On the Block: Stories of Home

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.

Kirkus

We Need Diverse Books co-founder Oh follows up Flying Lessons & Other Stories (2017) with a collection of 12 interwoven, slice-of-life tales from acclaimed middle-grade authors. In an unnamed American city stands a (potentially haunted) yellow apartment building called the Entrada, where aromas of food and loud sounds set the tone for a summer of communal living. Desirée, apparently of West Indian descent, helps Ro perform a lion dance for her Chinese school. Yaniel learns about his abuela’s history in Cuba while contemplating his feelings for Filipina American Pacy, a Star Trek aficionado with a crush on him. Many kids are first- or second-generation immigrants, and their cultures intermingle in authentic ways. Angel’s family is late on the rent, and his parents’ memories of their home city, Sephardic-founded Monterrey, Mexico, leads them to feel confident reaching out to their white Jewish landlords for help. Vietnamese American Hao discovers the ghost he’s been seeing around the building has a connection to Mr. Joe, the Italian American barber. Though each story was written by a different author—among them Tracey Baptiste, Adam Gidwitz, and Erin Entrada Kelly—they nevertheless coalesce into a rich depiction of a loving community. With candor and sensitivity, the authors take on both lighthearted issues such as burgeoning romance as well as more serious ones, including bigotry and the harsh realities of the American dream. A superbly rendered love letter to identity and heritage. (foreword by Meg Medina) (Anthology. 8-12) —starred review

On the Block: Stories of Home

Publishers Weekly

"In this heartwarming anthology, edited by Oh (Haru, Zombie Dog Hero) and set in N.Y.C. apartment building the Entrada, a dozen authors—including Tracey Baptiste, Adam Gidwitz, Meg Medina, and Jasmine Warga—chronicle the exploits and misadventures of the building’s young residents, who come from myriad backgrounds. Though each offering stands alone, characters frequently interact and overlap, forming friendships and helping one another. In “Apt. 5B,” Lila—her family having newly arrived from Trinidad—delights in exploring her new home. The following story, “Apt. 1B,” features the building owner’s son Lenny, who befriends resident Angel over a shared love of action figures. Ro, an occupant in “Apt. 6A,” would rather learn Chinese lion dancing than “girly” traditional movements, and “Apt. 6C” resident Yaniel wants to win a Popsicle stick bridge building contest. Memorably realized and intersectionally diverse characters each lead upbeat stories in this rollicking collection, which maintains an air of positivity, empathy, cooperation, and inclusion throughout. While selections feel more like bite-size appetizers than full meals, they come together much like a community potluck and will leave readers wanting more. Ages 8–12. Agent: Marietta B. Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Oct.)" ― starred review

On the Block: Stories of Home

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