Full Cicada Moon, by Marilyn Hilton is a book written in verse. This was one of the books nominated for the RICBA award in 2017. I noticed it sat on the shelf and didn't get picked up by many students. So, I thought I'd give it a try and I was not disappointed. Because this book is written in a poem format it ends up being a fat book and maybe students thought it was too fat to get through. We may have to add, "Don't judge a book by it's size", to the old adage, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Although the book appears thick, it is actually a quick read, because the poems spread the text out.
Full Cicada Moon is about a girl who moves to Vermont from California. Because Mimi's father is African American and her mother is Japanese, Mimi has a hard time fitting in at her new school. Every day challenges her to be patient and courageous as the teachers and students learn to see past her mixed race family. This is an excellent story and the character's struggles against racial and gender prejudice make it a great addition to a teacher's classroom list of read aloud books that encourage empathy.
Reviewed by Mrs. Castro
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