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 Smoky
Night
text by Eve Bunting, illustrations
by David Diaz
Caldecott Medal 1995
Ages 5–10
Daniel’s cat doesn’t get along with Mrs.
Kim’s cat and Daniel’s mother doesn’t shop at Mrs. Kim’s store,
preferring to patronize African-American stores. But when Daniel’s
apartment building goes up in flames, all the neighbors, including
the cats, learn the importance of working together and accepting
differences. Inspired by the Los Angeles riots, this book delivers
a message about racism with a light touch supported by dazzling
mixed-media collage illustrations. |
|
 A
Thousand Never Evers
by Shana Burg
Ages 9–12
Set in rural Mississippi during the
civil rights movement, this emotionally compelling novel shows
the racism and violence endured by the African-American community
through Addie Ann Pickett, a junior high school girl. Caught
between her mother’s rule to stay away from trouble and her
brother and minister who argue that there comes a time when
dignity is worth more than life, Addie has to make some difficult
decisions. |
|
 Silent
Music
by James Rumford
Ages 4–9
Like his hero Yakut, who wrote
about the destruction of Baghdad in 1258, Ali turns to
calligraphy during the bombing of Baghdad in 2003. |
|
 How
I Learned Geography
by Uri Shulevitz
Ages 4–8
Uri’s boyhood memories of WWII:
using geography and imagination to combat fear and rage
while fleeing Warsaw for Kazakhstan. |
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|
 The
Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation,
Volume 1: The Pox Party
by M.T. Anderson
Ages 14–up
Octavian, a black youth in Revolution-era
America, is raised in a Boston household of radical philosophers.
He is given a classical education and kept with his mother,
an African princess, in comfort. As he matures, Octavian
realizes he is an experiment to discover the intellectual
capability of Africans. When his mother dies, Octavian
runs away and joins the Patriot army. Though written
in 18th century language in the form of letters, this
powerful novel raises contemporary issues of racism,
human rights, the causes of war, and the struggle of
an individual to define himself. |
|
 Bog
Child
by Siobhan Dowd
Ages 12–up
When Fergus McCann is digging for peat
for his uncle to sell in 1981, he finds the body of a small
boy. Archaeologists suspect the body is ancient and arrive
in droves to study the find. Trying to earn entrance to medical
school 18-year-old Fergus is haunted by his find and confused
by the hunger strike his imprisoned IRA brother has joined.
This compelling book raises questions about moral choices and
highlights the impact of political conflict on innocent bystanders. |
|
 Snow
Falling in Spring: Coming of Age
in China During the Cultural Revolution
by Moying Li
Ages 12–up
In this memoir, Moying, a 12-year
old student in Beijing, finds her house ransacked and her
father taken to a labor camp. With faith in knowledge and
education, Moying survives the climate of fear that accompanies
the rise of the Red Guard. |
|
 Sunrise
Over Fallujah
by Walter Dean Myers
Ages 12–up
Robin Perry, nephew to Myer’s
Vietnam soldier from Fallen
Angel, writes to his uncle from Iraq in this powerful
novel that may help American teens grapple intelligently
and thoughtfully with the war in Iraq. |
|
 Keeping
Score
by Linda Sue Park
Ages 9–12
Jim teaches Maggie the art of
scoring a baseball game, and she believes her extra involvement
in the game helps support her beloved Dodgers. When Jim
is drafted and sent to Korea, she searches for a way
to support him, too. |
|
 Climbing
the Stairs
by Padma Venkatraman
Ages 12–up
Set in World War II India, 15-year-old
Vidya’s father joins the freedom fighters who follow
Gandhi’s nonviolent protest of British rule. During a
rally he is severely beaten and left too brain-damaged
to support his family, who must move in with relatives
and work as servants. This novel movingly presents a
unique time and place and shows how love and hope can
blossom in even the most dismal of circumstances. |
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