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40 pp.
| Holt/Godwin
| January, 2022
|
TradeISBN 978-1-250-77818-5$18.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Lynn Scurfield.
Before moving to America, Dandan and her family celebrate Lunar New Year in China with her best friend Yueyue and her family. They eat egg-and-chive filled dumplings dipped in black vinegar and soy sauce; later, the girls make celebratory red paper snowflakes, and Yueyue gives Dandan paper supplies to bring to America. The move proves lonely and difficult for Dandan, until she makes a friend whose favorite color is also red. With bright, warm colors and curved shapes, Scurfield enhances the tender story's hopeful tone. An author's note provides more details about Chinese New Year; instructions for making cut-paper snowflakes are also appended.
40 pp.
| Prestel
| April, 2019
|
TradeISBN 978-3-7913-7377-5$14.95
(2)
PS
Bold colors, thick paint strokes, and a slice-of-life story beautifully coalesce in this whimsical, contemplative, and visual exploration of the everyday. The nearly wordless tale begins, "Max can bring a letter to the mailbox all by himself today." An adventure ensues, all in pictures, as Max explores his urban neighborhood. When Max’s errand is complete, the mailbox is revealed to be...right outside Max's home.
Reviewer: Elisa Gall
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2019
(2)
YA
In 2009 Gujiao, China, teen orphans Luli and Yun labor long, mind-numbing hours at an electronics factory. Then Yun discovers she is pregnant by her shady boyfriend, a suspected bride trafficker. The girls navigate their severely limited options while trying to avoid being fired, fined, or kidnapped. Liu's candid prose and matter-of-fact tone heighten the horror of the harrowing conditions many Chinese women are subjected to daily.
426 pp.
| Disney/Lucasfilm
| October, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4847-8077-0$14.99
(3)
4-6
Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi series.
Illustrated by
J. G. Jones.
Deckhands aboard a transport barge hear six short stories about Jedi Luke Skywalker; the framing story helps tie the overall narrative together. Using different perspectives, Liu creatively relates both familiar and new events to further illuminate Luke's character. Preceding each legend are quotes from Star Wars films and Jones's full-color illustrations, which pay homage to Ralph McQuarrie's conceptual illustrations for the original movie trilogy.
(3)
YA
When eighteen-year-old Mei is offered a high-paying live-in-tutor gig on Arrow Island for the summer, she can't refuse. Compared to her mother's tiny apartment, life with the wealthy Morisons seems glamorous, but it's also fraught with mystery--both earthly and supernatural. Well-wrought racial and economic tension guide Mei's journey of self-discovery, even as she contends with a truly creepy ghostly menace.
32 pp.
| Lee
| May, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-1-62014-192-2$17.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Christina Forshay.
Mei Mei lacks the patience to correctly imitate her grandfather's tai chi; old Gong Gong is short on flexibility when Mei Mei shows him yoga poses she learned in school. Though they don't exactly convey the pace and fluidity of movement in tai chi forms, the book's illustrations are inviting, and playful text usefully describes the two practices (notes on both appended). Bib.
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kristyna Litten.
Bear has many talents; riding a bike isn't among them. He reads up on riding and otherwise obsesses, but ultimately it's his heart, not his intellect, that comes through when he must ride a bike to save a young goat. Anxious kids will appreciate the book's don't-overthink-it message, plus there's a wealth of visual texture (a checklist, a graph) within.
357 pp.
| HarperTeen
| March, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-0-06-230664-7$17.99
(4)
YA
In a near-future world where viral Alzheimer's-like Vergets disease threatens to make everyone lose their minds, most people receive a memory key implant as infants. Lora Mint's key malfunctions, leaving her with awful headaches and revived memories of her dead mother. Liu creates a believable world, but flat characters may keep readers from fully investing in the story.
80 pp.
| Charlesbridge
| April, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-1-58089-370-1$19.95
|
EbookISBN 978-1-60734-615-9
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Sarah S. Brannen.
In 1971, the tomb of "Lady Dai" was discovered, virtually intact and of enormous archaeological significance. Here, buried in 158 BCE, was her still-soft body and more than a thousand artifacts. Liu-Perkins describes the discovery in fascinating detail; brief imagined scenes supplement the evidence. Illustrative materials include maps and well-captioned photos as well as Brannen's watercolors of the fictionalized scenes. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind.
32 pp.
| Sterling
| February, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4027-9644-9$14.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Mary Peterson.
Wooby lives a quiet, rather lonely life in a neighborhood where people keep to themselves. When flamboyant, unconventional Peep moves in, Wooby expects trouble--and gets it. However, the two do have something in common, and they become friends in the end. Detailed cartoon-style illustrations and comical commentary from the animal neighbors add pizzazz to a familiar story line.
32 pp.
| Houghton
| July, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-0-547-90573-0$12.99
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Bei Lynn.
Translation adapted by Jamie White. In this Taiwanese import, "supersaurus" Gus traipses around the city picking up schoolkids. He's beloved by all, but his heavy-footed-ness creates giant potholes and traffic snarls. After being pulled from duty, Gus finds a new lease on life. The story's mild suspense is just right for the audience. Scribbly watercolor and pencil illustrations have a child-drawn look.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2013
(1)
4-6
Eight vignettes in graphic-novel format bring Liu's childhood in 1970s China to life. Much will seem the same, but the particulars make all the difference. Author and illustrator together give an unvarnished, intimate account of a real childhood: plain-speaking, rough-hewn, and down-to-earth. While the book's time and place are very different from our own, there's not a hint of sentimentality or exoticism. Timeline. Glos.
Reviewer: Roger Sutton
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2012
248 pp.
| Putnam
| June, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-0-399-25043-9$16.99
(3)
4-6
When twelve-year-old Paris's peripatetic parents say they're finally settling down, she decides to make friends at her new school. Unfortunately, this means being pushed around by a bully who insists Paris take part in a dare involving a dead girl. Liu's story, refreshingly, features a Chinese American narrator whose ethnicity is not at the story's center.
32 pp.
| Kane/Miller
| October, 2002
|
TradeISBN 1-929132-36-0$$19.95
(3)
PS
Recalling the famous title sequence from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, this wordless book consists entirely of paintings of umbrellas as viewed from above, gradually gathering and revealed to be sheltering children on their way to school on a rainy day. The concept is slight but its execution is completely gorgeous; an enclosed CD of sprightly piano variations is cued to the page-turns as a soundtrack.