Book Review Sonya Sahni and The First Grade Its International Day By Soma Mandal

Title: Sonya Sahni and The First Grade Its International Day

Author: Soma Mandal

Stars: 3 1\2 stars out of 5

Review:
Sonya Shani is about a little girl who wants to be cultural American while her parents keep her to the traditions of her native culture. 
With the way the political environment as become we are either proud to be American and hide our traditions or we speak out loudly of the traditions of our native country and shame being American. 
What message does this send the children we are raising? 
This book covers that children want to be proud Americans but also proud of their cultures their families are holding strong to.
I will be honest I didn't enjoy the broad general statements the author used like wearing jeans, "eating meatballs, sauce, and spaghetti." and her friends name Betty.  Someone of the writing lacked creativity from an adults perspective.

When I read this to my daughter 1st grade daughter she picked up the message quickly.  We were able to discuss different races, cultures that are different from her own.  We talked about respecting others who are different and look different. 
For kids this books message works in its basic form.  As an adult I think this story could have been better executed.

The Illustrations were basic nothing that stood out.  

Thank you to Mindstir Media for sending me a copy for my children to read and review.



Synopsis:
Sonya is torn between her roots. She was born in the USA but her parents are Indian...she desperately wants to fi t in and be American. Her parents want her to embrace who she is, but Sonya feels like a misfit. This is a wonderful story about a little girl who discovers her identity and learns to appreciate who she is. A must read for any child or adult who feels different from the rest of the world.

Paperback, 44 pages

Published June 13th 2017 by Mindstir Media

About The Author: 

Soma Mandal was born to Indian immigrant parents and grew up in New York. She is a practicing internist in NJ. She has an American accent and loves pizza and restaurants that serve breakfast all day. She grew up in the 1980's and felt different from everyone else. She poured her heart into studying and became a hopeless bookworm. Her favorite place is the library, which she visits almost daily. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and family.