Ruby Lu, Brave and True

Ruby Lu, I'm in love with you!

Ruby is as spirited as her Pacific Northwest predecessor, Ramona, and her east coast counterpart, Clementine. She is confident - sometimes too confident - and cherished by her parents and baby brother, Oscar. The family's Chinese-American customs and food are naturally part of Ruby's life, so they are naturally part of her story. A highlight is the chapter where, after watching her Gung Gung teach her Poh Poh how to drive, Ruby drives herself and Oscar to Chinese school (four blocks away) on a Saturday morning - and her takeaway lesson is not to park in the principal's spot!

Ruby also navigates a close but competitive friendship with her neighbor Emma, deals with a new-to-the-neighborhood bully, Christina, show more and prepares for her cousin, aunt, and uncle to arrive from China. show less

The best thing about Ruby Lu is everything. This transitional chapter book is just right for readers who are ready for longer chapter books. Larger font sizes, black-and-white line drawings every few pages, and short chapters that build on one another help elementary-age readers to be successful. But the best part is, readers will be having so much fun living vicariously through Ruby Lu’s exploits, they won’t be aware of how much they are growing their reading skills. Surrounded by a strong extended family (who always provide a safe place to return to), Ruby Lu, a second-grader, explores the ever-expanding world of her neighborhood, practices magic tricks and puts on amazing shows, wears magic capes and pretends to be a tree frog, show more gets hilariously competitive with a new gal pal over the developmental milestones of their baby brothers, discovers Chinese School is not run by prison guards, finds compassion for a mean girl who gets sick, and in one chapter kids will particularly love, drives her parents’ car! Through it all, Ruby Lu shows a sense of being in love with her world and the people in it, and readers, in turn, can’t help loving Ruby Lu. show less

I cannot believe that I didn't know this book was set in Seattle. Not only Seattle, but Beacon Hill. Not only Beacon Hill, but she goes to Kimball and she lives by the Jefferson Park golf course. I know this particular little slice of neighborhood very well, and it delights me to see it in print. Ruby is a charmer, and her adventures are excellent and age appropriate. Good stuff!

This early chapter book tells the tales of Ruby Lu, a young Asian-American girl. Ruby loves her live, except when she doesn't. She loves her brother Oscar, but he doesn't do what she wants him to. She doesn't like the thought of going to Chinese school because it is on Saturday. But then she likes it, even though she finds learning Chinese very hard. Ruby likes to do magic tricks and she really wants to drive a car (at eight!). This is an entertaining book, which also helps young readers begin to see the challenges of straddling between two cultures - especially East and West. Ruby also wants to be independent but she just can't do everything she wants to do.

I like the multicultural aspect of this book, which is done in a fun and show more entertaining way, but it still lends itself to reflection on what it is like to be part of two very different cultures. This is a fabulous book for children who are in this situation and may have a personal connection to this type of experience. I think this is a wonderful series to included in the classroom and it would lend itself well to small group or pair and share discussions. show less

This book tells stories about a Chinese American girl Ruby Lu, who is eight years old, enjoys her life, likes doing magic tricks and doing all sorts of other interesting things in her life. The characters are interesting and funny. Children can always learn good lessons from the book. It is a good idea to have a flipbook to go with it and the guide of pronunciation and definitions. The illustration also adds color to the book, however, some of the illustrations could be done better in a more detailed way. It is a celebration of diversity. I’d recommend 2nd to 4th graders to read the book, since it is very fun to read and the content will teach them some things.

"Ruby Lu, Brave and True" is a hilarious and silly chapter book. Ruby, a Chinese american girl, loves her family and friends and she also loves magic. Ruby finally gets the courage to attend Chinese weekend school. She loves it but gets discouraged when her brother is learning Chinese faster then her. Ruby always wants to be the best, and the center of attention. This creates a lot of problems with her life. Throughout the book Ruby learns that it isn't always the best to get angry or jealous over silly things. She grows as a person in this story and overcomes personal problems that she struggled with. This book was so fun to read, it includes so many funny illustrations to go along with this silly story. I know kids will love this show more hilarious chapter book. This will be a great book to have your students read, its enjoyable and also teaches a great lesson about wanting to be the center of attention. show less

Lots of little episodes in the life of a usually very happy second-grader. Not sure where it takes place, someplace with fog and a Chinatown but not California. I laughed, I went "aww," but I never cried. I want more in the series, and more by the author.