Six stories by six different contributors are set during a citywide blackout in New York that begins on a hot summer day and extends into the night, ending at a Brooklyn block party where all the characters converge.
Starred Review of the Week
Sona Sharma: Very Best Big Sister?
Sona lives in India with her parents, Amma and Appa; her paternal grandparents, Paati and Thatha; and her “talking” stuffed elephant. Her maternal grandmother, whom everyone calls The President, lives nearby.
Wishes
“The night wished it was quieter.” A series of arresting poetic “wish” statements together with the illustrations each is paired with create a powerful, poignant story following the journey of a refugee family.
Temple Alley Summer
In the dead of night, Kazu spies a girl in white emerging from his family’s altar room in Masuda, Japan. The next day, Kazu is bewildered when his classmates act as though the girl, Akari, has been a member of their class for years.
Healer of the Water Monster
Nathan, 11, is spending a few summer weeks with his paternal grandmother, Nali, who lives in a mobile home on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico.
The Cot in the Living Room
A young Dominican American girl is jealous of each child who stays overnight with her family while their adult caregiver works, not only because they get to sleep on the cot in the living room, but because they get her parents’ attention, special privileges (she thinks), and a view of the George Washington Bridge through the window.
From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement
This riveting account of the murder of Chinese American Vincent Chin in Detroit in 1982 and the ripple effects of its impact provides an in-depth look at events surrounding the brutal attack on Chin and the subsequent response of police, the justice system, and, above all, members of the Chinese American and larger Asian American community in Detroit.
The Last Cuentista
Petra Peña, 12, her little brother, Javier, and their scientist parents are among those chosen to flee earth in 2061 as the planet faces destruction.
Too Small Tola
“Tola lives in a run-down block of apartments in the megacity of Lagos, in the country of Nigeria.” Three delightful episodic stories begin with “Too Small Tola,” in which Tola’s big sister is too busy studying, and her older brother is too obsessed by soccer, to help Grandmommy shop.
Sheepish (Wolf Under Cover)
It’s not a new idea: A wolf decked out in fluffy wool infiltrates a community of sheep in hopes of scoring a tasty meal of mutton.