Theme: War

Medina Hill

In the grimy London of 1935, eleven-year-old Dominic Walker has lost his voice. His mother is sick and his father’s unemployed. Rescue comes in the form of his Uncle Roo, who arrives to take him and his young sister, Marlo, to Cornwall. There, in a boarding house populated by eccentric residents, Marlo, who keeps a [...]
Descriptors: England (UK), Historical Fiction, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion

Much has been written about war and remembrance, but very little of it has been for young children. As questions come from a young grandchild, his grandpa talks about how, as a very young man, he was as proud as a peacock in uniform, busy as a beaver on his Atlantic crossing, and brave as [...]
Descriptors: Canada, Picture Book, Primary (Gr. K-3), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , » 1 Comment

Why War is Never a Good Idea

Though War is Old It has not Become wise. Poet and activist Alice Walker personifies the power and wanton devastation of war in this evocative poem. Stefano Vitale’s compelling paintings illustrate this unflinching look at war’s destructive nature and unforeseen consequences.
Descriptors: International, Picture Book, Poetry, Primary (Gr. K-3) » Tagged » 1 Comment

Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan

This story introduces readers to children living in Kabul and in rural Afghan villages through photographic portraits and brief narrative profiles that offer a glimpse of their lives and dreams.
Descriptors: Afghanistan, Biography, Nonfiction, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

The Forty-Third War (Sandpiper Houghton Mifflin Books)

A twelve-year-old boy learns about death and the conflicts that grip his Central American country when he’s pressed into military service and trained as a soldier.
Descriptors: Historical Fiction, Latin America, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

The Boy from over There

Avramik, a young Holocaust survivor, has difficulties adjusting to life on a kibbutz in the days before the first Arab-Israeli War.
Descriptors: Historical Fiction, Israel, Palestine, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life In Sarajevo

When Zlata’s Diary was first published at the height of the Bosnian conflict, it became an international bestseller and was compared to The Diary of Anne Frank, both for the freshness of its voice and the grimness of the world it describes. It begins as the day-today record of the life of a typical eleven-year-old [...]
Descriptors: Biography, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , » Leave a comment

The Lost Island of Tamarind (The Book of Tamarind)

Maya Nelson isn’t your typical thirteen-year-old. She’s spent her whole life living on the sea with her marine biologist parents, her younger brother, Simon, and baby sister, Penny. Maya used to love living on a sailboat, but lately, everything feels terribly claustrophobic. Maya longs to go to school on land. To make friends. To lead [...]
Descriptors: Caribbean, Fantasy, Intermediate (Gr. 4-8) » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Sunrise over Fallujah

Robin Perry, from Harlem, is sent to Iraq in 2003 as a member of the Civilian Affairs Battalion at the beginning of Operation Iraqui Freedom, and he will be the liaison between the military and the Iraqis. His time there profoundly changes him.
Descriptors: Iraq, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , , , , » 1 Comment

Pirate Wars

Jolly, Griffin, and their pirate friends are back, battling to save the world from the evil Maelstrom. Griffin leaves his magic room in the belly of a giant whale to take on the lord of the kobalins. Princess Sole dad fights to protect the sea star city and encounters an awe-inspiring serpent god. Together, Jolly [...]
Descriptors: Fantasy, Germany, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment
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