The Notebook Keeper

May 15, 2022
Waiting to cross the border is no easy task. A young girl named Noemi and her mother leave Mexico in search of a safer place to live. Arriving at the border, they must wait. They give their names and country of origin to the kind Notebook Keeper, Belinda, a volunteer tasked with keeping track of asylum seekers waiting to plead their cases. Each day, Belinda calls out the names of those who can move forward in the process. The author's note explains that this is based on a real-life process at the San Ysidro Border Crossing in Tijuana. Noemi and Mam� wait for days, then weeks. Belinda encourages them to stay hopeful and explains that she was picked to become the Notebook Keeper--and how she will select her own replacement when her number is finally called. Taking a cue from Belinda, Noemi decides to stay positive and be kind to those around her. She and her mother are eventually chosen to be the new Notebook Keepers when Belinda's number comes up. Noemi and Mam� are Mexican and brown-skinned; other asylum seekers at the border represent a variety of ethnicities and brown skin tones. The story is uncomplicated and earnest while explaining a deeply nuanced aspect of attempting to enter the United States as a refugee. Dreamy colored pencil, pastel, gouache, and Photoshop collage illustrations put a human face on the real struggle facing so many refugees today. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A hopeful story that encourages compassion. (sources) (Picture book. 5-10)

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July 22, 2022

PreS-Gr 2-When their community is no longer safe and with more of their friends leaving, Noemi and her mother begin the journey to the border. Alone at first, they are soon joined by others hoping to cross into the United States. Noemi and her mother are worried to find that they must wait until their number is called before they can try to receive permission to cross-a number that is recorded in a notebook by the notebook keeper, Belinda. As days turn to weeks and Noemi sees the difficulties people around her are also facing, she is inspired by Belinda's kindness and begins to spread that kindness with her actions. When Belinda's own number is called, she chooses Noemi and her mother to continue the work as notebook keepers. The color pencil and gouache illustrations depict the many families that have made the journey for a better life and their life in the camp, while also showing readers the worry and fears etched into the faces of Noemi, her mother, and those around them. The short sentences and soft narration, from Noemi's point of view, are sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases and convey her worries as well as her determination to be a source of encouragement for others as they wait their turns. VERDICT A unique perspective on the difficulties facing families who wait at the border that makes abstract occurrences relatable and realistic, this picture book's young narrator spreads a message of hope and kindness.-Selenia Paz

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Starred review from May 15, 2022
Grades K-2 *Starred Review* Noemi's home is unsafe, so she and her mam� must flee towards the San Ysidro border in Mexico. Pap� has already crossed, and now it's their turn. At the border, they meet the notebook keeper, Belinda, who inspires hope in Noemi's heart. They find a new sense of home as they camp with other refugees awaiting their numbers to get called. Some get called, others don't. Noemi wonders how refugees can keep hope and looks up to Belinda for a thread of light. Belinda shares the importance of appointing "someone with generosity in their heart and kindness in their soul" to be the notebook keeper; Belinda is a refugee, too, and once her number gets called and she can cross the border, Noemi and her mam� take over the job. Based on real accounts of notebook keepers in refugee camps, especially those on the Mexico border, where asylum-seekers await permission to cross, this moving story about kindness, hope, and grassroots community offers a moving glimpse into the realities facing many people fleeing dangerous situations. Mora's warm illustrations beautifully depict the desert setting and the individual faces and belongings of the refugees in the camp. Words in Spanish are sprinkled throughout, and back matter provides further information on real notebook keepers. A heartening story emphasizing the real ways generous people step up in a crisis.

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