Theme: Struggle

A Girl Named Faithful Plum

By Book Importer | Published: December 12, 2011

In 1977, when Zhongmei Lei was eleven years old, she learned that the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy was having open auditions. She’d already taken dance lessons, but everyone said a poor country girl would never get into the academy, especially without any connections in the Communist Party of the 1970s. But Zhongmei, whose name means [...]

Descriptors: Asia, Biography, China, Intermediate (ages 9-14) » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment

The Fitzosbornes in Exile

By Book Importer | Published: May 12, 2011

Michelle Cooper combines the drama of pre-War Europe with the romance of debutante balls and gives us another compelling historical page turner.Sophia FitzOsborne and the royal family of Montmaray escaped their remote island home when the Germans attacked, and now find themselves in the lap of luxury. Sophie’s journal fills us in on the social [...]

Descriptors: England (UK), Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

The Bite of the Mango

By Book Importer | Published: May 10, 2011

The astounding story of one girl’s journey from war victim to UNICEF Special Representative.As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry.But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never [...]

Descriptors: Africa, Nonfiction, Sierra Leone, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , , , , , » 6 Comments

Five Thousand Years of Slavery

By Book Importer | Published: February 14, 2011

When they were too impoverished to raise their families, ancient Sumerians sold their children into bondage. Slave women in Rome faced never-ending household drudgery. The ninth-century Zanj were transported from East Africa to work the salt marshes of Iraq. Cotton pickers worked under terrible duress in the American South.Ancient history? Tragically, no. In our time, [...]

Descriptors: Intermediate (ages 9-14), International, Nonfiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Chee-Lin: A Giraffe’s Journey

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

Eighty years before Columbus, China sent ships to explore the world.The Chinese discovered many marvelous things, but one discovery stood out above the others: the chee-lin.This chee-lin was just a giraffe, but to the Chinese it was an omen of good fortune so rare that it had appeared only once before—at the birthof Confucius.In a [...]

Descriptors: Africa, China, Historical Fiction, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Other Themes: , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

My Ocean: A Novel of Cuba

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

After his grandparents emigrate, 12-year-old Enrique heads for the ocean, a source of comfort and solace. Why did they flee Cuba, leaving Enrique and his mother behind? Should they go, too? If not, will they, like so many others, be seen as disloyal? The sea has no answers for the boy. As the years pass, [...]

Descriptors: Caribbean, Cuba, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction, United States of America » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

Little Green: Growing Up During The Chinese Cultural Revolution

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

This first-person memoir tells the story of Chun Yu, who was born in a small city in China, during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The streets were filled with roaming Red Guards, the walls were covered with slogans, and reeducation meetings were held in all workplaces. Every family faced danger and humiliation, even the youngest children. Shortly after [...]

Descriptors: China, Historical Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14) » Other Themes: , , , » Leave a comment