Celebrate the written word with this delightful collection of poetry meant to be read aloud. The author shares her inspiration for the poems in the first section. The later poems share the joy, rhythm and nonsense of words. The brightly colored fabric collage illustrations are wonderful.

Reviewed by: hap

Date read: 12/18/2009

ISBN-10: 0060289945

ISBN-13: 9780060289942

Check the library catalog

Sparse free verse intensifies colors, sounds and feelings in this beautiful story based on the author's life. Ha is 10 years old when she escapes Vietnam with her family and they end up in Alabama. She describes the sweetness of papaya and the terror of gunfire in her homeland. Struggling to learn a new language and culture, she tells of her mother's determination to build a new life and her brothers' efforts to do the same. But most vivid are Ha's emotions and feelings - funny, scared, angry, questioning - as this young girl struggles to be accepted.

Similar books: Shooting Kabul, by N.H. Senzai

Awards nominated: 2013 Rebecca Caudill Nominee

Awards won: Newberry Honor Book 2012

Reviewed by: donna

Date read: 5/15/2012

ISBN-13: 9780061962783

Check the library catalog

Paul Fleischman captures the world of insects in this book of poetry for two voices. The author instructs readers that each of the 14 poems should be read, aloud, by at least two readers, at the same time. Can't find anyone to read with you? Listen to the audio book, and enjoy how this poetry sounds.

Awards won: John Newbery Medal

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 4/13/2009

ISBN-10: 0064460932

ISBN-13: 9780064460934

Check the library catalog

Lyza loves to look through the kaleidoscope her mother gave her before her mother left the family. In the kaleidoscope, shapes break apart but come together more beautifully than before. Lyza is hoping her life will come together like that. In a series of poems, Lyza describes the summer of the treasure. It started when Lyza's beloved, sea-faring, Gramps died leaving Lyza a thick brown envelope. Inside are three maps and a letter. Using the maps as guides, Lyza and her best friends, Malcolm and Carolann, discover that Captain Kidd, the pirate, may have buried some treasure in their hometown. All summer long, Lyza and her friends secretly dig at night behind the church trying to find this treasure. Will they get caught? Will they ever find treasure? What will they do if they find the treasure? You won't be able to put the book down until the end.

Reviewed by: hap

Date read: 12/18/2009

ISBN-10: 0375940480

ISBN-13: 9780375940484

Check the library catalog

As America is in the thick of the Vietnam War, thirteen-year-old Lyza inherits a project from her grandfather who has just passed away. All of the hours spent in her grandpa's basement pouring over maps with him have left Lyza well-equipped for this project of locating the lost treasure of Captain Kidd. She enlists the help of her best friends, Carolann and Malcolm. The essence of the year that this novel in verse is set in, 1968, is brought in very well. Lyza and Malcolm do not talk to each other in school since Malcolm is black. Malcolm's brother is drafted into the Vietnam War. As Lyza and her friends are searching for the treasure, Americans are searching for happiness amidst death (of all the soldiers, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy.)

Reviewed by: jb

Date read: 12/8/2011

ISBN-13: 9780375840487

Check the library catalog