At Home in a Faraway Place by Lynne Rae Perkins

I asked for a preview copy of AT HOME IN A FARAWAY PLACE by Lynne Rae Perkins because I had SO enjoyed her very creative (and award-winning) book for children titled Criss Cross. This time, she is telling the story of Lissie who travels with her father and grandmother to Guatemala to visit her father’s friends. Perkins charmingly presents tales of their adventures while introducing roughly 100 Spanish words and phrases often illustrated, spelled phonetically, and listed together in a five-page glossary. Lissie experiences a new environment (living in sight of volcanos - los volcáns), new foods (like las empanadas), and familiar games (Simon says … Simón dice), even spending part of a tarde (afternoon) playing with a pelota (ball). I have been learning Spanish for about eighteen months and enjoyed reading as I came across both familiar and new vocabulary. This is a very sweet friendship tale filled with playful black and white drawings and Perkins says, “I love hearing stories about a life in some ways quite unlike my own, but in other ways, important ways, very much the same.” I concur; AT HOME IN A FARAWAY PLACE is a wonderful introduction to a language and the concept of how we are different and yet so similar, a truly significant idea to share with children.

Similar authors to Lynne Rae Perkins that students may have already discovered include Rebecca Stead (Goodbye Stranger) or Jordan Sonnenblick (Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie) or Wendy Mass (A Mango-Shaped Space) or Jerry Spinelli (Stargirl) or even some works by Carl Hiaasen (Hoot or Flush). Age-specific state awards (like Rebecca Caudill in Illinois) list numerous quality titles each year; another wonderful resource – covering multiple states and ages and compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith – is provided here.