You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

 

You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

What's it About?

A family immigrates to America from India and navigates the culture and lifestyle while clinging to preserving their own culture as they all handle acceptance, change, and growing up in a new place in their own way. Ranee, Sonia, Tara, Shanti, and Anna narrate the generational changes and similarities within the family and Indian culture as they become American and accept the changes that come with clinging to one country and culture and gaining another new and different one at the same time. 

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You Bring the Distant Near

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You Bring the Distant Near is a touching story that follows a family as they transition to a new life in a new land. Capturing the dynamic personalities and generational differences of each character transitioning to America, Perkins immerses the reader in traveling alongside this family on their journey. It's hard not to connect emotionally to how this family navigates their transition.

Mitali Perkins seamlessly includes cultural details in her writing that help understand the viewpoint and movement of each character throughout the book. Following the story Ranee, and her daughters Sonia and Tara as they grow and accept new norms it is clear that the bonds of family tie them together and are passed on through generations. 

This was a lovely read that kept me wanting to see what they were all going to do next. Mitali Perkins, truly connects the reader to the struggle, achievement, and transitions this family experiences as they navigate life and the world over the years.  They struggle, love, learn, and accept each other and the reader absolutely follows this journey with attachment and longing to see how it all works out.

Following their journey was an enjoyable experience. By the end of this story, I felt connected and a part of their story. It left me wanting to go back for more and to revisit them to see where they were and what they were doing today.

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For more information on Mitali Perkins click here

The audible version of this title is highly recommended.

The Great White Shark Scientist by Sy Montgomery

 

The Great White Shark Scientist by Sy Montgomery

Photos by Keith Ellenbogen

What's it About?

Following Greg Smokel, a Great White Biologist, Sy Montgomery journals his six-month adventure tracking Great Whites in Massachusetts and Mexico. The chronicle of the work Smokel and his team take working, tracking, following, and studying Great Whites, their patterns, and travels. Based mostly on the work of a marine biologist studying Great Whites and what he does over the sixth-month period the narrative explores the community, people, tools, and research that is done to understand the world of sharks.

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The Great White Shark Scientist

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The Great White Shark Scientist from the Scientist in the Field series presents an interesting perspective on the study of the Great White Sharks. Following the work of Greg Smokel, a biologist, Sy Montgomery does a great job at narratively presenting their six-month quest to follow Great Whites in Massachusetts and Mexico. Recognizing that this is a chronicle of the journey of studying the sharks and scientists and his team studying them is an important detail to avoid disappointment in not reading about sharks. This is less about Great Whites and dives into the day-to-day work of how a group of scientists follows sharks to collect information and understand how they live and survive.

 

Montgomery's narrative captures readers and keeps them interested in following the "story" of what Greg Smokel is doing while providing a great deal of information on how, why, where, and when of the sharks they are studying. Readers are given an interesting perspective on the work being done providing information in an engaging way that could appeal to middle-aged readers and possibly even younger children as a read-aloud. I’d venture to even think most adults would find interest.

 

The Great White Shark Scientist doesn't skimp on the factual content but also doesn't read like a text full of facts that can become static and boring. Pausing within the narrative to give important information about sharks, specifics of tagging them, and being "shark smart", Montgomery provides a great balance of presenting an informational narrative and factual text.  The narratives come alive with photographs that provide visuals of Greg, the tools he uses, and the places the scientists are visiting. Even someone with minimal understanding of Great Whites can enjoy the "story" and learn something from this presentation by Montgomery, that almost lets the reader forget they are reading an informational text.

 

Sy Montgomery’s addition to the Scientist in the Field Series is a great way to introduce readers to the work of a marine biologist studying sharks. She provides additional resources about the groups and information discussed in her narrative giving readers a place to look further into things that interested them while reading, and maps of the pins where sharks were tracked. The Great White Shark Scientist is an informational text that can also be used as a source for research or a great interest read for pleasure.

For more information, Sy Montgomery click here

Interested in more from the Scientist in the Field Series click here

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La Princesa and The Pea by Susan Middleton Elya

 

(image taken from Goodreads)

La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya

Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

Pura Belpré Award for Illustrator (2018)

What's it About?

A lonely prince in need of affection searches for a wife. There are many prospects but one stands out. Capturing his eye as she passed through his village and invited herself to stay, the Prince falls fast. His mother does her best to find a true princess for her son, even if it means being sneaky. Will his Madre ruin his chances of true love with a tiny el guisante? Determined to marry the maiden he chose, le principe's clever ideas might just work to keep his one true love regardless of how authentic a princess she may be. 

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La Principesa and the Pea

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La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya is an adorable bilingual telling of the classic The Princess and the Pea. Following closely to the traditional storyline this version is well matched with illustrations by Juana Martinez-Neal that help bring this version to life. 

Throughout the telling key words are highlighted in Spanish adding some flair and interest to the way this classic is retold. Many of the words in Spanish can be interpreted by English-speaking readers through the illustrations or context making their use seamless throughout the story. The rhyming text adds even more charm to this version of The Princess and Pea keeping the authenticity of the story but adding a little bit of something that might be missing from the original. 

La Princesa and the Pea gives an authentic version of the classic that doesn't dilute interest because the reader may already know the story. The characters in this version are alive with personality aided by the illustrations that seem to come alive on the page.

Truly an enjoyable and sweet retelling that is sure to appeal to readers of all ages. Depicted with colorful, and often humorous illustrations it does not disappoint as a classic of its own.

For more information on Susan Middleton Elya and other bilingual books she's written click here 

Juana Martinez-Neal also has some other diverse and cultural children's books here

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