Kiki's Journey

While young Kiki has lived in Los Angeles all her life, she knows that her mother and father grew up in Taos Pueblo, and she's proud to be Tiwa. Then, after many years' absence, Kiki and her parents drive two days to New Mexico to visit her Grandma and Uncle Tim. As Kiki witnesses their daily lives, she begins to wonder where she belongs. Kiki gives voice to a common struggle of straddling two worlds, but unfortunately, the narrative takes on an overearnest tone. Expository sections seem more akin to a social studies discussion than the heroine's own interpretation of her heritage and history, while shared family stories get short shrift. Day's saturated, naïf illustrations occasionally buoy the story, capturing the wide-open landscape and the way the New Mexico sky frames the Pueblo's tan adobe buildings. The roughhewn renderings lose much of their charm, however, when it comes to portraits of the characters. Still, the girl's emotional journey does end happily: with some gentle nudging from Grandma (""Remember that even though you are far away, living in that big city, always be proud of this place and who you are""), Kiki understands that it's possible for her ""heart to belong to both the Pueblo and the city,"" as her parents' hearts do. Ages 6-up.