In this Katie Woo e-book, Katie's dance class has a new member. The new girl can spin faster and jump higher than Katie, and Katie is jealous. Readers can read the story on their own or follow along with the audio feature.
Fran Manushkin is the author of more than fifty books for children, including the Katie Woo series; Big Girl Panties, illustrated by Valeria Petrone; Big Sisters Are the Best, illustrated by Kirsten Richards; The Tushy Book, illustrated by Tracy Dockray; and Baby, Come Out!, illustrated by Ronald Himler and translated into eight languages. She lives in New York City.
I thought this was a cute book about perseverance and doing the right thing. Both my son and daughter enjoyed reading it aloud as well. We will keep an eye out for other books by Fran Manushkin.
I'm usually hesitant to pick up a book about an Asian American when it's not written by an Asian American author (in this case, it's neither illustrated nor written), but I do like the simplicity of this beginning reader. Katie Woo may be a Chinese American in MARC subject lines, but just like real life, she's any other kid with activities, friends, and complicated kid emotions.
I like this series for young readers for many reasons. It is a sweet story of a girl learning to accept and appreciate others. The multicultural characters are real, like the kinds of kids I see everyday at my school.