Return to Sender

Julia Alvarez
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009
318 p. (Grades 4-7)

When a family of migrant workers from Mexico move to Vermont to help out on the Paquette's farm, eleven-year-old Tyler doesn't know what to make of the situation: Without the extra help, his family will have to sell everything; but, the Cruz family is in the United States illegally. Dual narratives told by Tyler and Mari (Mr. Cruz's eldest daughter) authentically capture the misunderstandings and prejudices surrounding the illegal immigrant experience through the lens of youthful innocence. The choice to narrate Tyler's story in third person and Mari's through a series of first-person letters is an odd one, but it succeeds in illustrating the singular experience of each. As their friendship grows, readers, too, will breach the barrier between cultures and see illegal immigrants as people rather than problems. While the novel's agenda may seem annoyingly ever-present to older teens and adults, middle readers will be drawn in by the story of friendship and come away with a lesson in empathy, as well.

Erika-San

Allen Say
New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2009
32 p. (Grades K-2)

As a child, Erika fell in love with a picture of a Japanese teahouse and decided that she would live there one day. With the turn of a page, Erika is grown and on her way to realizing that dream. Readers follow her wandering journey as she reconciles her childhood imaginings with the realities of modern-day Japan, eventually finding her home there. Say's luminous, detailed illustrations capture the beauty of Erika's "old Japan," while the text introduces readers to the traditional Japanese culture that she embraces with gusto. Whether it is read aloud or independently, children will be delightfully transported by this light but satisfying tale of discovery.