Rutabaga's Reads 2024: Part 6

It surprises me, too, that I have enough for a third chapter books compilation. While it’s true that they read very quickly, I don’t typically focus on them like I have this year.

Astrid & Apollo and the Happy New Year (Aug. 1, 2020) by V.T. Bidania.

   Dara Lashia Lee, illustrator.

<This is part of an unnumbered series of books.>

Twins Astrid and Apollo are excited to attend the Hmong New Year Festival in their home state of Minnesota. The celebration, complete with entertainment and vendors selling food and gifts/souvenirs, is noisy and crowded. When they let dancers pass in front of them, they lose their parents and Eliana, their little sister, but they find a lost little boy and help him to find his family. They may have to approach one of the stages and ask the host to announce that they’re lost, even if it means being mistaken for performers in their special Hmong New Year attire.

            This story showcases that the wonderful cultures and traditions of others can be found right here in the U.S., and Lee’s illustrations are vibrant and expressive. The story and pictures have me wanting to attend a Hmong festival to experience new things, eat new foods and learn! Emergent readers will likely need help with the Hmong words, but there is a helpful glossary of those words before the first chapter begins. This is another delightful story from the Astrid & Apollo series.

Escaping the Fire (Aug. 1, 2019) by Emma Bland Smith.

   Mirelle Ortega, illustrator.

<This is the first book in a series.>

With his parents taking a sabbatical year, Gavin McNally’s family is taking the year to travel around the country in an RV. Gavin has four goals to accomplish as set by his teacher. (1) Change someone’s life; (2) Get to know a family member better; (3) Be a friend to nature; (4) Seek treasure. This annoys him, because who likes homework? Chloe probably does. His older sister. The family thinks they’re settled in for the night at a California campground when Gavin notices smoke and the red glow of fire. Haste is a must to reach safety, but Gavin strays from his family when he hears a dog. Her owner isn’t home. Rescuing the dog is a no-brainer, but how will they escape the fire?

            I flew through this first in the Gavin McNally’s Year Off series. It is a hi-lo book (high-interest, low readability), meaning it’s designed to engage struggling readers. It’s a chapter book, in which there is mostly prose with illustrations, but it features simple sentence structure, controlled vocabulary, a lower page count and very short chapters. The theme is potentially complex and the story age-appropriate, but the reading level is lower. This would be a good option for emergent chapter book readers who are, perhaps, hesitant in their reading abilities.

Mindy Kim, Big Sister (Aug. 6, 2024) by Lyla Lee.

   Dung Ho, illustrator.

<This is the eleventh book in a series.>

There’s a pint-sized addition in the Kim family, and it’s Mindy’s newborn brother, Min-jae Wei. His American nickname is going to be Charlie, because her stepmom (Julie) thinks it’s cute. Mindy’s Korean name is Min-jung, and in Korean culture, it’s common for siblings to have similar names. Mindy’s worried about being a good big sister, for she’s never been a big sister before. When sleepless nights take a toll on all of them – even Theodore, the puppy – Mindy’s determined to find a way to help her dad and Julie get some much-needed rest.

            As if Lee’s Mindy Kim stories didn’t already bubble over with cuteness, she added an adorable addition to the family. She also focused on the harder parts of having a newborn, like those sleepless nights affecting all members of a household, but she tells it in a way that’s easy to understand and thus is an accessible story for young chapter book readers. The story shines with authenticity, and Ho’s accompanying illustrations continue to be top-notch complements to Lee’s word pictures.