After the long, hot summer is over Tomas' family must move again in order for them to find more work. He makes his last visit to the library and tells his librarian friend good-bye. Tomas' grandfather goes with him to thank the librarian for all her help. This is a great book for all students, especially spanish speaking kids. The pictures are colorful and really bring the story to life. Also, it involves a helpful librarian! ** Tessa’s Pick! ** **  This beautifully written coming-of-age tale is a vivid, candid description of a teenagers life in a proud but struggling Mexican-American community. Sofia, a young teenager struggles to hold on to her Latino heritage while assimilating into the other world of an elite private preparatory school in Austin, Texas. The story starts when Sofia is teased in elementary school, where a few white students call her a “taco head.” After a teacher convinces Sofia that succeeding in school and life is the best way to get back at these students, Sofia works very hard to become one of the best students and soccer players in her school and is offered a scholarship to the elite Saint Luke’s School. Sofia must then convince herself and her family that she is up for the challenge, while staying true to her Heritage.
 * Tessa’s Pick! **
 * “A Step From Heaven,” by An Na (Front Street: 2001).
 * Tessa’s Pick! **
 * “Tomas and The Library Lady,” by Pat Mora (Random House Inc, 1997).
 * “The Tequila Worm,” by Viola Canales (Wendy Lamb Books, 2005).

**// Amazing Grace //**. Written by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch (Dial Books for Young Readers: 1991) This story is about a little girl named Grace. Grace loves when stories are read to her and she enjoys acting them out. Her class is performing the play “Peter Pan” and Grace wants to try out to be “Peter Pan”, the main character. This is a problem for the rest of the students as they think a boy should play the part and that the boy should be white like Peter Pan was. Grace seeks the advice of her grandmother and is told that she can do anything. Despite the disapproval of her peers, Grace tries out for the part and gets it because she puts on a great performance. This would be a great book for kids in fourth or fifth grade. Teaching Guide: [] When Danny Bigtree’s family moves to a new city, he feels like he doesn’t fit in with the other kids. He begins missing his Mohawk reservation and wishes he was living there again. The students in his class tease him about being an Indian and he longs to be courageous and stand up for himself and the pride he holds for his heritage. This book would be great for kids in fourth or fifth grade. Lesson Plan: [] ** The Name Jar. ** Wrtten by Yangsook Choi (Alfred A. Knopf: 2001) On the first day of school, a little girl named Unhei is teased about her Korean name by the other students on the bus. Then in class the teacher asks her to introduce herself to the class and she tells the other students that she hasn’t chosen one yet. The other students decide to put their name suggestions in a name jar. Each day Unhei reads the names in the jar but can’t find one she thinks fits her. A boy in her class chooses a Korean name for a nickname and tells her he is called “Chinku” (friend). Unhei decides to keep her own name and the other kids are glad she does. This book is great for students in k indergarten through second grade. I read this one out loud to my first through fourth grade students and they all enjoyed the story. Lesson Plan: []
 * // Eagle Song //**. Written by Joseph Bruchac. Illustrated by Dan Andreasen (San Val: 1999)

