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sara_hudson's review against another edition
4.0
I love a kid like Cilla - thinking all the time, noticing stuff the rest of us miss and adding her own interpretation. If she does grow up to be an author, her books are going to be great. An authentic soon-to-be big sister voice with some truly hilarious things to say. (Some Clementine in this girl.) The spin that this book take is that Cilla has one set of Chinese-American grandparents and one set of White grandparents. And everyone gets along...fine...but not well. But they all love Cilla, and that love along with a new baby in the family breaks down some family walls. Really nicely rendered with some laugh out loud moments.
rachelwrites007's review against another edition
4.0
THIS WAS SO SO ADORABLE AND FUNNY. And the voice is PITCH freaking perfect!!!!
angiew23's review against another edition
5.0
Cilla Lee-Jenkins Future Author Extraordinaire written by Susan Tan and illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte is definitely making its way onto my read alouds list for this year. The story is narrated by an 8 year old named Pricilla (who goes by Cilla) and tells of her life with her parents, classmates, friends and grandparents as she navigates elementary school. Cilla is especially disappointed by the fact that a blob she saw in a grainy ultrasound picture is about to become her new baby sibling. Light hearted and fun, while also tackling issues young people face like disagreements with a best friend, being teased for enjoying a cultural delicacy uncommon to other preschoolers and learning how to be a big sister. I think that kids will connect with Cilla while also finding her versions of what is going on around her silly and funny. I am looking forward to sharing it with my Grade 3 students later this year!
This novel also reminds me a bit of Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez and Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson, in that it is about a young girl's unique perspective as she navigates the world, including difficulties she faces related to her race because microaggressions happen even to second graders! I would definitely recommend this book to parents and teachers looking for books with diverse and spunky main characters for children in the range of ages 6-10.
This novel also reminds me a bit of Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez and Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson, in that it is about a young girl's unique perspective as she navigates the world, including difficulties she faces related to her race because microaggressions happen even to second graders! I would definitely recommend this book to parents and teachers looking for books with diverse and spunky main characters for children in the range of ages 6-10.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
3.0
Cilla struggles with the anticipation of becoming a big sister, second grade, and the fact that her two sets of grandparents don't really hang out together, even though she spends a lot of time with each set.
There was a lot I liked about this book. Cilla writes in first person (she's going to be a famous author, after all), talks about the life experiences of being a young person with grandparents from different cultures, and I appreciated the #ownvoices perspective Tan brings to this realistic elementary school tale.
Unfortunately, this didn't end up making the cut for my elementary outreach lineup this year.
The sticking point for me ended up being her age.
Like I mentioned above, this book focuses on the fact that Cilla is in second grade. The book itself is almost 250 pages long - with pretty minimal illustrations. As a general rule, kids like to read about kids who are slightly older them. A year or two, ideally. But this book is way beyond the reading level of a Kindergarten or 1st grader. And I'm not convinced that a majority of 3-5th graders (who seem to be the target audience for this book, based on its girth) want to read about a 2nd grade life. Those kids are there, sure - both the younger kids who can handle it, and the older people who will pick it up - but when I'm picking my lineup, I'm going for the common denominator, mass appeal books.
I'm glad it exists, but it wasn't right for my purposes.
There's also the slight issue of the repeated use of the word "Caucasian." I've been trying to scrub that word from my own vocabulary for years, for reasons listed in lots of places, like this article. The word is only used a time or two in the text itself, but it's used in large font on the flap, and in the publisher's summary.
This book has a bunch of sequels, so clearly it's found an audience - and I'd love to read more by this author myself. I'll happily handsell it to kids too.
There was a lot I liked about this book. Cilla writes in first person (she's going to be a famous author, after all), talks about the life experiences of being a young person with grandparents from different cultures, and I appreciated the #ownvoices perspective Tan brings to this realistic elementary school tale.
Unfortunately, this didn't end up making the cut for my elementary outreach lineup this year.
The sticking point for me ended up being her age.
Like I mentioned above, this book focuses on the fact that Cilla is in second grade. The book itself is almost 250 pages long - with pretty minimal illustrations. As a general rule, kids like to read about kids who are slightly older them. A year or two, ideally. But this book is way beyond the reading level of a Kindergarten or 1st grader. And I'm not convinced that a majority of 3-5th graders (who seem to be the target audience for this book, based on its girth) want to read about a 2nd grade life. Those kids are there, sure - both the younger kids who can handle it, and the older people who will pick it up - but when I'm picking my lineup, I'm going for the common denominator, mass appeal books.
I'm glad it exists, but it wasn't right for my purposes.
There's also the slight issue of the repeated use of the word "Caucasian." I've been trying to scrub that word from my own vocabulary for years, for reasons listed in lots of places, like this article. The word is only used a time or two in the text itself, but it's used in large font on the flap, and in the publisher's summary.
This book has a bunch of sequels, so clearly it's found an audience - and I'd love to read more by this author myself. I'll happily handsell it to kids too.
miszjeanie's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED reading Cilla’s stories and her brand of wit is just the best. This book explores everything from identity, especially for a biracial child, friendships and dealing with the birth of a new sibling. Cilla is smart, imaginative and simply a delight to be with!
bigbear73's review against another edition
4.0
So so good. Read aloud with my 7 year old, and we both loved it.
herreadinglife's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
trueblue28's review against another edition
5.0
Cute book told through the eyes of an 8 year old about becoming a big sister, being of mixed heritage and the yearning for a closer extended family relationship.
jess_segraves's review against another edition
5.0
Hilarious and heartfelt, I loved this book from beginning to end. I appreciated how fresh and current it feels while also not feeling like it's set in a specific year, which makes me think it's going to hold up well over time.