Hello, Universe: In celebration of introverted kids, friendship, and intergenerational relationships

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In celebration of introverted kids, friendship, and intergenerational relationships

I read this book as a facilitator of a book club for kids and it really struck me how four out of six of our all-girl book club members chose Virgil Salinas as their favorite character. They all mentioned that they could relate with his reticent nature. We enjoyed reading this together and some of our assignments were: to come (to the Zoom session) dressed as our favorite characters, create a zoological diary of our pets (inspired by Valencia Somerset), create horoscopes for each other (inspired by Kaori Tanaka), and tell intergenerational stories about different topics (inspired by Lola). The points of view of diverse characters, including that of the bully, made it an interesting read. The Filipino myths, legends, and memories of Lola also provided a unique flavor to the story telling. As a group, we discussed the book's themes of family, fate/ destiny, choices, and courage. Our book club members wrote very insightful essays on these. Overall, a great read for young readers.


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The Girl Who Drank the Moon: Beautiful and Magical

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful book on finding one's power and what it means to be a family

I read this book as a facilitator for an online kids' book club during Covid-19 quarantine. What a beautiful book! So well-written, so evocative, so magical. The characters are well fleshed-out and weird and varied and wonderful. The themes are so relevant to our times: the importance (and dangers) of storytelling (or controlling the narrative) and censorship, family and love, and hope winning over sorrow. I love the swamp monster, Glerk, who is at once Beast, Bog, World, and Poet. I love how poetry also forms part of this book and reveals so much about the foundational nature of the written and spoken word. The main narrative is interspersed with mini (and meta) narratives...stories woven into the story. I love the unusual family that is made up of a witch, a magical girl, a swamp monster, and a dragonling. I couldn't put it down! This made the quarantine bearable and gave me something to look forward to. It was also a wonderful bonding tool for me and my nine-year-old daughter. Can't endorse it enough.

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