Audrey's Picks School Library Journal called **//Donuthead// by Sue Stauffacher** **(Dell Yearling: 2003)** “an appealing story with some memorable characters and a lot of heart”. Okay, I guess, but I thought it was hysterical, not just “appealing” -- //marvelous//. Franklin Delano Donuthead is afflicted with an anxiety disorder, OCD and his unfortunate name. He develops a long-distance friendship with a woman from the National Safety Department who he calls regularly for statistical counsel. "I avoid motor vehicles whenever possible. According to the National Safety Department, this is by far the most likely way to die as a kid. I also avoid all bodies of water (drowning's number two)." His tough-as-nails sidekick Sarah is an unlikely companion, who doesn't "take crap from anyone,” but the friendship that grows up between them is beautiful and tender, and it makes them both whole. This is a very funny book, and one that I think worried children everywhere will be relieved to find on the shelves. In **//A Crooked Kind of Perfect// (Harcourt: 2007), Linda Urban’s** main character, Zoe, is struggling with dreams of perfection and her all-too-less-than-perfect reality. She has her fair share of worry and self-doubt. Her father, though, is utterly crippled by anxiety. His agoraphobia keeps him chained to the house, where he spends a lot of his time earning crackpot degrees from correspondence courses – he has 26. Zoe’s workaholic mother tends to reduce life to a basic accounting system and has arguably less to offer by way of support to her than her dad, so Zoe’s path to perfection has plenty of pitfalls. This is another very funny story with quirky characters and human failings that delivers a big message. Through her music and her heroes -- like Vladimir Horowitz who says, “perfection itself is imperfection” -- Zoe stops worrying so much about ideals. She learns the importance of self-acceptance and the power of embracing life with all its dreadful flaws.
 * Worried** . I’m afraid to say I have more than just a passing interest in this theme. It’s my number one personal demon, so maybe that’s why I like these books so much?
 * //[[image:AlvinHo.jpg width="76" height="119" align="left"]]Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters//** **(Schwartz & Wade Books: 2009**) (Grades 2-4) is the second Alvin Ho book by **Lenore Look**. (//Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things// was the first, and this is not a series, as such, at least not yet.) Alvin Ho is a Chinese-American second-grader who comes from a long line of farmer-warriors (remember //Ivanhoe//?). He lives in Concord, MA where Henry David Thoreau is the school hero. In tough times, Alvin likes to consider: What would Henry do? But, he points out, he would never actually say that at school, “where I never say anything. This is on account of school is mortifying.” In this book, Alvin has to confront the great outdoors, which, to him, is not so great, so having a hero like Henry, outdoorsman extraordinaire, might prove helpful. Like the other two authors in this group, Lenore Look gives her readers lots of humor and honesty as ways of coping with the stress and strain and sometimes sheer anguish of being a kid. And something else I learned from this book, hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia = fear of long words.

Tarah's Picks

Extra Credit, by Andrew Clements. Abby, who doesn't like to do homework, is going to be left behind in 6th grade if she doesn't step it up quite a bit. One of the requirements she must meet to move on to 7th grade is to do an extra credit project that turns out to be a pen pal project. She starts writing to a girl in Afghanistan, only it turns out to be a boy writing back through his sister because it would not be proper for an Afghani boy to be writing to an American girl of the same age. Through the letters they find a connection and learn a lot about their respective cultures, even though they are thousands of miles apart. This book makes American students aware that there is a huge world out there that we may know little about, but that people everywhere are basically the same.

The Gold-Threaded Dress, by Carolyn Marsden. As an American woman married to a man from Thailand, the author is writing from the experience of her half-Thai daughter. It's not easy for 10-year-old Oy to fit into her school, even though there is diversity there. She feels she doesn't fit in because some of the other students make fun of her and call her Chinese and she is too shy to speak up to set them straight. She does eventually make friends and starts to see that everyone has their own heritage that should be celebrated.

The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin. Similar to the Gold-Threaded Dress, this story is about a Chinese American girl growing up immersed in two different cultures. She even uses different names- her American name Grace at school, and her Chinese name Pacy at home. She is very aware of the differences, but comes to terms with both, even after facing taunts from Chinese girls that she is too Americanized, and from Americans who are sometimes ignorant of other cultures.

**Yoko,** written by Rosemary Wells: Rosemary Wells touching character Yoko shares with students the importance of cultural diversity. Yoko is a young girl with Japanese ancestry, who likes sushi and red bean ice cream. They were her favorites until the kids at school began teasing her. Mrs. Jenkins, Yoko’s teacher decides to hold an International Food Day in her classroom. Many foreign dishes were served and one friend comes to see how special Yoko’s sushi can be.
 * Mary's Picks:**

**The World Turns Round and Round** written by Nicki Weiss: In her book Nicki Weiss shares with children the importance of celebrating differences. Weiss takes the reader on a journey around the globe introducing them to various children, relatives, clothing, and cultural language.

**The Other Side** written by Jacqueline Woodson. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. The Other Side is a beautiful and touching story about two girls who become friends during a time of racial difference. A young girl named Clover lived in a big yellow house that shared a fence with the other town’s people. The fence separated the black side of town with the white side of town. Every day a girl named Annie would come and sit on top of the fence. She would watch Clover and her friends play and often wished she could join them. As the summer wore on, Clover walked over to Annie and the two struck up a friendship. Annie shared with Clover how nice it was to sit on top of the fence, “you can see all over” she said. But the fence was a symbol, a structure, not to be crossed. This message was confusing to the girls, so they decide that since they are not allowed to go over the fence, there is nothing wrong with sitting on it. Woodson’s book sends a powerful message at the end and E.B. Lewis’ beautiful watercolor illustrations enhance further beauty to the story.


