illustrated by Grace Lin
Summary
School Library Journal:
/* Starred Review */ K-Gr 2 — Lin brings her talents to these charming stories about Chinese-American twins who like to stick together but are not as alike as everyone thinks. The six short chapters are the perfect length for beginning readers. In the first story, the girls get haircuts. Ting “moves her legs and her fingers. Ting can never sit still.” When her snipped hair falls on her nose, she sneezes and the barber cuts a little too much off her bangs. The simple illustrations follow this mishap throughout the book , making the sisters easily identifiable. In the other vignettes, Ling and Ting make very different dumplings, Ling cannot eat with chopsticks no matter how hard Ting tries to teach her, and they visit the library. Each story ends with an amusing punch line that will make readers laugh. The last chapter ties all of the tales together, showing the fun and friendship that the girls share. This relationship, combined with the simple sentence structure, repetitive text, and straightforward illustrations that reinforce new vocabulary words, will put this easy reader in the same category as Arnold Lobel’s “Frog and Toad” books (HarperCollins).—Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY –Kristine M. Casper (Reviewed July 1, 2010) (School Library Journal, vol 56, issue 7, p64)
Awards:
- 2011 Theodor Geisel Honor
- Junior Library Guild Selection
- starred Booklist review
- starred Kirkus review
- starred Horn Book review
- starred School Library Journal review
- NY Times Sunday Book Review
- 2010 Kirkus Best Children’s Books
- 2010 Booklist Editor’s Choice
- PW’s Best of Books of 2010
- NY Times Notable Children’s Books of 2010
- TLA’s 2×2 Reading List