Farah feels alone, even when surrounded by her classmates. She listens and nods but doesn't speak. It's hard being the new kid in school, especially when you're from another country and don't know the language. Then, on a field trip to an apple orchard, Farah discovers there are lots of things that sound the same as they did at home, from dogs crunching their food to the ripple of friendly laughter. As she helps the class make apple cider, Farah connects with the other students and begins to feel that she belongs. Ted Lewin's gorgeous sun-drenched paintings and Eve Bunting's sensitive text immediately put the reader into another child's shoes in this timely story of a young Muslim immigrant. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Bunting (Fly Away Home) once again delves into a timely social topic with a straightforward, rather simplistic treatment-in this instance, the integration of an immigrant child into a rural setting. Farah, on her second day of school, goes on a field trip to an apple orchard. "I think it odd to have boys and girls sit together. It was not like this in my village." Her first-person narration gives the story authenticity, making readers privy to a newcomer's feelings of confusion and frustration. After her teacher explains that Farah is to pick only one apple, the girl chooses a hard, presumably unripe one from a tree that "is small and alone, like me." She notices many things: her classmates' smiles (some unfriendly, some warmer); how her dupatta (head scarf) is the only thing that sets her clothing apart from her peers; and how the sounds she hears (laughter, a classmate belching) are universal. Lewin's light-filled watercolors often resemble photographs, especially when depicting the students. Though Farah's insightfulness seems beyond her years, the symbolism of her green apple and the students' apple cider as a "melting pot" comes across as thoughtful, not overdone. Ages 5-8. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information