Saraswati’s Way

Saraswati’s Way
by Monika Schroder
J SCH

Akash, although poor, has lived a happy life with his family in a small town in the desert area of India and has been able to study those 12 years with the village scholar enough to know that he has a great talent and love for mathematics. His desire to study further is thwarted by the death of his father and the betrayal of his relatives who sell him into slavery. Akash has always thought that the gods would provide for him. Akash questions the gods, particularly Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and patroness of mathematicians, and Ganeshe the god of good fortune. The gods do not seem to be offering any chances of a better life to Akash, so the boy takes matters into his own hands.
Akash escapes a work camp and flees to Delhi where he lives with a group of homeless boys. He makes a living by selling trash and recyclable items. While running errands for a salesman he knows named Ramesh, Akash often passes a school where he sees students studying. He watches them with envy.
When Akash earns a few coins, he hires a tutor, only to discover that he knows more math than the teacher. That tutor refuses to return his money even though he has nothing to teach him.
Akash befriends several of the street boys who direct him to other jobs. He barely escapes getting drawn into the drug trade. Akash longs to further his education, but there are things he is unwilling to do to earn money. His older friend Ramesh notes how hardworking and honest Akash is and offers him opportunities to work for him and his fellow business people in the area.
Can someone who is no more than a beggar earn a scholarship to a good education? To find out if hardworking, honest Akash can make his way to his goals in a harsh world, you must read Saraswati’s Way.

Watch the book trailer below:


J’Ann Peacock Alvarado

A Long Walk to Water

A Long Walk to Water
by Linda Sue Park
J PAR


Salva’s story begins when he is 11 in 1985 in southern Sudan among the Dinka people. War comes to his village while he is in school and he flees alone into the brush. Nya’s story begins in 2008, also in Sudan, where she is 11 years old and has to walk 8 miles daily to bring water to her family of the Nuer tribe. Each chapter tells a part of Salva’s story and a part of Nya’s story with nothing to connect the two young people together except for the country of their birth. They are two young Sudanese people of tribes that are traditionally enemies to each other.

Salva sees much cruelty and death on his march to find sanctuary and safety in his war-torn land. He makes a friend along the way, only to lose him to the attack of a lion. He searches for his family, finding his uncle, who he loses to a group of bandits. He is truly one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Salva is forced to flee through a crocodile infested river when driven from a concentration camp in Ethiopia. He walks from Sudan to Ethiopia to Kenya always searching for safety. It is a miracle that he survives.

Nya walks for hours every day carrying water to her family. There is no time in her life for any other thing; no play, no education, no enjoyment. She walks barefoot through hard, rocky, thorny ground, without complaint, carrying water for her family.

Then a strange man comes to Nya’s village with machinery and a crew of workers. He is there to do a service that will forever change Nya’s life for the better. He has come to drill a well for her village. He is a strange grown man with no tribal markings on his face. Nya’s curiosity gets the best of her. She must find out who this man is, what tribe is he from and why he is in Sudan drilling for water for all the people there.

To find out how Salva’s life is saved and to learn the connection between Nya and Salva, you must read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, based on the true life story of Salva Dut of Sudan.

You can watch Linda Sue Park discuss the story here:


Reviewed by J’Ann Peacock Alvarado

Olivia Goes to Venice

Olivia Goes to Venice
written and illustrated by Ian Falconer
Call Number E FAL

Olivia is back and this time she and her family go on vacation in Venice. The latest in the Olivia series is once again a book both children and adults can enjoy.

Falconer briefly pokes fun at airport security by having Olivia searched for weapons by two TSA agents. Olivia smiled and was “very pleased.” Olivia is so exhausted after the flight that she does not notice the beautiful view outside her hotel window. After a night at the hotel, Olivia and her family tour the sites of Venice, frequently stopping to purchase gelato (Italian ice cream). Olivia is so enamored of the palazzos off the Grand Canal that she wants to live in one. The family takes a gondola ride on the second day of the trip. Later, Olivia searches for the perfect souvenir, with disastrous consequences.

The beautiful illustrations incorporate stylized photos of Venice and give the story a sense of place. Falconer also captures jet lag in a hilarious illustration of Olivia sleeping at the hotel by drawing x’s for Olivia’s eyes. Falconer’s depiction of the number of pigeons at Piazza San Marco is spot-on (see illustration below).

Olivia’s latest adventure is once again a pleasure to read. It reminded me of my trip to Venice several years ago.

Simon and Schuster created a brief video in which Ian Falconer discusses the inspiration for Olivia Goes to Venice:


Reviewed by Margaret Ballard