Book Uncle and Me
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4.6 • 7 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the International Literacy Association Social Justice Literature Award
An award-winning middle-grade novel about the power of grassroots activism and how kids can make a difference.
Every day, nine-year-old Yasmin borrows a book from Book Uncle, a retired teacher who has set up a free lending library on the street corner. But when the mayor tries to shut down the rickety bookstand, Yasmin has to take her nose out of her book and do something.
What can she do? The local elections are coming up, but she’s just a kid. She can’t even vote!
Still, Yasmin has friends — her best friend, Reeni, and Anil, who even has a blue belt in karate. And she has family and neighbors. What’s more, she has an idea that came right out of the last book she borrowed from Book Uncle.
So Yasmin and her friends get to work. Ideas grow like cracks in the sidewalk, and soon the whole effort is breezing along nicely... Or is it spinning right out of control?
An energetic, funny and quirky story about community activism, friendship, and the love of books.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.6
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nine-year-old Yasmin loves to read. Luckily, a man known as Book Uncle has set up a free lending library on a nearby corner in her Indian city. Yasmin loves his book stall, but the mayor thinks it's unseemly and needs to go. However, it's election time, and Yasmin becomes determined to get Book Uncle and his stall back. Cooperation and progress are central themes in this thoughtful look on the power of words and grassroots activism, which emphasizes that even a child can make a difference. Augmented by newcomer Swaney's delicately detailed spot illustrations, Krishnaswami's (The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic) story immerses readers in Yasmin's daily life and the people in it. "They all want votes," a fruit vendor tells Yasmin as the election heats up. "Then when they get elected, they don't do anything." Politicos who fall short and people eager for change are just a couple of the cross-cultural similarities readers may recognize in this brisk chapter book, originally published in India. Ages 7 10.
