Not Exactly the Same

Grace Lin charms young readers with this Geisel Honor book. As one might expect, twins Ling and Ting appear the same (until their initial trip to the barbershop), but each personality shines as the girls share dumplings, magic, chopsticks, library books, and storytelling. Angela Lin is a childlike narrator who sets a leisurely pace. Her voices for each girl are subtly distinctive. Her enunciation is precise, and she adds well-placed inflection and spot-on emphasis and pauses to imitate the conversations of the twins. Lin's understated humor shines through: Would you prefer a "dump-ling or a dump-ting"? A.R. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine