Joanne Hyppolite – författare

Moving? When Ola Benson''s family leaves Roxbury in Boston to a house in the suburbs, Ola is sure her parents have made a big mistake.  What on Earth are they doing in Walcott--a historic, stuck-up town where the Bensons are the only black family?True, there are a few good things about the move: Mama and Daddy have better jobs.  They have a bigger house, big enough to offer a home to Lillian, a Haitian refugee.  But the house is in a "cooperative community" with a million rules: No kids outside after dark.  No playing in the street.  No jumping in the leaves.  No fun.Well, if Ola''s stuck in Walcott, she''ll make it a place where she can feel at home.  Ola the undaunted comes up with plan after plan, including Operation Pretend I Belong Here and Operation Smile If It Kills You.  Finally she hits upon the superspecial can''t miss plan: Operation Shake It Up.Joanne Hyppolite celebrates community, cooperation, and family life in a warm and realistic story with an irrepressible heroine.From the Hardcover edition.

Seth and Samona are an unlikely pair--he''s a quiet boy from a proper Haitian-American family, and Samona''s the wildest girl in the fifth grade. But he''s her accomplice in every adventure. When Samona decides to enter the Little Miss Dorchester pageant, Seth decides he''s got to stop her --she''ll never win! But Samona has a big surprise in store for Seth.