Here I Am

story by Patti Kim, illustrations by Sonia Sanchez
Hennepin County Library paperback picturebook
genre: immigration fiction, friendship

This lovely wordless picture book has a lot going on. A boy moves from Asia with his parents and baby sister into a large American city. When he accidentally drops a special seed from home and someone picks it up, he is forced to get out of the apartment and into the new community around him. This would work well with The Arrival, Home of the Brave, or other immigrant stories.

Brain Camp

by Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, Faith Erin Hicks
PRMS paperback 151 pages
genre: YA graphic novel, SciFi

Subtitled "A summer at Camp Fielding will really change you," I'm glad I finally read this book. Weird, fun, interesting. Jenna is unusual in her family of overachievers. Lucas is on his way to being just like his father - a criminal in jail. When they are sent to Camp Fielding they quickly realize that something strange is going on.

Creepy, fun, and a little bit romantic (though Lucas' wet dream is a bit TMI . . . not sure middle school readers will "get" it), this is a good read. The storyline and artwork work well together to communicate a middle school mystery.