Author Maulik Pancholy and his books have recently gone under fire. A school board in Pennsylvania voted 8-0 is uninvite him as a speaker at one of their schools. After students and community members protested, the school board reversed their decision 5-4 to reschedule the author visit.
I was familiar with Pancholy since using his book THE BEST AT IT in my university Children's Literature class. It was one of the most popular books in the class according to my students who were all future teachers. Now that I've also read NIKHIL OUT LOUD, all I can say is Pancholy writes about exactly what the school board members were saying was unacceptable for their students. I don't know when topics like friendship, anti-bullying, acceptance, and empathy have become bad things to share with our children.
NIKHIL OUT LOUD is about thirteen-year-old Nikhil. He lives in LA where he is a voice actor in a popular cartoon starring an Indian character. He loves playing the part of Raj Reddy. When his mother announces they are moving to Ohio to live with his Indian grandparents, Nikhil is stunned. He hardly knows these people. How can he leave his best friend? What will happen to his career?
It doesn't take long for everyone in Nikhil's new school to recognize their new, famous classmate. He finds it is easy to make new friends and even discovers a potential love interest, Mateo. Questions in a school newspaper interview reveal that Nikhil is gay. This unleashes a protest like the school has never encountered.
NIKHIL OUT LOUD will open readers' eyes to racism, understanding differences, adjusting to new cultural ideas, and more. I highly recommend it for middle grade readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment