On the Block: Stories of Home
edited by Ellen Oh
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes an inspiring middle-grade anthology that follows the loosely interconnected lives of multigenerational immigrant families, the residents at the Entrada apartment building. Edited by Ellen Oh, a founding member of WNDB.
“The beauty of their shared home does not come from any single person, but instead from the sum of their experiences” –Meg Medina, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
12 Families. 12 Cultures. 1 Building.
Welcome to the Entrada, home to these everyday Americans, including
- the new kid on the block, who is both homesick and curious
- a Popsicle-bridge builder, a ghost hunter, and a lion dancer
- their families, friends, and neighbors from all around the world!
Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this anthology features award-winning authors Tracey Baptiste, David Bowles, Adrianna Cuevas, Sayantani DasGupta, Debbi Michiko Florence, Adam Gidwitz, Erin Entrada Kelly, Minh Lê, Ellen Oh, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Andrea Wang, and Jasmine Warga. These inspiring stories celebrate family, friendship, culture, and American immigrant life today.
5 out of 5 fairies
A beautiful collection of short stories, all taking place in the same apartment building, with kids from all walks of life that readers young and old will enjoy reading. Each story follows a different family, and see things through the lens of the children. From people just moving in, to a family that owns the building, we get to look beneath the surface and learn so much. The authors really bring the vibe of the apartment to life, and I enjoyed learning little snippets about the different cultures represented. The kids are all unique, with different home lives, personalities, dreams, and worries. While these are short stories, and you can read them one at a time, I found it hard to stop reading once I started, curious about what the next one would bring. Cannot recommend enough!
Ellen Oh is an award-winning author and editor of middle-grade and young adult novels, including Haru, Zombie Dog Hero; Finding Junie Kim; The Dragon Egg Princess; the Spirit Hunters trilogy; and The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee. She has also edited and contributed to On the Block: Stories of Home, You Are Here: Connecting Flights, and Flying Lessons & Other Stories. She is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing diversity in children’s literature. Ellen lives in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband, three human children, and two dog children. Find her online at ellenoh.com.