Adalyn is a bright student but has trouble fitting into her fourth grade class. Friendless and prone to tantrums, she frequently has to take refuge in a small tent in the school counselor’s office. One day, a yellow Labrador retriever…
Author: lynmillerlachmann
Regrets: A Review of Each Kindness
Most picture books have happy endings. The main character experiences a challenge or problem, resolves it on her own with some guidance from a wise elder, and grows in the process. Jacqueline Woodson’s haunting new picture book, Each Kindness (Nancy…
Children in the Spanish Civil War: A Review of A Thunderous Whisper
In her debut novel, The Red Umbrella (Knopf, 2010), Christina Díaz González mined her rich family history to tell the story of a 14-year-old girl sent with her younger brother to a refugee camp and then to a foster family…
Mystery, History, and Just Plain Fun: A Review of You Don’t Have a Clue
A year ago my friend René Saldaña, Jr. published an article in The ALAN Review about the need for more genre fiction for young readers, particularly mysteries, featuring Latino characters and settings. Given the long and lively tradition of detective…
Mestizo Heritage and Magic Realism: A Review of Summer of the Mariposas
For the final two weeks in November, The Pirate Tree will feature reviews and interviews that focus on Native American cultures. In the United States and Canada, we rarely speak of Native American cultures as including those of the rest…
Division and Partition: A Review of A Beautiful Lie
We’re nearing the end of an election season marked by the length and rancor of the campaign. Many on all sides long for it all to be over, but no matter who wins, I remain concerned about the level of…
Remembering Matthew Shepherd: A Review of October Mourning
Several years ago, the Albany High School Drama Club chose to perform The Laramie Project as their fall play. For those not familiar with the play, it explores the final days in the life of Matthew Shepherd, the 21-year-old gay…
What’s “Legitimate” About Rape? A Review of Rape Girl
Not long ago, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Todd Akin, made a medically ludicrous and morally objectionable statement about “legitimate” rape and the chances of a woman becoming pregnant afterward. His remarks and the controversy afterward make the…
Human Rights for Kids: A Review of The Stamp Collector
Some readers might know that I’m in Portugal right now and will be here until the end of the year, as my husband has a visiting professorship. This afternoon I was looking at the bookshelf of the young woman from…
Caring Adults in the Lives of Boys: A Review of Cadillac Chronicles
Although he seems to be a child of privilege, 16-year-old Alex Riley has lost his way. Friendless at school and constantly fighting with his single mother, a rising star in Albany politics, Alex hears from his therapist (a man of…