Skip to main content

Same Sun Here

By
Same Sun Hereby Silas House and Neela Vaswani
Candlewick, 2011. 297 pgs. Fiction

     Same Sun Here is a book about activism: points are made against strip mining/mountain top removal, New York apartment house owners grinding the faces of the immigrant poor, or being unkind to anyone of different skin color, language, or gender-attraction, among many other causes.  Normally this would be annoying in its didacticism, but the two children whose letters back and forth tell their stories are so delightful, and their correspondence carried on with such vigor, honesty, and humor that the book is a joy to read. Meena is an immigrant girl from India whose family lives (illegally) in a rent-controlled apartment in New York's Chinatown. River is a Kentucky boy whose mother is depressed because his father works away from home, so he is mostly cared for by his beloved Mamaw (his grandmother). The two meet as part of a pen-pal project in their school, and both choose from the snail-mail list.  They quickly agree to be their own true selves with one another, and quickly become best friends, even at such a distance. How they work through their unique problems, and the ones they share, is the main thrust of the story, and by the end you will have two more characters from children's literature in your head whom you are unlikely to forget.

Comments

Ms. Yingling said…
This wasn't my favorite, but I've had a couple of students who enjoyed it, and they didn't even mind the epistolographic style, which surprised me.
May 12, 2012 at 4:59 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

By
KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: I Hate Everything!

By
  I Hate Everything! By Sophy Henn  New York: Beach Lane Books, 2025. Picture Book.  Two ghosts are floating atop a solid colored background. The first one yells, “I HATE EVERYTHING!” The second ghost responds, “Really?” Thus, begins the conversation which helps the first ghost realize that they don’t actually hate everything. This is a great picture book that is all about feelings and ghosts. The simple speech bubbles will allow even young preschoolers to understand what is happening. The illustrations though simple, have clever bits that readers will laugh out loud at. Basically, this is a brilliant book that every young reader who is mad at the world (or who knows someone who seems to be mad at the world) should read.
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Library in the Woods

By
  The Library in the Woods Written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie Minneapolis, MN : Carolrhoda Books, 2025. Picture Book. I am always intrigued by picture books that tell stories from the past in beautiful and meaningful ways, leaving the reader educated, and also hopeful and inspired. This book definitely did that for me! The cover is a beautiful peek into the story waiting on the pages. Junior and his family have lived on a farm that is having a hard time producing what it needs to for the family to survive economically. The parents make the hard decision to move away from the farm and into the city. Junior misses a lot of things about his life in the country. However, when Junior's friends tell him about a library in the woods, things change for him in the best way! He is amazed by the seemingly endless collection of books, and is eager to check some out for his family. Junior excitedly borrows a few books, including one about a farmer for his dad ...
Post a Comment
Read more