On the Block, Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh - ESSENTIAL

On the Block, Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh, 208 pages. Random House, 2024. $18.

Language: PG (2 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G (There's an angry old man who lives in the apartment) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Lila has just moved to the Entrada from Trinidad, her parents keep telling her that things will be better in America, she doesn't see it that way. Lenny's parents own the building, and makes the mistake of telling that to the kids, now they think he's saying he's better than them. Amira finds a stray dog, Yaniel is making everyone eat popsicles to help him collect enough sticks to build his bridge project. 12 stories that all take place in the same apartment building. 

The children are about the same ages, and many go to the same school. Like Flying Lessons each story is written by a different diverse author, including Ellen Oh, Minh Lê, David Bowles and Erin Entrada Kelly. I loved how, like children interact, they were in each other's stories, and some stories even intersected. Brilliant. A super fun read, I can see this being used in a classroom setting, great themes of family, friendships, and the immigrant experience, along with culture and apartment living. Most of the children are immigrants or from immigrant families 

Lisa Librarian