Gigi ICR #2

Gigi wants to go by something besides her baby name-but her full name, Geraldine, is too long to write and Hanako, her middle name, doesn’t feel quite right. Will Gigi find the perfect name

This exciting new I Can Read series is brought to you by author-illustrator Melissa Iwai, whose popular books include Soup Day and Dumplings for Lili.

Gigi and Ojiji: What’s Iin a Name is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level 3 books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories. The story contains several Japanese words and a glossary of definitions.

Praise for Gigi and Ojiji:

Gigi crafts her Japanese American identity in this enchanting early reader. The cuteness, inclusivity, and cross-cultural problem-solving represented will have young readers coming back again and again. A must-buy. -School Library Journal (starred review)

The text is well supported by the endearing illustrations, which capture all of Gigi’s big emotions and depict her as a biracial child, with a white father and Japanese mother. -Booklist (starred review)

An affirming option in the quickly diversifying field of early-reader books. -Kirkus