CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.
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The Land of Forgotten Girls
CCBC Review:
Sol and her little sister, Ming, live with their abusive stepmother, Vea, in a small Louisiana town. They emigrated with the girls’ father, but their dad returned to the Philippines and hasn’t come back. Sol once believed the stories spun by their late mother about their adventurous Auntie Jove. She now knows Auntie Jove is a fantasy, but she tells the stories to Ming and Ming becomes convinced that Auntie Jove is coming to rescue them. A book that vividly depicts realities of emotional abuse and economic hardship is ultimately not about either of these things. Instead it’s a deep exploration of the importance of trust and hope and imagination and emotional security in the lives of children. Sol’s impulse to apologize to a girl she once teased, which is the start of a new friendship, brief glimpses of Vea before she was bitter, new stories Sol spins for Ming, and small kindnesses so essential to survival, all unfold through interactions of complex and nuanced characters. When Mrs. Yeung, a Chinese woman living in their building, knocks on their door in the middle of one of Vea’s tirades, Sol realizes the older woman is letting Vea know she is watching and listening, and letting the girls to know they aren’t alone. On the one hand, little in the reality of Sol and Ming’s lives has changed by story’s end. On the other hand, everything has. ©2016 Cooperative Children's Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 9-12
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Child Abuse
Community
Economic Hardship and Poverty
Filipinos and Filipino Americans
Friendship
Grief and Loss
Hope and Healing
Imagination/Imaginary Play
Immigration and Immigrants
Kindness
Older Adults
Sisters
Stories and Storytelling
Diversity subject:
Asian
On CCBC Booklist:
Asian in America: Selected Books for PreK-Grade 12 to Support Hmong and Asian American Studies in Wisconsin
Publishers:
Greenwillow, HarperCollins
Publish Year: 2016
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780062238641
CCBC Location: Fiction, Kelly
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Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.