Learning how to be a friend

The Year of the Book.  When we first meet Anna, a nine-year-old Chinese American girl, we learn that she is an avid reader who isn’t so sure about friendships with real people.  As Anna’s fourth grade school year progresses, though, she makes a new friend and reconnects with a friend who had drifted away. In the process, Anna discovers what it means to be a true friend even when things get difficult.  Appealing illustrations add to the charm of this 3^rd-5^th grade level novel.