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Friday, February 3, 2012

Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything

Look, Lenore. Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything. Illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf. Athenaeum Books for Young Readers, 2006. 176 pages. $4.99. ISBN 9781416950035.

Summary:
In the sequel to Ruby Lu, Brave and True, readers are in for more great adventures with this realistic and hilarious heroine. Ruby Lu’s cousin Flying Duck, along with her family, is newly arrived from China and living with the Lu family. This introduces new privileges and new challenges for Ruby, as well as many changes to her life. Flying Duck is deaf, which adds another dimension of difference, and Ruby becomes her advocate at school. Filled with many humorous challenges of growing up, friendship, and family, as well as cultural connections particular to Chinese-American families, this title is sure to entertain readers and listeners.
Curriculum Connections:
This is an excellent example of the Realistic Fiction genre and could be used as an example text. The opening sentence is “The best part of having a cousin come live with you from China is everything;” this opener could tie into literacy and writing themes to highlight “bold beginnings.” Also, this text shows a Chinese-American family in their daily life, and would be a nice class read-aloud to promote diversity.
Personal Reflections:
I was delighted to discover this series, particularly since I do not have many students from diverse backgrounds in the district in which I teach. An accessible text like this one, with so many humorous moments, appeals to readers and gives them a window into a wider world.
Awards:
Age/Interest Range:
7-10
Genre/Themes:
Realistic Fiction, Diversity, Humor, Family
Read-Alikes:
There are several strong heroines in humorous, realistic fiction texts that come to mind: Ramona Quimby (Cleary), Judy Moody (McDonald), and Moxy Maxwell (Gifford). These titles would appeal to readers who appreciate an imperfect and hilarious heroine.

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