Book Recommendation #5 (Week 3)

The book I am recommending this week is Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata - the same author that wrote Weedflowers, one of the books that a group in our class has to read for the young adult segment. Kira-Kira is a Newbery Award winning book, and rightfully so! Katie, the narrator, is the middle child in a hard working Japanese American family. Ever since she was a little girl, she idolized her older sister Lynn. Lynn pretty much taught her everything she knows - but the thing that sticks out in her mind the most after Lynn passes away from lymphoma is how to see everything in the world as glittery, sparkling things. This book touches on a lot of important issues such as racism being one of 32 Japanese American families in a town of 4200 people, and trying to keep the family together when a family member is ill. Students who've had a serious sickness or death in the family will be able to immediately make connections with the changes that occur within a household and the mixed emotions a sibling could feel. Kira-Kira is a great easy to read page-turner for the Middle School ages filled with multiple deep meanings.