Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Review: Amy Hodgepodge - All Mixed Up!

All Mixed Up! (Amy Hodgepodge, No. 1)

Amy Hodgepodge - All Mixed Up!, Grosset & Dunlap, May 2008
Authors: Kim Wayans, Kevin Knotts
Illustrator: Soo Jeong

Amy Hodges is starting 4th grade, and is very nervous. She has always been homeschooled, but has asked her parents if she can go to a real school. After her first day, she is not sure whether she made a good decision. Some people aren't very nice, and Amy isn't sure whether she really fits in. When the mean girls say she looks weird, she worries that she won't ever fit in because she is a mix of Korean, Japanese, white and black.

Soon, Amy finds out that there are other people who are mixed up too, Cole and Lola have parents who are black and white, Pia has parents who are white and Chinese, and so forth. When Amy tells of her four origins, they nickname her Amy Hodgepodge, which she finds to be a wonderful way of embracing her heritage.

As the story goes along, Amy faces other fears, and discovers there are other ways that people can be different that are also hard to face. With courage and acceptance, she and her classmates find ways to accomplish their dreams.

While this description may make it sound like the issue of race is a big part of the story, it really isn't. One of the best things about this book is the way it tackles the issue of different backgrounds with subtlety, never letting it overshadow the real story of Amy finding out who she is and what she is capable of. I appreciate books that handle diversity and multiculturalism without being swamped by them.

I strongly recommend this book for parents with kids dealing with diversity, as well as for classrooms and libraries. I look forward to reading more books about Amy Hodgepodge. My only concern is that this is listed on Amazon and some other sites as intended for ages 9-12, but the language, writing style and characters are more appropriate for ages 7-9, especially second and third graders.

Four stars out of five.

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8 comments:

  1. Wow!! A book about dealing with problems for mixed girl (no offense) in high school is common!!

    But for a 4th grade student?? Should really have a look around!! Let me dig into it!!

    with warm regards
    http://arandomarticle.blogpsot.com

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  2. We need more books that tackle issues such as the one presented in this book. Kudos to the author for doing so and thank you for the review :)

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  3. Sounds like a good book for my grand daughter. She is just starting to enjoy reading.

    ........dhole

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  4. Looks good. Any idea as to word or page count?

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  5. My paperback copy is 107 pages long. Thin, but good for early readers.

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  6. It sounds like an interesting book!

    Thanks for the review.

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  7. Definitely one I want to read. Thank you!!

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  8. This sounds like a great book for all girls this age, with or without problems of diversity. A good educational tool for empathy for others. Thanks for sharing....

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