The Other Side of Truth

Starred review from December 23, 2002

Twelve-year-old-Sade must flee her native Nigeria with her younger brother—after their mother is killed in a shooting intended for her father—and must learn quickly how to fight for what she holds dear. In a starred review, PW
called it a "sophisticated and emotional novel, poignant and accessible." Ages 10-up.

Starred review from September 17, 2001
Sade, the 12-year-old protagonist of Naidoo's sophisticated and emotional novel, must flee her native Nigeria with her younger brother after their mother is killed in a shooting. Their father, a muckraking journalist in trouble with the military government, was the target. Sade and 10-year-old Femi soon find themselves stranded in London, abandoned by the woman paid to smuggle them into the country, and at the mercy of mostly friendly, but foreign government agencies, foster families and teachers. Her father finally surfaces in England, only to be detained for illegally emigrating. Sade must learn quickly how to fight for what she holds dear, including her father's safety. The inclusion of real facts about African countries, such as the government's execution of Nigerian activist writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, makes Naidoo's story more poignant, while the immediacy of the parallel story, in which Sade must deal with similar obstacles on a smaller scale (e.g., powerful school gangs), makes the novel more accessible. Fashbacks, letters written between father and daughter, and Sade's constant memories of her mother's sayings, add texture. Readers may be challenged by some of the British English, but they will find it easy to understand Sade's joy at reuniting with her father in prison, and likely find her determination exhilarating. Ages 10-up.

September 24, 2001
With Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory as a framework, Berk offers a consistent way of thinking about child rearing in the face of the flurry of fickle advice available to today's harried parents. Her accessible and practical book is firmly grounded in the latest research on child development and provides an effective antidote for those skeptical of the current emphasis on academics in primary schooling. Rejecting the notion that parents have little influence on their children, Berk, a 30-year veteran in the field, illustrates the importance of "scaffolding" (building an understanding union between teacher and student), make-believe play and "private speech" (aka talking to oneself). She emphasizes the paramount importance of literacy, since being able to converse, read and write creates unlimited learning opportunities. A chapter on children with disabilities and deficits insists upon their full integration into social life, otherwise they risk adding a "cultural deficit" to their existing condition. Armed with the research data on which Berk's vision is based, parents with the time to talk to their children's educators might be able to bring about necessary change. Unfortunately, the reality of ideological and economic obstacles to outstanding early childhood education in the U.S., where Berk says the overall quality of child care is among the industrialized world's worst, means that such progressive and informed thinking as this book contains will likely remain only an ideal.