Corinne L. Gaile

Eleven-year-old Vija’s father is a violent man. During their most recent fight, Appa broke her mother’s arm. No matter what he does, Amma refuses to leave him, and now he threatens to go Vija’s sister, Rukku, who is older, but is mentally disabled. The only things that help the sisters cope with their terrifying life are the stories that Vija makes up every night I which the girls always have wonderful adventures. Since Appa and Amma will never change, Vija decides to take Rukku and run away from her village in India. The city is a dangerous place for two young girls, but they meet Muthu and Arul, homeless boys who agree to share their sleeping place under a bridge.

The boys teach Vija and Rukku how to survive in the city, who to avoid, and where to collect glass and metal from giant, filthy piles of trash to sell to recyclers. When one of the recyclers takes an unwholesome interest in the girls and discovers their living place, they are forced to leave the bridge and set up a new camp in a mosquito-infested cemetery.

A nice lady at a tea shop gives Rukku a bag of beads and teaches her how to string necklaces which Vija then sells to help support their group. Vija learns that her sister is capable of doing many things, and despite the hardship, has grown in confidence since they ran away. The boys have become brothers to Vija and Rukku. Life is difficult, but they have each other. The boys seem to focus on one day at a time, but Vija dreams of having a better life somehow.

Arul is a devout Christian and takes their group to visit a church. Vija isn’t a religious person and questions a God who allows children to suffer. They meet a woman who invites them to live at the Safe Home for Working Children, which she runs. Vija is interested, but the boys warn her not to trust adults who kidnap children and force them to work as slaves.

When Rukku and Muthu become very sick, Vija must take a chance to save them, but will she be too late?

The Bridge Home tells the story of millions of homeless children who live in India. Their lives are so difficult, but there are individuals and organizations trying to help. With a glimpse into their struggles, we see how our lives differ. To learn more about Padma Venkatranman, visit https://padmavenkatranman.com

Edith lives in the city of Seattle. Since she was a small child, Edith has wondered about her ancestry. Her father is white. Her mother is Native American but doesn’t know anything about her family because a white couple adopted her when she was a baby.

One day while searching for something in the attic, Edith and her two best friends from middle school find a box filled with photos of a woman. Edith looks like the woman in the photo who also shares her name.

Edith and her friends are working on a video project for school. She and Serenity want to do an animated project about a dog. Edith, who is an artist, will do all the drawings for the animation, but Amelia wants to make a film about the mysterious Edith in the photos. The three girls were always close, but lately, Amelia seems less interested in their group and their friendship.

Edith wants to learn more about the other Edith and is sure her parents are keeping something from her. She starts dropping hints and asking questions related to what she has learned about Edith, but when her parents won’t give a straight answer and even lie, Edith becomes angry and silent. She eventually confides in her uncle who advises her to talk to her parents. When she does, Edith learns about the disturbing government policy that forcibly separated Native American children from their families, and how that policy impacted her own family.

The true story of Christine Day, whose mother is a Native American Upper Skagit/Nooksack/Blackfeet/Nez Perce adoptee, is similar to that of her character, Edith. She sheds light on a little-known chapter of American history that caused deep pain and suffering. It is an important story for young readers. Learn more about the author at: www.bychristineday.com.

William “Scoob” Lamar jumps at the chance when G’ma pulls up in a brand new  Winnebago and invites him on a little adventure. Not only is it a chance to spend time with one of his favorite people, but he gets to escape dad’s punishment for his latest infraction, and might even miss a couple days of school. Scoob packs his suitcase and hops in without giving a thought to where they’re headed. Soon they are leaving Georgia and entering the state of Alabama. When they stop at a diner, Scoob can’t help but notice the negative vibes sent their way by people in the restaurant. It isn’t the first time brown-skinned Scoob and his white grandmother have raised eyebrows. G’ma must’ve noticed it, too, because after they finished eating, she responded by bolting without paying the bill.