 * Megan's Picks:**

// Project Mulberry // (Gr 4-7) by Linda Sue Park: Julia and Patrick are entering a project in the state fair with their Wiggle Club. Julia’s mother comes up with the idea to grow silkworms, like the ones her grandmother had grown in Korea. Julia’s family is the only Korean family in the neighborhood. Patrick thinks it’s a great idea, but Julia does not want to enter something Korean in the fair. She knows the others in the club will be doing “American” things like growing crops and baking. “Silkworms just didn’t seem like a good Wiggle project to me. They didn’t fit into the big-red barn picture. They were too…too…too Korean.” Julia goes through stages in the story-from trying to get out of the project, to accepting it, and finally to being proud of it. // Halmoni’s Day // (Gr 1-3) by Edna Coe Bercaw: Jennifer’s school is celebrating Grandparents’ Day. Jennifer’s grandmother comes from Korea just in time. Jennifer gets worried about what her classmates will think of her grandmother. She worries that her grandmother will embarrass her. After all, she can’t speak English and she dresses in Korean dress! On the contrary, her grandmother is a hit with the class. She tells them a family story that is translated into English by Jennifer’s mother. Jennifer ends up feeling proud of her grandmother, rather than embarrassed by her. // Peiling and the Chicken-Fried Christmas // (Gr 4-6) by Pauline Chen: Peiling wants to celebrate an American Christmas more than anything. She is Taiwanese and celebrates the Chinese New Year instead. Peiling is embarrassed because she’s different from her classmates. She finally convinces her uncle and mother, who in turn convince her father. Although she gets her wish, the Christmas dinner doesn’t turn out the way she expects. Her mother steams the turkey instead of roasting it, and her family sings karaoke instead of traditional Christmas carols. After Christmas, things start to get better for Peiling. She gets one of the lead roles in the school play, “The Prince and the Pauper, ”and ends up making a friend.

//**Pat's choices:**//

__The Wanderer__ by Sharon Creech, Harper Trophy 2005, grades 6-8 Thirteen-year-old Sophie decides to join her uncles and male cousins on a sailing voyage from Connecticut across the Atlantic to England on a 45-foot sailboat (which greatly concerns her adoptive parents). Sophie hears the sea calling her and feels she must make the trip to see her grandfather Bompie, and recalls stories of him along the way of her discovery voyage. The story is told alternately by Sophie and her cousin, Cody. Every character in the story is lost or unhappy in some way, and each one is changed by the summer-long voyage, and most especially Sophie. This is a rare and delicate handling of a girl who doesn’t remember the trauma of losing her parents in the sea, and needs to return to the sea to remember. Sophie is strengthened by the love and encouragement of her adoptive family, which makes this amazing story so wonderful. I highly recommend this for 6th or 7th grade, and it’s on the top of my list of books about foster kids. __The Lemonade War__ by Jacqueline Davies, Houghton Mifflin 2007, grades 4-6 Evan is about to be a fourth grader and he’s upset that his too-smart kid sister Jessie is going to be in his class next year. Jessie has skipped a grade, and is anxious about making friends in fourth grade. The previously close brother and sister start to fight, then decide to best each other in selling lemonade, and so begins the lemonade war. Very cute and realistic story about a brother and sister trying to prove something to each other, which so many of us can relate to. The author found an interesting way to intersperse the story with math as the characters’ earnings add up. In the end, the quantity of the money is not the dominant idea, fixing the relationship between brother and sister is what really matters. I really like the message of this story, and I think it will appeal to boys and girls equally.

__A Week In the Woods__ by Andrew Clements, Aladdin 2004, grades 4-6 Mark is a rich kid who joins a 5th grade class and really doesn’t care about making friends or doing well because he knows he’ll move on to a new school in the fall. Mr. Maxwell is the teacher who sees Mark’s apathy and tries to change his outlook. As Mark gets accustomed to his rural New Hampshire surroundings, he discovers an old barn and becomes interested in using the resources of nature, and he finds new skills. At the annual 5th grade camping trip, A Week in the Woods, Mark is wrongly accused of breaking a rule, and he runs away from camp to avoid being sent home, and is forced to survive alone in the woods. What Mark doesn’t realize is that Mr. Maxwell goes to find him, and the two must cooperate to survive in the woods. Wonderful opposition of main characters – the stubborn 5th grader and the intelligent science teacher, who are thrust into a survival situation and find a way to resolve their differences. This should be required reading for any kid who has had a conflict with an adult because Clements gives us two very human and balanced sides of the story.


