Making Friends with Billy Wong

In a quiet story set in 1952, Scattergood (Glory Be) shines a light on a rarely told bit of history. Introverted Azalea Ann, 11, is reluctant to spend the summer in Arkansas helping her bossy Grandma Clark, a woman she hardly knows, and she has no idea what to think of Billy Wong, who has just moved to attend a better school and help his family run the town’s small grocery. Billy is the first Chinese person Azalea has met, and she openly wonders how she could “talk to a boy who looked like he’d just moved here from China.” Despite Azalea’s reservations, they soon unite against the overt racism of Willis DeLoach, a local boy with a tough reputation. Grandma Clark, Billy, and even Willis end up teaching Azalea quite a bit about jumping to conclusions and the power of finding unexpected commonalities. Azalea’s narration is interspersed with occasional entries from Billy’s perspective, written in verse, that show his strength of character and desire to succeed, despite facing clear challenges in the segregated South. Ages 8–12. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Aug.)