Sitti's Bird

 

Sitti's Bird

Sitti's Bird: a Gaza Story by Malak Mattar

A recounting of her own lived experience growing up in occupied Palestine, the plot takes place during the 2014 airstrikes on Gaza when a little girl finds strength and hope through her painting. Malak goes to school, plays in the ocean, and visits her grandmother Sitti’s house on Fridays. Sitti keeps a white bird in a cage and the girl wonders if they, too, are in a cage. Her grandmother consoles her by encouraging her to fly in her dreams. One day bombings begin and Malak spends the next fifty days at home with her parents worrying and feeling scared, until one day she finds some paints and begins to create. Months later, an international art exhibit invites her to attend with her parents, but sadly she must decline, for Gaza is closed and she cannot leave. The focus of the book is the love and support of family throughout a heartbreaking ordeal, with themes of hope, freedom, and art expression. Art is shown as an escape and a strategy to keep dreams from completely dying. It’s a thoughtful, hopeful, age-appropriate introduction to events in Gaza for children aimed at grades 3-5. Even though children in Gaza suffer much worse, the author kept the story child-friendly.

The Stray and the Strangers

The Stray and the Strangers

by Steven Heighton

Kanella is a scrawny orphan doggie who timidly slinks around the wharfs, waiting for scraps. Eventually settling uphill in a camp, the story of the refugee situation on the Greek island of Lesvos is told through the close perspective of Kanella, the dog with the white-socked paws, whose name means cinnamon. She helps out with the newcomers, bonds with a little boy, and grows quietly fat. When the refugee camp is dismantled, Kanella needs to find a new forever home ... and she does.

Based on a true story, Kanella was the heart of the largest ever refugee community of over 20,000.

Bloom

Bloom

By Kenneth Oppel

Anaya, Petra and Seth are three teens who live on Salt Spring Island, and all of them are a bit “different”.  Anaya is allergic to many, many things and constantly battles the acne that is caused by her allergies.  Petra has an extremely rare condition that makes her allergic to water (!).  And Seth is a foster kid who’s living with one of the island families.

When strange black “grass” begins to grow all over the island, no one can seem to get rid of it; it’s like the strongest weed in the world!  As the grass spreads through crops and forests, island residents start to experience terrible reactions to the unusual plants.  But Anaya, Petra and Seth are the exceptions.  For some reason, the plants don’t affect them at all.

Soon these invasive plants are spreading all over the world with deadly consequences.  Anaya’s dad, a biologist, sets off to Cordova Island to do some experiments and promptly disappears.  Meanwhile, CSIS (Canada’s version of the CIA) sends Dr. Weber to do tests on Anaya, Petra and Seth.  When the three friends and Dr. Weber begin searching for Anaya’s dad, they end up battling for their lives!

Bloom is a very suspenseful novel that will have you on the edge of your seat!  This is the first in a trilogy.

The Longest Night of Charlie Noon

The Longest Night of Charlie Noon

By Christopher Edge

Charlie Noon has one friend at her new school in rural England.  Dizzy is a bit of a scatterbrain, but nonetheless, he is kind to Charlie.  When Dizzy finds some coded messages made of sticks in a clearing in the woods, he enlists Charlie’s help to come and decode them.  Neither of them tell their parents where they are going, but they plan to be back before anyone notices that they’re gone.

Before they set off, mean Johnny Baines warns them that Old Crony, a terrifying old man who eats children, lives in the woods.  But Charlie and Dizzy are undeterred.  When Johnny plays a trick on them, all three of them end up lost.

As night falls, Charlie, Dizzy and Johnny know they must find their way out, but nothing is as it seems.  Bird calls begin to sound like Morse code, the stars in the sky have changed, and Charlie can’t even see the lights of the village when she climbs a tree.  And there’s a strange presence in the woods – but is it really Old Crony?  Or something else?

The Longest Night of Charlie Noon is more than a survival story.  Author Christopher Edge combines World War I history with time travel to create something very unique.  The end of the book even introduces kids to the science behind the story.  If you want to try reading something a little different, try this book!

