Reviewed by James Parker How can you change someone’s mind when they’ve already formed an opinion about you? For Steve Harmon in Walter Dean Myers’ Monster, it’s a matter life or death. Accused of robbery and murder, Steve tries to keep his cool while watching his trial play out like a blockbuster film. His journey…
Review by Marek Oziewicz You wouldn’t want to be a zebra in Emperor Hadrian’s Rome. And you certainly wouldn’t want to enter the Colosseum through the circus entrance. Or even if you used that gate, you wouldn’t want to fight gladiators and wild beasts. Not without opposable thumbs. But that’s exactly what happens when a…
Review by Emily Naik Priyanka, an Indian-American high schooler, is filled with wonder. She wonders why her mother left India. She wonders why her mother never talks about her father, and she wonders if she will ever be able to travel to Rajastran. As Priyanka attempts to connect to her heritage, readers are invited alongside…
Review by Kate Plager When you find yourself in a new culture, where you don’t know the language, customs or ways of life, how do you make sense of it all? Many of us have never traveled alone to a new country where a different language is spoken. We find it hard to understand the…
Children's Literature at UMN 