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I SEE THE SUN IN TURKEY

From the I See the Sun… series

Emphasizing daily commonalities, this is a useful book on urban Turkish culture.

Turkey’s political situation is often in the news, but this book focuses mostly on the everyday life of a young child in Istanbul.

The English text is in a clear, Roman typeface, with alternating Turkish paragraphs set in italics. The story is bookended by morning and evening calls to prayer, when Mehmet, about 6, remarks on how the light falls on the mosque minarets at each time of day. The family is not shown praying, however, and Mehmet attends a coed secular school. “Some of Mama’s friends wear headscarves. Mama doesn’t. She says there are many paths to Allah.” The day’s highlight is a fishing trip with his brother and father. Mehmet notices “a boy my size with his mother.” They are not speaking Turkish, and the child “looks sad and hungry.” A contemporary issue creeps into the text as Mehmet’s father explains “that there are many refugees here in Istanbul.” Mehmet generously gives the boy his fishing rod. Later, Mehmet goes roller-skating at the plaza surrounding a neighborhood mosque and watches a soccer game on TV. An afterword for older readers provides some historical facts and explanations about figures mentioned in the text such as Rumi and Atatürk. Adult readers not familiar with Turkish history may wish this had been integrated directly into the text. The collages place rather static human figures assembled from cut paper and with drawn-on details into photographic backgrounds that give a sense of depth and place.

Emphasizing daily commonalities, this is a useful book on urban Turkish culture. (afterword, glossary) (Informational picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-935874-34-8

Page Count: 44

Publisher: Satya House

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017

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THE PLANT RESCUER

Celebrates family roots as well as the pleasure of cultivating, and sharing, new skills.

A gardener’s son discovers that having a plant of his own is a big responsibility.

Little Manny delights in following his father from yard to yard as he tends to flower gardens. Dad “has a gift for growing jungles in the smallest spaces”—even the apartment they share with Nana. Visiting a garden center one day, Manny asks for a plant of his own and comes home with one bigger than he is—one that wilts and shows signs of distress no matter how much he fusses over it. Time for a trip to the public library, where he reads up on finding the best spot for his plant indoors and proper ways to water and fertilize it. Soon his room is filled with luxuriant foliage. “Mijo,” exclaims his father, “let’s share your gift and take cuttings of your amigo to our neighbors.” The size difference between the brown-skinned, bright-eyed child and his leafy amigo in Rivera’s lush, sunny scenes will amuse young readers, and his success may tempt some to see just how green their thumbs might be. The joy Manny, “the youngest gardener in a long line of gardeners,” feels caring for his plant is infectious, especially once he shares his gift with the racially diverse residents of his Nana’s suddenly lush apartment complex. Manny and his family are cued Latine.

Celebrates family roots as well as the pleasure of cultivating, and sharing, new skills. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 21, 2024

ISBN: 9780823454990

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024

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