The Breadwinner
(Afghanistan) brings to life an issue that has recently exploded in the international media: the reality of life under the Taliban. Young Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan. Because he has a foreign education, her father is arrested by the Taliban, the religious group that controls the country. Since women cannot appear in public unless covered head to toe, or go to school, or work outside the home, the family becomes increasingly desperate until Parvana conceives a plan. She cuts her hair and disguises herself as a boy to earn money for her family. Parvana's determination to survive is the force that drives this novel set against the backdrop of an intolerable situation brought about by war and religious fanaticism. (Sholastic.com) Lexile: 630 Kiss the Dust
(Iraq) Because the Iraqi secret police are looking for her father, Tara Hawrami and her family must flee the only home they have ever known and live in a brutal refugee camp. (Sholastic.com) Lexile: 850 |
Samir and Yonatan
(Israel) Samir is a young Palestinian boy who wishes for anything to happen — a bombing, an accident in the city square, anything — so that he won't have to go to the Israeli hospital to have surgery on his leg. Nothing occurs, though, and Samir soon finds himself in a hospital bed sharing a room with four other children each of whom has his/her own illnesses and troubles. It is Yonatan, a boy with his arm in a metal cast and his nose always in an Astronomy book, in particular who captures his interest, speaking to Samir only at night once the other children have fallen asleep. He promises Samir that when Samir has had his surgery he will take him to Mars. How, Samir doesn't know, but in the quiet of the night the two boys plan a trip to the distant planet. It is on this wondrous computer-generated trip with Yonatan that Samir begins to understand, and heal from, his brother Fadi's death. A trip where Samir can look at his world — a world of Palestinians and Israelis, sick people and healthy people — and see how simple it all really is, and how alike everyone really is. (Amazon.com) Lexile: 810 The Bronze Bow
In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, Daniel bar Jamin is fired by only one passion: to avenge his father's death by crucifixion by driving the Roman legions from his land of Israel. He joins an outlaw band and leads a dangerous life of spying, plotting, and impatiently waiting to seek revenge. Headstrong Daniel is devoid of tenderness and forgiveness, heading down a destructive path toward disaster until he hears the lessons taught by Jesus of Nazareth. With a brand new cover, young readers won't be able to pass up this timeless tale. (Sholastic.com) Lexile: 760 |
The Book of the Lion
(Crusades) Saved from the brutal blow of a sword, young Edmund is whisked away and forced to join the forces of the mighty Richard the Lionheart. Edmund journeys to the faraway lands of the Middle East, traveling across seas and defending his life with the sword. Michael Cadnum brings the brutality of the twelfth century Crusades to life through the eyes of a young man coming of age, struggling to find compassion and courage during this bloody period in history. (Sholastic.com) Lexile: 980 To Ride the Gods' Own Stallion
(Assyria) While in the service of Habasle, one of many sons of the great King Ashurbanipal, thirteen-year-old Soulai earns the scars that will soon mark him a man and overshadow the cowardice that has followed him his entire life. (Sholastic.com) Lexile: 810 |
Text and Photo Sources: 1. Goodreads.com; 2. Sholastic.com; 3. Amazon.com; 4. Simonandschuster.com;