Archive for Culture

Chloe in India

Written by Kate Darnton

This is a new-kid-in-class story with more than a couple of twists. The main character, one of the new kids, is an American girl in a Delhi, India school. Trying to fit into class five as only one of two blondes in the entire school, Chloe is confused by the somewhat subtle caste system still present in India. The Indian students are equally confused by her. Even her name is different. To Indian ears, Chloe sounds like chhole, a chickpea dish in Hindi. Chloe wants to be friends with the most popular girls but finds she has more in common with the EWS (economically weaker section) girl, Lakshmi. Lakshmi is not only a good and loyal friend but is clever and talented in ways Chloe can only guess at. On the other hand, the rich girl, Anvi, is jealous and vindictive. Chloe cannot quite bring herself to make her friendship with Lakshmi public, which causes bad feelings on many sides. Naturally, Chloe and Lakshmi to find a way

Fourth graders and up will get a chance to learn an awful lot about living in India and will learn a few words of Hindi along the way. This fascinating book has a lot to say about interpersonal relations as well as the effect social pressure has on lives. For this reason and for pure fun, we highly recommend it.

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  • ChloeTitle: Chloe in India
  • Author: Kate Darnton
  • Published: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, January 12, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
  • Grade Level: 4 to 7
  • Genre: Middle grade fiction, Culture, Interpersonal relations, Geography
  • ISBN: 978-0553535044

Dolls of Hope

Written by Shirley Parenteau

This delightful book is a charming example of the kind of goodwill that can be engendered by simply getting to know what you have in common with another culture.

In 1926, Dr. Sidney Gulick, a missionary, began the Friendship Dolls project. In an effort to cool tensions and avert the coming war, the group arranged for an exchange of dolls between the children of Japan and the USA. Of course, the project did not stop the war, but the it lives on and still engenders goodwill.

The story follows a country girl as she struggles to keep one foot in tradition and the other foot in the future. Eleven-year-old Chiyo is sent to a girls’ school to learn from the shining example of a general’s daughter, Hoshi. Her benefactor is her future brother-in-law, a wealthy landowner. Hoshi is completely jealous of Chiyo and tries to make her life miserable. Both are chosen to represent the school in a welcoming ceremony in Tokyo. While there, Chiyo manages to become the sweetheart of the city, getting her picture in the paper and befriending the master doll maker. Of course, Chiyo’s notoriety only adds to Hoshi’s jealousy. Chiyo ends up taking some dangerous risks in order to protect the American doll placed in her care. Not everyone is happy with her solution, but it does make very exciting reading.

Fourth graders can practice their literacy skills while learning about Friendship Dolls, Japan, and a few words of Japanese. They will also fulfill requirements in history learning about an era not always thought about.

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  • Dolls of HopeTitle: Dolls of Hope
  • Author: Shirley Parenteau
  • Published: Candlewick, 2015
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
  • Grade Level: 3 to 7
  • Genre: Historical Fiction, Culture
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-7752-7
  • Extras: Author’s Note, Glossary

A Handful of Stars

Written by Cynthia Lord

In this heartwarming and fun story, Lord’s characters ring true to life, informing development without hitting kids over the head with what they’re learning.

Lily lives in wild blueberry country, also known as Maine. She works hard, helping her Mémère and Pépère (grandmother and grandfather) run the only grocery in a small town. As the wild blueberry harvest progresses and the blueberry festival approach, Lily worries about her dog, who is going blind.  Two elements of blueberry growth that figure in the story are the migrants who work the harvest and the mason bees that pollinate the bushes. The new – very good – friend Lily makes is a migrant named Salma. Lily gets Salma started painting bee houses, the blocks of wood in whose holes the bees live. Lily plans to use the cash from selling the houses to help her dog. Meanwhile, Lily is dealing with her changing relationship with her best friend, Hannah, and with missing her dead mother. Hannah is the defending Blueberry Queen, Lily’s mother won the crown three years running, and Salma wants to enter the contest. So her emotions are extremely conflicted.

Lord packs a lot into this story. Fourth graders will find a lot to relate to regarding friendship and differences (and similarities) in culture. They will learn about the history of blueberries plus a bit about both Latino migrants and French Canadians. And they will also learn about helping their pets and mason bees. As with Rules, Lord handles all these issues with great sensitivity.

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  • Handful of StarsTitle: A Handful of Stars
  • Author: Cynthia Lord
  • Published: Scholastic Press, 2015
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 192 pages
  • Grade Level: 3 to 7
  • Genre: Fiction, culture, friendship, pets
  • ISBN: 978-0-454-70029-0