Early Chapter Books

Jit, Sita. Divya Far From Home

August 1, 2024 by Stone Arch Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Divya's family must move away from their home in Delhi, India and her Nani to help out her uncle and cousins Geeta and Sameer with a family restaurant, most likely in the US. Divya doesn't want to move, and is not happy that she has to repeat fourth grade and share a room with Geeta, especially when Geeta steals the spicy masala chips that she brought from home! School goes fairly well, and Ms. Yang's class is kind. She even makes a friend, Asima, who moved from Syria last year and know how hard it can be to change. When Divya has to do an "All About Me" project for class, she is able to share her traditions with the class. The book includes a glossary and a "thinking about the story" section. 

I'm a huge fan of early chapter books with characters from different cultures, and would love to read more about Divya and her experiences. This is too young for middle school, but I'd love to see this author write a middle grade book like Mendez' Wish Upon a Stray or Weeks' and Varadarajan's Save Me a Seat, about an 8th grader who has to start over in a new country. 
 

Wells, Stacy and Gama, Maria Gabriells (illustrator)

Tana Cooks with Care 

August 1, 2024 by Picture Window Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Second grader Tana loves to cook with her father, who shares many recipes from the family's Choctaw culture with her. Tana's mother is her school librarian, and her little sister is in kindergarten. When her class prepares to put on a play, Tana is excited about having a role, and her friend Lola wants the lead. Ana, however, is doubtful about whether she wants to get up in front of others, especially when she is more comfortable painting scenery. Tana tries to cheer her friend up by making food like Little Corn Stew, strawberry smoothies, and cream cheese roll ups, but nothing seems to help. Eventually, Ana tries out for set painter and is much happier. Tana will return with similar books centered around Valentines Day, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving. 

I would have absolutely adored this when I was in elementary school; I loved reading about girls my age who did things that were interesting. I could even believe the play; my second grade class put on a version of The Wizard of Oz; I got to play the feet of the Wicked Witch of the West! This reminded me a bit of Lunch Will Never Be the Same! (Phoebe G. Green #1) by Hiranandani and Dreidemy. I would definitely purchase this for an elementary school, and would love to see a book about an 8th grade Choctaw girl! (And yes, more middle grade books need to have characters in 8th grade, since everyone in grade 2-8 will read those, but 7th and 8th graders want characters who are their age or OLDER, rather than reading about younger characters. So many middle grade books seem to have 5th grade characters!)