Tag Archives: War

Kakuma Girls: Sharing Stories Of Hardship And Hope From Kakuma Refugee Camp

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Clare Morneau is a 17-year-old author and speaker who lives in Toronto and is committed to working for real change.  As a student at Havergal College, she founded the Kakuma Toronto Girls Education Partnership. This illuminating book is a compilation of letters of hardship and hope from the girls in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya to girls at a high school in Canada.  The Kakuma girls have incredible hopes and dreams for their future.  They are fighting for their education and will do anything to go to university.  They dream of becoming doctors, engineers, pilots, or journalists and improving their families’ lives.  The book includes beautiful photographs, maps, a chronology, a glossary, and a list of ways to get involved. mjw

Title: Kakuma Girls: Sharing Stories Of Hardship And Hope From Kakuma Refugee Camp Author: Clare Morneau and contributors Publisher: Barlow Books, Toronto Copyright: 2016 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-988025-14-8 Hardcover pages: 184 Age range: 12 up Genre: Nonfiction, Information Book Book setting: Kenya Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Toronto Subjects: Refugee children. Refugees, Sudan, Women

Ruby In The Ruins

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Ruby’s dad is a soldier during the London blitz.  Ruby and her mum cling to each other while they wait for dad to come home.  When he finally returns, Ruby doesn’t recognize him. She would rather play outside in the wreckage of the bombings.  But when Ruby hurts her knee, dad cleans and bandages the wound.  He makes her feel all right and suggests that maybe she should play in the park instead of in the ruins.  Ink, gouache, and watercolor illustrations perfectly complement the text. Endpapers with authentic wartime advertisements add a nice touch.  mjw

Title: Ruby In The Ruins Author: Shirley Hughes Illustrator: Shirley Hughes Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-7636-92377 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book, Historical Fiction Book setting: London, England Author’s ethnicity: English Author’s residence: West London Illustrator’s ethnicity: English Illustrator’s residence: West London Awards: Author/illustrator has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice Subjects: England, London, Military, Veterans, World War II

Ahimsa

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In 1940s India, Anjali’s mother joins Gandhi’s freedom movement. Her family has to make many adjustments and use “ahimsa” – non-violent resistance to stand up to the British government. Ten-year-old Anjali learns that even she can contribute to the cause. The caste system, English colonialism, religious strife between Muslim and Hindu groups, and social justice are all important topics in Anjali’s story. The book was inspired by the author’s great grandmother’s experience working with Gandhi. An extensive author’s note about India’s history, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary are included. mjw

Title: Ahimsa Author: Supriya Kelkar Publisher: Lee & Low Books, Inc. New York Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1620-1435-68 Hardcover pages: 307 Age range: 8 up Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: India Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: U.S. Subjects: British occupation, Dalit, Gandhi, Girls and women, India – history, Non-violence, Reformers, Social classes, Untouchables

The Baghdad Clock

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This story, narrated by a teenage Iraqi girl in the midst of the first Gulf War mixes dreams with real life and fantasies with reality.  She huddles in an air raid shelter with her friend Nadia and the two imagine a world not torn apart by war.  They share dreams, hopes, desires, and first loves.  As they grow older and the bombs continue to fall, their friends begin to flee the country.  The use of metaphor, dream interpretations, and soothsayers helps build the narrative and the sense of place and time.  mjw

Title: The Baghdad Clock Author: Shahad Al Rawi Publisher: Oneworld Publications, London Copyright: 2018 Original Language: Arabic Translator: Luke Leafgren Original Publisher: Dar al Hikma Original Copyright: 2016 ISBN: 978-1-78607-324-2 Hardcover pages: 288 Age range: 14 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Baghdad, Iraq Author’s ethnicity: Born in Baghdad Author’s residence: Dubai Awards: 2018 Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction Subjects: Air raid shelters, Biography, Coming of age, Persian Gulf War – 1991, Teenage girls

The Breadwinner

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Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Her father is a history teacher.  He is arrested by the Taliban for having a foreign education and put in prison. This leaves the family without anyone who can earn money and buy food, since according to Taliban rules, women cannot go out on their own.  Parvana cuts her hair and wears boys’ clothes so that she can become the family’s breadwinner.  This is the fifteenth anniversary edition of the four-volume story. It includes a new forward by the author, a new map, and a glossary.  There is also an animated, award-winning movie and a graphic novel based on this inspiring novel. mjw

Title: The Breadwinner Author: Deborah Ellis Publisher: Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press. Toronto Copyright: 2015 Original Language: English Original Publisher: Groundwood Books Original Copyright: 2000 ISBN: 978-1-55498-767-8 Paperback pages: 176 Age range: 10-14 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Afghanistan Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Ontario Awards: Middle East Book Award Subjects: Afghanistan, Girls and women, Taliban. Refugees

Escape From Aleppo

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Fourteen-year-old Nadia is accidentally separated from her family while fleeing from war-torn Syria in 2013. She meets an elderly man who agrees to help her. She eventually makes it to Turkey. Inspired by current events this coming-of-age novel deals with the horrors of the war. In the first part of the book, Nadia flashes back to more pleasant times of her life. Senzai does a wonderful job of describing Aleppo before and during the war. This is an informative and exciting story. mjw

Title: Escape From Aleppo Author: N.H. Senzai Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-4814-7217-3 Hardcover pages: 336 Age range: 8-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Syria Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: U.S.  Subjects: Arab Spring, Middle East, Refugees, Secrecy, Syria-Civil War 2011, Wars

A Different Pond

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This quiet story is about a young Vietnamese boy and his father who go fishing early in the morning in Minneapolis so that the family can have food to eat. They don’t fish for recreation. They bond as the father tells the boy about fishing in his homeland of Vietnam, as well as a bit about the war where he was a soldier. Beautifully illustrated in vividly colored, graphic novel panels, the book conveys a powerful message. Notes from both the poet-author and the illustrator are included. mjw

Title: A Different Pond Author: Bao Phi Illustrator: Thi Bui Publisher: Capstone Young Readers. North Mankato, Minnesota Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1479597468 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 6-8 Genre: Picture book Book setting: Minneapolis Author’s ethnicity: Vietnamese Author’s residence: Minneapolis, Minnesota  Illustrator’s ethnicity: Vietnamese Illustrator’s residence: U.S. Awards: 2018 Caldecott Honor Subjects: Asian Americans, Fathers and sons, Fishing, Emigrants and immigrants, Poverty, Vietnam