MY FEET ARE LAUGHING

From School Library Journal Grade 1-6 When her grandmother goes to live in heaven, Sadie, a young Dominican American, and her mother and sister move into Mama Didi's Harlem brownstone. Sadie has stories to tell and poems to write, and Norman has given her a voice in 13 accessible, narrative selections. Blending familial love and the optimism of youth, they convey Sadie's irrepressible personality. She explains that she can't sit still because her feet are laughing; relates how she and her younger sister Julie store their chuckles in a Giggle Jar, ready to dispense on a bad day; and describes herself: I'm a hip-hop song that makes you wiggle./I'm a late-night sneaky giggle./I'm a cornrow braid./I'm a cool glass of sweet lemonade. Although Sadie's parents have separated, they remain good friends and continue to care for one another in healthy, nurturing ways, defying the stereotype of the broken home. Sadie's story would pair nicely with Vera B. Williams's Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Sm