The Year of the Book - (Anna Wang Novel) by Andrea Cheng (Paperback)

About the Book

This fully illustrated chapter book follows Anna, a young Asian-American girl, as she navigates relationships with family, friends, and her fourth-grade classroom, and finds a true best friend.

Book Synopsis

A novel to treasure with every middle-grade reader you know (NYTBR), this first Anna Wang story shows how a young Asian-American girl navigates her way around friendship and learn to accept that our diversity is what makes us unique.

In Chinese, peng you means friend. But in any language, all Anna knows for certain is that friendship is complicated.

When Anna needs company, she turns to her books. Whether traveling through A Wrinkle in Time, or peering over My Side of the Mountain, books provide what real life cannot--constant companionship and insight into her changing world.

Books, however, can't tell Anna how to find a true friend. She'll have to discover that on her own. In the tradition of classics like Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy books and Eleanor Estes' One Hundred Dresses, this novel subtly explores what it takes to make friends and what it means to be one.

Review Quotes

"A gentle, affectionate take on familiar middle-grade issues and the joys of reading."
--Kirkus

"Tender . . . Cheng credibly portrays Anna's budding maturity."
--Publishers Weekly

"Cheng's telling is as straightforward yet sympathetic as her self-contained main character; and Halpin's often lighthearted pencil-and-wash sketches both decorate and enrich this perceptive novel."
--Horn Book

"Readers are led to discover the extraordinary within the ordinary, and to witness how kindness can draw trust and create confidence in a hesitant child."
--School Library Journal

"This is a remarkably pithy and nuanced portrait of a fourth-grader and her world, and the streamlined simplicity of Cheng's writing and the brief page count make it accessible."
--Bulletin

"The Year of the Book was a pleasure to read and more. This is a novel to treasure and share with every middle-grade reader you know."
--New York Times Book --

About the Author

Andrea Cheng writes picture books, and middle grade and young adult novels, and teaches ESL and children's literature. She walks daily near her Ohio home. www.andreacheng.com

Abigail Halpin is an illustrator and a graphic designer. Away from the drawing table, she knits, reads comic books, and plays the fiddle. She lives in New England. www.theodesign.com