Scoob realizes G’ma is taking him on a journey through the South, visiting civil rights landmarks and retracing a route she took in the sixties with her newlywed husband. As their journey progresses, G’ma’s actions become suspicious and hard to explain. She changes their license plates and avoids contacting his father. At first, Scoob is happy not to talk with his father who will most likely be ballistic about his getaway. Scoob’s dad is especially hard on him, always pushing him to be perfect. His dad never knew his father, G’pop, who died in prison while serving a sentence for theft.

As their journey continues, G’ma’s behavior becomes more erratic with each stop bringing up unhappy memories.Scoob learns shocking things about his grandmother and her past. He doesn’t know what to do and is unable to contact his father.

Love, forgiveness, and healing prevail in this inventive story about a beautiful relationship between grandmother and grandson, and how race can impact generations. Clean Getaway handles serious topics with a light touch.

Nic Stone is a New York Times best selling author. Learn more about her at: http://www.nicstone.info/

Esperanza grew up in Mexico on El Rancho de las Rosas as the pampered princess and only child of a wealthy rancher. In 1930, a series of events, that began with her father’s murder the day before Esperanza’s twelveth birthday, ended with her mother loosing the ranch. Esperanza had to leave her beloved grandmother, Abuela, and flee to California with her mother and their servants. They landed in Los Angeles, California, where their servants’ family found them agricultural work and a cabin on a six thousand acre farm.

Esperanza went from the easy world of priviledge to a place where she had to prove her value through hard work. Miguel, the son of her servants, knew how to negotiate that world, while Esperanza helplessly tried to find her way. She regretted having once hurt Miguel’s feelings by telling him that the difference in their classes would prevent them from becoming good friends. Now she depended on Miguel’s kindness to help her adjust. Everybody in the camp worked. Her first job was caring for children while their parents worked. She had to learn a new skill, sweeping, as it was her responsibility to sweep the dock where the workers processed produce.

Esperanza learned from Marta, a girl she met from another camp, that the workers were segregated into camps by race. There was a camp for Mexicans, Japanese, Filipinos, and whites from Oklahoma. The conditions in some camps were better than others and Marta wanted the workers to strike for the same conditions. Marta was a political activist trying to get the workers on Esperanza’s farm to join the strike. But strikers were replaced and sometimes beatten and deported.

Her mother adapted to their new life and worked hard, but Esperanza wished for her old life. Her mother became ill after exposure during a dust storm and was hospitalized. Although she was underage, Esperanza went to work with the women to earn money for her mother’s hospital bills. She continued working through the seasons processing different harvests. When her mother finally came home, Esperanza continued working to support her and save money to bring her Abuela from Mexico to California.

Adversity made Experanza strong as she learned to accept her new life and respect her fellow workers. She remembered some advice her Abuela gave her: never be afraid to start over.

The author’s grandmother, Esperanza Ortega, was the inspiration for this novel. Like the heroine of the story, she left a prividleged life in Mexico to start over working on a company farm in California. To learn more about Pam Muňoz Ryan, visit her website at: www.pammunozryan.com

Mayo Cornelius Higgins, a thirteen-year-old-boy, lives in Kentucky on Sarah’s Mountain, named for his great-grandmother, an escaped slave. His family has lived there for generations, surrounded by nature and immersed in the unique culture of hill people. Mining companies are destroying MC’s beautiful mountain. They have strip-mined the top, leaving a pile of toxic sludge that threatens to slide down on the Higgins home. MC is worried for his family and hopes to leave, but his father will never abandon their ancestral home. During a three-day period, MC’s hopes and beliefs are challenged by two strangers who come to the mountain.

This extraordinary novel delves deep into the thoughts and emotions of MC with lyrical prose. It celebrates nature and explores the black experience of hill people, which is rarely written about.

African-American writer Virginia Hamilton wrote more than 35 books. M.C. Higgins, the Great, published in 1974, won the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and Boston-Globe Horn Book Award. Hamilton won numerous awards during her career including the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Award.”