Simone

by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Author) Minnie Phan (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen and illustrator Minnie Phan comes an unforgettable story of a Vietnamese American girl whose life is transformed by a wildfire.

When Simone is awakened by her mom as a wildfire threatens their home, it is the beginning of a life-changing journey. On their way to take shelter in a high school gym, the family passes firefighters from a prison unit battling the fire. Simone’s mom tells her that when she was a girl in Viet Nam, she was forced to evacuate her home after a flood. Joined by other children sheltering in the gym, Simone, a budding artist, encourages everyone to draw as a way to process their situation.

After a few days, Simone and her mom are able to return to their home, which is fortunately still standing, and her outlook has changed. As Simone begins creating a piece of art with one of her new friends, she realizes that even though they are young, they can dream and work together for a more sustainable future.

With a poetic, haunting family story by esteemed author Viet Thanh Nguyen and gorgeous art from illustrator Minnie Phan, this powerful tale introduces an unforgettable young heroine who awakens to a new role fighting for her community and for the future of the planet.

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Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
A powerful, multilayered depiction of an increasingly common situation.

ALA/Booklist

Touching.

Publishers Weekly

Rooted, per a contextualizing end note, in the 2020 California wildfires, this evocative split narrative juxtaposes intergenerational experiences of evacuation. Awakened from a deep sleep by Má as bright fire rages outside, young Simone grabs a go bag and a favorite toy. The family's route takes them past firefighters in yellow as well as orange-clad prisoners from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, all heading "right into the fire." In the car, Má recalls her own childhood evacuation from a flooded Viet Nam: "I was only a little girl back then.... All I could bring was my crayons." Inside a school gym turned shelter, Simone devises a drawing project for all the children that speaks to their individual and collective backgrounds. Artfully weaving flashbacks and recent events, Phan's inventive illustrations intersperse b&w images with spot color that gradually introduces a full rainbow spectrum of experience. Supporting characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4-8. (May)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

So full of heart and kindness and joy. I was so moved...the illustrations are beautiful and the words flow so neatly....This one is winning awards. I'm sure of it. — Lindy Wilson, librarian 

Viet Thanh Nguyen
Viet Thanh Nguyen is the author of The Sympathizer, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial. His first picture book was Chicken of the Sea, co-written with his son, Ellison Nguyen, and illustrated by Thi Bui and her son, Hien Bui-Stafford.

Minnie Phan is an illustrator and writer based in Oakland, CA. Her work has been featured by Google, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the San Francisco Public Library, for which she illustrated a citywide reading campaign in 2022. She is the illustrator of the picture book The Yellow Áo Dài, written by Hanh Bui.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781662651199
Lexile Measure
360
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Minerva
Publication date
May 07, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV011020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Asian American
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
Library of Congress categories
-

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