 * Mia’s Pick!**

The Seed Folk by Paul Fleischman
This is a chapter book. A story about a vacant lot turned into a community garden. The simple act of planting vegetables and flowers changes people and connects them in ways nothing else could have. People of vastly different ages, backgrounds, professions, beliefs, all share this passion for their gardens.


 * Marcia's Picks**

I think Gutman is a master at creating realistic, appealing fiction for kids. Whisper Nelson wins a contest and earns the chance to win a million dollars if she can kick a goal against a professional goal keeper. The problem is Whisper hates sports, and considers herself a nerd and outsider. The blend of realistic middle-school social dynamics, sports, and humor create a winning book. Others in the series are as good: //The Million Dollar Shot, The Million Dollar Putt, The Million Dollar Strike// and //The Million Dollar Goal.// Combining sports, a healthy dash of humor and interesting kids, often from difficult family situations, Gutman reels in his reader. Recommended for students in grades 4-8.
 * //[[image:kick.jpg width="71" height="111" align="left"]]The Million Dollar Kick//** **by Dan Gutman. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2001.**

The beautifully written story of Lonnie Collins Motion aka “Locomotion” a foster child, who through a series of letters to his sister, reveals details of his loving foster family, and particularly his foster brother’s injuries in the Iraq war. Lonnie’s friendships are explored and he talks abut his feelings of his parents dying in a fire. A sequel to the amazing //Locomotion//, this book is touching, hopeful, loving and ultimately, peace-filled. Not to be missed by readers in grades 4 and up.
 * //[[image:peace.jpg align="left"]]Peace, Locomotion//** **by Jacqueline Woodson. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2009.**



Cap Anderson has been home schooled on the farm of his hippie-back-to-the-earth grandmother. When she becomes ill, he is forced, for the first time to attend public school. His sweet, naïve spirit is tested by the middle-school ethos he encounters. At times funny, sad, and maddening, //Schooled// does a nice job of commenting on popularity and social stigma as we see middle school through Cap’s eyes. For students in grades 4-9 (I bet some high school students would enjoy this as well.)
 * //Schooled//** **by Gordon Korman. New York, Hyperion Books for Chidlren, 2007.**

Tracy's Picks //Rules //, by Cynthia Lord, (**Scholastic:2006)** for grades 4 - 7 Being 12 years old is hard enough, but when your best friend is gone for the summer, your dad works ALL the time, and your brother is Autistic, it is really hard. Catherine love her brother, but David can be a handful, and it pains her to see others tease him. Catherine has rules that she tries to help her brother follow: “It’s fine to hug mom, but not the clerk at the video store.” and “Leaving out isn’t the same as lying”. The rules aren’t just for David; the rules are written throughout the book, and often apply to Catherine’s situation. Catherine goes to the clinic where her brother has occupational therapy; that is where she meets Jason. Jason, a patient at the clinic, is in a wheelchair and he uses a communication board. Their friendship grows, even though Catherine is nervous about how other people will react to him. She is trying to be friends with the new girl next door, and she is afraid of what Kristi will think of her dating Jason. This story seems so real, and the emotions of the ‘tweens’ are accurate. Catherine loves her brother, but worries that he will embarrass her; she likes Jason, but worries about how others will judge her; she loves her dad, but he doesn’t seem to notice that Catherine needs him, too. The characters are real; they make mistakes but they keep trying. These struggles will ring true with many young readers.

