Lowji discovers America (2005)

Reviews:

Gillian Engberg (Booklist, Mar. 15, 2005 (Vol. 101, No. 14))
To be honest, I am more than a little sad," says nine-year-old Lowji after he moves with his parents from Bombay to an apartment in tiny Hamlet, Illinois. It's summer, the local kids are hard to meet, and Lowji longs for a pet to keep him company. Then he cleverly persuades crotchety, overworked landlady Crisp that animals could help with the chores. Soon the building is home to a cat that keeps mice under control, a dog that substitutes for a burglar alarm, and goats that keep the grass short. Delighted, Lowji helps care for the menagerie of pets and, in the process, begins to form new neighborhood friendships. Details about Indian culture (an appended glossary defines terms) and Lowji's Zoroastrian religion are purposefully inserted, as are a few moments when Lowji finds common ground with his new neighbors. But, through Lowji's mostly age-appropriate voice, Fleming tells a gentle, effective story about the loneliness and bewilderment that come with moving, and her brisk, lively sentences make this a good choice for readers gaining confidence with chapter books. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Fiction. 2005, Simon & Schuster/Anne Schwartz, $15.95. Gr. 3-5.

This is one of my favorite books in recent memory. Lowji is a good-natured, optimistic little boy whose parents move to the USA. He must leave behind his friends, his extended family, his familiar surroundings, and adapt to new everything. He approaches everything as an adventure and makes friends wherever he goes. There are so many laugh-out-loud moments, and the overall tone of the book is so upbeat, that it would be hard not to love Lowji. ( )

Lowji’s family moves to small-town Illinois and he adjusts to life in unfamiliar circumstances, dealing with a crotchety landlady, a man with a pig for a pet, and a mysterious stranger who just might be a friend.