Lowji Discovers America

April 11, 2005
Fleming's (Ben Franklin's Almanac
) warm if somewhat slow-paced novel introduces an affable nine-year-old narrator who moves with his parents from Bombay to Hamlet, Ill. Lowji immediately notes the differences between his old and new life: "Hamlet, I see, is small and quiet. I am not used to small and quiet.... I am used to honking cars and rattling trains and double-decker buses that raise clouds of hot, dry dust." The boy sorely misses his best friend and longs for a pet, but the cranky owner of their apartment building does not allow them. Lowji cleverly finds a way around this rule: after convincing Landlady Crisp to get a cat to catch the building's mice, a dog to scare off burglars who are breaking into homes in town and goats to help trim the grass while her lawn mower is broken, he volunteers to pet-sit. Though the boy and his family primarily spoke English in Bombay, Lowji enjoys using the new American expressions he learns, and sprinkles the narrative with Indian words (collected in a concluding glossary). In a happy development that readers will see coming, Lowji makes a friend in the end and is thrilled when the coriander and curry seeds he brought from his homeland finally sprout, proving—with satisfying symbolism—that plants from India can indeed "grow and flourish" in American soil. Ages 7-11.

April 1, 2005
Gr 3-5 -The versatile Fleming has written a refreshingly light novel about a boy from Bombay who moves to a small town in Illinois at the beginning of summer vacation, so he's faced with no friends and nothing to do. Before long, though, he persuades his grouchy landlady to adopt a succession of animals (first a cat, then a dog, and finally a goat), rescues a pet pig that belongs to a very sweet tough guy, and wistfully watches a mysterious girl on a blue bicycle pass by his apartment. Told in first person in Lowji's slightly formal yet engaging voice, the story has a simple charm that glides over some well-worn comic territory (how often has a goat munched on a ruffled shirt stolen from a clothes line?). Interspersed throughout are letters to the boy's best friend in India, which show his gradual transition into his new world. Similar in tone to a classic like "Henry Huggins", this book is nevertheless firmly set in the 21st century and opens a window to what may be an unfamiliar culture to many readers. The episodic structure lends itself to classroom or family read-alouds." -Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2005
Gr. 3-5. "To be honest, I am more than a little sad," says nine-year-old Lowji after he moves with his parents from Bombay to an apartment in tiny Hamlet, Illinois. It's summer, the local kids are hard to meet, and Lowji longs for a pet to keep him company. Then he cleverly persuades crotchety, overworked landlady Crisp that animals could help with the chores. Soon the building is home to a cat that keeps mice under control, a dog that substitutes for a burglar alarm, and goats that keep the grass short. Delighted, Lowji helps care for the menagerie of pets and, in the process, begins to form new neighborhood friendships. Details about Indian culture (an appended glossary defines terms) and Lowji's Zoroastrian religion are purposefully inserted, as are a few moments when Lowji finds common ground with his new neighbors. But, through Lowji's mostly age-appropriate voice, Fleming tells a gentle, effective story about the loneliness and bewilderment that come with moving, and her brisk, lively sentences make this a good choice for readers gaining confidence with chapter books.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)