In English, Of Course by Josephine Nobisso Illustrated by Dasha Ziborova

from goodreads

4 stars

I feel really lucky to have been born and raised in Canada. Canada is a pretty nice place to live. But even here, sometimes the grass seems greener in other places. Growing up, and even now to a certain extent, I have wanted to live in Europe. How awesome would it be to have so many different countries and cultures so close by and how cool would it be to learn a bunch of different languages. While Canada has two official languages I must say my french is not at all where it should be in order to converse easily with the francophones of this country. While english seems to be becoming the universal language, I feel I am am sort of doing myself a disservice by not trying to learn other languages.

Learning other languages helps develop different ways of thinking and communicating what is really in your head and heart. It bridges gaps between others. Also, think of how many more books you can read instead of having to wait for a translation. How awesome would that be?

Synopsis

This is a story of a young immigrant girl in New York. She and her other classmates are trying their best to understand this new world and being understood themselves.

My Thoughts

This was such a fun read. You never really think about how kids might feel in their new surroundings and a new language. You kind of figure they will manage. People always say "oh they will pick it up so quickly" and while the case may be true it is still difficult for them.

It was interesting to see the girl's thoughts about what they other students were saying, and then the thought process for what she was trying to say. We learn that a lot can be lost in translation.

I liked at the end the girl takes what she learned and expresses how motivated she is for her next story. She is not going to give up.

This is definitely a story that helps promote, patience, empathy, and love for those who are new and learning english or any language for that matter. They are people too with intelligence, charm and wit. May we all be kind.