Red Fox Road

Red Fox Road

By Frances Greenslade

Francie and her parents are on a road trip.  They have left their home in Penticton and are driving to the Grand Canyon to do some hiking and camping.  As they travel through Oregon, Francie’s dad decides to trust his new GPS and takes a shortcut down a remote logging road.

The road becomes less and less passable and soon their truck begins leaking oil. Eventually the truck stops working altogether and they become hopelessly stuck in the middle of the Oregon wilderness.

Ever-faithful to his technological gadgets, Francie’s dad decides he will walk the rest of the logging road while following directions from his GPS.  Francie and her mom are left behind, but are certain that they will be rescued within a day.  They sleep rather uncomfortably in the truck and ration their minimal supplies which include two water bottles, a few granola bars, and a bag of Scotch mints.

After a couple of days of waiting, Francie wakes up to find her mother gone as well, searching for rescue in the other direction.  Francie is now alone.

Although she is only thirteen, Francie has some experience in the outdoors and has been studying wilderness survival.  She gathers her wits, builds a shelter and a fire, and waits patiently for rescue.  As it turns out, survival will take much more determination and courage than she ever imagined.

Red Fox Road is beautifully written and Francie’s resilience and knowledge are inspiring.  If you love survival stories (like me), you will love this book!

The Disaster Days

The Disaster Days

By Rebecca Behrens

Hannah Steele is a first-time babysitter.  At 13 years old, she’s not sure she should be in charge of anyone.  Luckily she’s babysitting close to home, so she’s not too worried.

Hannah and her charges, Oscar and Zoe, live on Pelling Island, a fictional suburb of Seattle.  Although they are close to the big city, Pelling feels very small indeed.  Houses are separated by the forest and there are only a few families on Hannah’s street.  But having grown up on Pelling, Hannah feels totally safe and secure there.

Hannah’s mom is still at work, her dad is out of town, and Oscar and Zoe’s mom, Andrea, has gone to an event in the city.  None of the kids’ adults are on the island when the earth starts to shake.  Windows shatter, furniture shifts, pottery smashes to the floor and the fridge falls over.  Hannah, Oscar and Zoe are terrified, but they know their parents will come for them immediately.

Day turns to night and no parents arrive.  Hannah knows she must take charge of the situation to keep Oscar and Zoe safe and secure.  She did not ask for the responsibility of taking care of two kids in an earthquake disaster zone, but she knows she must do it. Hannah wonders if having her in charge will be more dangerous than the earthquake.  Will she have enough faith in herself to step up and take responsibility?

Disaster Days is a great book for those who love survival stories (like me).  WARNING: The earthquake aftermath can be quite scary, especially since we are living in the same earthquake zone as those in Seattle.  Read at your own risk!

Blood Mountain

Blood Mountain

By James Preller

Carter and Grace are on a hike with their dad and their dog, Sitka.  They’ve been on hikes before and are comfortable in the woods.  So comfortable, in fact, that they both race ahead of their father.  Their dad, meanwhile, is getting slower and slower, having trouble making his way up the mountain.  He doesn’t mind letting his energetic kids run ahead.

Carter and Grace know they must stick to the trail, but it’s easy to make a wrong turn if you’re not really following the markers.  By the time they realize they are lost, they have no idea how to get back to the trail.  Although they believe that their dad will catch up and find them, they don’t know that he’s having his own medical problems.

When the siblings decide to make their way to the mountain summit off-trail, they really get lost, not to mention injured.  Eventually, the children separate, but neither knows how to get home.

Luckily their mother reports the missing trio and an astute forest ranger heads out to look for them.  But there is someone else in the woods as well – a mountain man, rumoured to live on his own in the bush.  There is also a mountain lion on the loose, out of its usual territory.  No one knows how these two forest inhabitants will react to a couple of lost children.

If you have ever been lost yourself, or just love a good, suspenseful survival story, Blood Mountain is for you!