//Lawn Boy //, by Gary Paulsen (**Random House: 2007**) for grade 4 -8. It looked like an ordinary, boring summer for the 12 year old narrator until his quirky grandmother give him a ride on lawn mower for his birthday. The family is struggling financially, and all he wants is a new inner tube for his bike, which he can’t afford. One neighbor asks him to mow his lawn, and by the end of the day, his business has expanded. He couldn’t keep up with the demand! An eccentric neighbor, Arnold, who looks like he “flunked out of clown school”, but is a stockbroker, offers to help with labor and with investing Lawn Boy’s money. Pasqual, who only comes out at night, and his friends and family become Lawn Boy’s employees. Arnold invests the money and sponsors a professional fighter (Joey Pow), who turns out to be an ally when a rival lawn mowing ‘gang’ threatens the business. Lawn Boy doesn’t want to tell his parents about the business because he doesn’t want them to feel bad- he is waiting for the right time. The right time comes when Arnold is held captive by the rival ‘gang’. Lawn Boy realizes that he needs his smart parents to help him. This feel good story ends with Lawn Boy earning close to half a million dollars, thanks to Arnold’s smart investing. Not bad for a kid looking to get enough money to by an inner tube for his bike! This book is humorous, a little mysterious, and sprinkled with some action. Is Arnold really investing the money correctly? Who is this Joey Pow, and Pasqual with his lawn mowing gang? Lawn Boy’s thoughts and humorous one liners seem to ring true; he sounds like an average 12 year old boy. Each chapter ends with a small cliff hanger, and each chapter starts with an interesting title. “The Growth of Capitalism”, “Business and the Art of Creative Misrepresentation” and “Conflict Resolution and Its Effects on Economic Policy” are three of the creative titles. Reluctant reader will enjoy this short, engaging story. //The Year of the Dog a novel // by Grace Lin (**Little Brown and Company: 2006**) for grades 3 - 7 It is the Year of the Dog, the year when 12 year old Pacy will ‘find herself’. The Year of the Dog is the year for friends and family, it is also a good year for finding yourself. This what Pacy’s other sister tells her. Pacy, also known by her American name Grace, is confused about who she is. Is she American, Chinese, Taiwanese, Chinese American? When she is with her American friend, she feels too Chinese, when she is with Chinese and Taiwanese friends, she sometimes feels too American. Pacy’s mother often offers support by telling of incidents she experienced as a young Chinese girl coming to American. It is supposed to be Pacy’s lucky year because she was born in the Year of the Dog. Her science fair project doesn’t work out so well, the boy she likes doesn’t like her back, and her Halloween costume has a malfunction. Luck finally comes her way when she wins fourth place in the National Written and Illustrated Awards Contest. She writes a book about her mother’s Chinese vegetable garden after she had a hard time finding a book or movie that depicted real Chinese people. Through the year, Pacy had ups and downs, but she remained true to herself and her family and discovered that she is herself, and she is a writer and illustrator. This story will resonate with children of all ages and ethnicities. Pacy’s journey of self discovery is similar to most twelve year olds. Her story is different from other coming of age stories in that she is struggling with ethnic identity in addition to pre-teen self discovery. Grace Lin fills the story with Chinese cultural facts including baby celebrations (bring a red egg for wealth and prosperity), and Chinese New Year traditions (red and black candy trays with Chinese candy so that the year is sweet). It is interesting to read about the food choices and the dress that Pacy and her family wear to celebrations. This is an excellent book choice that will offer much to discuss and explore. **Tracy's Picks for Diversity in Contemporary Realistic Fiction** These books offer comfort for siblings of children with Autism. It is nice to be resuured that we are not alone, and that our feelings are shared by others.

//**Andy and His Yellow Frisbee **////( //Woodbine House September, 1996)  by Mary Thompson is the story of Andy, a little boy who spins a yellow frisbee during recess. Sarah watches him all recess long day after day; one day she brings her pink frisbee in and tries to engage Andy. Andy's sister Rosie watches Andy from a distance every day. When she sees Rosie approach her brother, she becomes nervous and protective of Andy. What will Andy do? How will Sarah react? The end of the story has facts about Autism that are easy for young children to understand. //**Waiting for Benjamin a true story about Autism**(//Albert Whitman March 1, 2008)  by Alexandra Jessup Altman is story told from the point of view of the Alexander, brother of Benjamin. Alexander tries to engage his younger brother without success. He mostly just rocks on the wobbly stool and wiggles his fingers, according to Alexander. One of Alexander's friends once said, 'that is is a wacko'. He tries to understand what is happening, but gets angry and jealous of his brother. This is a great book to open a conversation about the feelings a sibling is having. What a comfort for a sibling to know that he/she is not alone and that the emotions he/she feels are okay.


 * //Rules //****(Scholastic, 2006) **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9.5pt;">by Cynthia Lord is the story of a tween girl who has an Autisic brother. In a true tween voice, she explores the feelings of embarrassment, protectiveness, and jealousness that she feels. She deals with 'friends' making fun of her brother, and with jealousy over ther parents attention to him. A great story for older students to again, feel like their situation is not unique.


 * //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9.5pt;">Al Capone Does My Shirts //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 9.5pt;"> (Puffin, 2006) by Genifer Choldenko is the story of a boy who lives on Alcatraz because his dad takes a job at the prison to be able to afford a school for his daughter who has Autism. Told from the point of view of Moose, the brother of Natalie - this story offers the same themes fear and embarrassment of his sibling who is different, protecting her from the outside world and the people who don't understand her, and parents who are too busy with work and Natalie to pay him much attention.