Fear

Ask Me No Questions

Nadira and her family are undocumented, fleeing to the Canadian border as they run from the country they thought was their home. For years since emigrating from Bangladesh, they have lived on expired visas in New York City, hoping they could someday realize their dream of becoming legal citizens. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly, being Muslim means being dangerous, a suspected terrorist. And when Nadira’s father is arrested and detained at the border, Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, are sent back to Queens and told to carry on, as if everything is the same. Nadira and Aisha live in fear they’ll have to return to a Bangladesh they hardly know. Aisha, always the responsible one, falls apart. It’s up to Nadira to find a way to bring her family back together again. Critically acclaimed author Marina Budhos has written a searing portrait of contemporary America in the days of terrorism, orange alerts, and the Patriot Act, and a moving and important story about something most people take for granted — citizenship and acceptance in their country.

Burn My Heart

What does it mean to be loyal? Mathew and Mugo, two boys—one white, one black—share an uneasy friendship in Kenya in the 1950s. They’re friends even though Mathew’s dad owns the land and everything on it. They’re friends despite the difference in their skin color. And they’re friends in the face of the growing Mau Mau rebellion, which threatens British settlers with violence as black Kenyans struggle to win back their land and freedom. But suspicions and accusations are escalating, and an act of betrayal could change everything.

Beverley Naidoo explores the fragile bonds of friendship in this novel about prejudice, fear and the circumstances that bring people together–and tear them apart.

Who’s Scaring Alfie Atkins?

Alfie is not afraid of ghosts, but when it’s getting late, he is worried that ghosts would come. When he is alone or it is dark, he is scared of ghosts.

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 a normal life. But when a violent storm hits and Maya’s parents are washed overboard, life becomes anything but normal. The children manage to steer the boat toward a mysterious island, to a place that doesn’t exist on a map. Welcome to Tamarind, where fish can fly, pirates patrol the waters, jaguars lurk, the islanders are at war, and an evil, child-stealing enchantress rules the jungle. Maya never imagined she’d have to face so many dangers. But then, who could have imagined a place like Tamarind. . . .? In her stunning first novel, Nadia Aguiar presents a heart-pounding adventure tale about a haunting, fantastical island cut off from the outside world.

I Want To Live: The Diary Of A Young Girl In Stalin’s Russia

Recently unearthed in the archives of Stalin’s secret police, the NKVD, Nina Lugovskaya’s diary offers rare insight into the life of a teenage girl in Stalin’s Russia–when fear of arrest was a fact of daily life. Like Anne Frank, 13-year-old Nina is conscious of the extraordinary dangers around her and her family, yet she is preoccupied by ordinary teenage concerns: boys, parties, her appearance, who she wants to be when she grows up. As Nina records her most personal emotions and observations, her reflections shape a diary that is as much a portrait of her intense inner world as it is the Soviet outer one. Preserved here, these markings–the evidence used to convict Nina as a “counterrevolutionary”–offer today’s reader a fascinating perspective on the era in which she lived.

World History Biographies: Anne Frank: The Young Writer Who Told The World Her Story (Ng World History Biographies)

Anne Frank takes young readers back to the dark days of World War II through the story of the famous young diarist. Like teenagers everywhere, Anne wrote about friends, family, movies, her greatest joys, and her deepest fears. Through her vivid, tender entries we experience Anne’s changing world, as persecution, hiding, and betrayal, become part of daily life in Nazi Europe. Ann Kramer’s superbly illustrated book also celebrates the enduring legacy of Anne Frank. Her story, now known to millions, is an inspiration for young readers, and writers, everywhere.

Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party

Nine-year-old Ling is comfortable; her parents are both dedicated surgeons in the best hospital in Wuhan. But when Comrade Li, one of Mao’s political officers, moves into a room in their apartment, Ling begins to witness the gradual disintegration of her world. In an atmosphere of increasing mistrust, Ling fears for the safety of her neighbors and, soon, for herself and family. Over the course of four years, Ling manages to grow and blossom, even as she suffers more horrors than many people face in a lifetime. Drawing from her childhood experience, Ying Chang Compestine brings hope and humor to this compelling story for all ages about a girl fighting to survive during the Cultural Revolution in China.

Pancakes for Supper

Anne Isaacs and Mark Teague transform Helen Bannerman’s classic story, Little Black Sambo, into an American tall tale set in the backwoods of New England. In the backwoods of New England, a young girl cleverly fends off the threats of wild animals by trading her clothes for her safety.