By Holly Johnson, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Four of the books from WoW Recommends 2021 address the toll of historical conflict: Cane Warriors, Brother’s Keeper, Cat Man of Aleppo, and They Called Us Enemy. All offer spaces of contemplation and discovery, discussion and decision-making. All are great reads.

Cane Warriors and Brother’s Keeper are novels for middle grades, and both involve young people tasked with decisions that are literally life and death decisions. They also involve two countries not typically addressed in school curricula in the USA: Haiti and North Korea. Both contain harrowing events that will keep so many readers on the edges of their seats.

Through these two novels, readers have the opportunity to ponder their own decision-making in respect to not only the events in the narratives given, but to decisions they may make in their own lives. By using scenarios in books, young people can “practice” their decision-making, provide reasoning for their potential decisions, and perhaps change their minds—all in the relative safety and distance that literature often gives readers. Both these novels are deeply engaging, and well worth the read.

They Called Us Enemy is a graphic novel that is also deeply engaging as well as an excellent resource for providing the potential to think about the conditions in which the young protagonist finds himself. While only four when first moved to the internment camp, author Takei chronicles years of internment, and thus, draws the reader into a situation in which escape is not possible, but learning how to live within such confines is critical. Determining how to live within such unjust conditions as well as understanding the history that often alludes many readers—again, because internment camps are not often a topic within the curriculum—are openings this novel provides. It is also a well-written and critical narrative to better understand how trauma can last generations.

The last narrative for this week is The Cat Man of Aleppo, which also chronicles a horrific time, but situated in more current history. Readers are offered two different decisions to make in this story. Would we stay if we could evacuate to safety? And would we use our resources to safe the animals within our community in a conflict zone? This picturebook allows for discussion about these issues and provides an opening to discuss what readers might do within their own communities for animals that are abandoned, abused, or homeless.

Journey through Worlds of Words during our open reading hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To view our complete offerings of WOW Currents, please visit its archival stream.

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• Themes: Brother's Keeper, Cane Warriors, Cat Man of Aleppo, Holly Johnson, They Called Us Enemy
• Descriptors: Books & Resources, WOW Currents