Yasmin’s Hammer by Ann Malaspina - ESSENTIAL

Malaspina, Ann. Yasmin’s Hammer. Illustrated by Doug Ghayka. Lee and Low Books, Inc., 2010. $18.95. Content G-picture book.  Yasmin and her sister, Mita, would love nothing more than to go to school, but her parents need them to work to help pay the bills. They dream of going to school and learning to read. When Yasmin works extra hard at her job hammering rocks into bricks her boss rewards her with extra coins. She does something so remarkable with her extra coins that ultimately change her and Mita’s lives. I liked the perspective this book gave into a different culture. This could be used as a teaching tool, springboard into a service project or just plain entertainment for little ones.  On a side note, I gave it to some of my reluctant readers (9th graders) and they all liked it and all commented about how nicely written it was with a great message. ESSENTIAL, ES, MS. Shauna, Reading teacher