Illustrator: None
Genre:Chapter Book
Sub genre:
Theme: Family, Strength, Gifted children/Prodigies
Primary and Secondary Characters:Yolanda, Andrew
Award(s) date of publication: Caldecott, 1997
Publishing Company:Simon and Schuster
Brief Summary: This story takes place in Chicago where Yolanda lives. She has a little brother named Andrew who has some disabilities. He doesn't speak, but he can play music. Throughout the story, Yolanda faces several challenges. She is big for her age, and she gets reminded of that fact in the story. Both her and her brother struggle, but they also have gifts. Yolanda is extremely intelligent, and Andrew can play the harmonica although he doesn't talk much or read. One day, Yolanda looks up the word "genius" in the dictionary and decides that that is the perfect word for her younger brother. Something terrible happens, and Yolanda's goal is to inspire her younger brother to love music again.
How this book could be used in a classroom setting: This is not a "warm and fuzzy" book, but I think it would be good for students to read. I think they would be really interested in it just because of the challenges the two face and how they deal with it. The book has to be read in order to find out how Yolanda gets her brother to love music again...if she is able to at all. This book would also be great to show students that though they might struggle with imperfections, they have something they are good at. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, but it's about focusing on what we do have opposed to what we don't. I also think this book is great because it shows the importance of family. I love Yolanda's Genius, and I give it an 11!
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