Welcome to the monthly children’s book review feature with a focus on diverse books here at Bird Meets Worm! My team of reviewers—Joan Charles, Laurie Young, Sarah Orgill—and I are so excited to be championing books celebrating everything from gender diversity, people of color, the LGBTQ community to ethnic, cultural and religious minorities, people with disabilities and developmental challenges to controversial topics, unique family situations and anything and everything I did not include. It is to say we take a rightfully broad view of diversity! We aim to shine a light on books that bring both familiar experiences to those who do not often see themselves represented in books and new experiences to those looking to expand their worldview. Here at Bird Meets Worm we believe in the power of story to build empathy and thus a better world for you and me and everyone. Look for a new review on the second Wednesday of every month.
THE GIRL WHO SPEAKS BEAR
Written by Sophie Anderson
Middle Grade (ages 8-12) • 304 pages
Published by Scholastic Press • 2020
ISBN: 9781338580839
Twelve-year-old Yanka is frightened by the disturbing changes she’s experiencing. Always a bit strange, and seen as an outsider in her small Russian village, she has grown freakishly large almost overnight. She’s even convinced that birds are talking to her! Yanka keeps her fears locked inside, not even confiding in her best friend, Sasha, or her loving foster mother, Mamochka.
After being injured in an accident during the winter festival, Yanka wakens to a nightmare world where she is no longer completely herself. She can’t help thinking that her present troubles are rooted in her strange past. She knows the answers to her problems lie buried deep in the Snow Forest and despite Mamochka’s warnings, she must venture into the wild in search of her true self.
Along the way she encounters a rich cast of characters who help in her battle to learn the truth about her origins. Yanka’s adventure turns into an epic quest that tests her strength, her beliefs and her ideas of family.
Sophie Anderson has written a wonderful, engaging fairy tale filled with magic and whimsy, laced with profound truths about acceptance, embracing our true selves, and the everlasting importance of family and friendships.
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Reviewed by: Joan Charles