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The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books |
| The Bulletin Dozen is a monthly
theme-based booklist available as an online-only Bulletin
feature. Since we're awfully fond of bakers here at the Bulletin,
we thought we'd adopt their philosophy of generosity and throw in an
extra one or two when we have them to offer--so don't expect an even
dozen. Please feel free to copy, download, or link to these lists. We
ask only that you cite the source. See the archive
for
lists
from previous months.
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Trials and Triumphs:
During
this year’s Olympics, the countries of the world will
come together to compete on an international stage for athletic glory.
Often,
however, victories of everyday people against the injustice around the
world
are just as poignant, hopeful, and heartbreaking as those trials won on
the
field. This month’s dozens celebrates the unsung heroes of the human
rights
movement. |
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Amir. Zahra’s Paradise; illus. by Khalil.
First Second/Roaring
Brook, 2011. Gr. 10 up
In-depth
background information and additional resources
supplement this fictionalized graphic novel account of a young Iranian
man
searching for his missing brother during the mass protests that
followed the
controversial Iranian election of President Ahmadinejad in 2009. (BCCB 11/11)
Amnesty International, ed. Free?: Stories
Celebrating Human
Rights. Candlewick, 2010. Gr. 6-9
This
collection of short stories and poetry written by
fifteen contributing authors, all inspired by articles of the United
Nation’s
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, offers connections to
current
events and is ripe for discussion groups. (BCCB 5/10)
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of
a Boy Soldier.
Chrichton/Farrar, 2007. Gr. 9 up
In
Sierra Leone, twelve-year-old Beah unexpectedly found
himself in the middle of a raging war when he was recruited by
government
troops and given weapons, drugs, and orders to take revenge on the
rebels; in
this nonfiction memoir, Beah recounts the painful difficulty in
attempting to
recover from his damaged sense of humanity when he makes it to UNESCO
rehab
camp. (BCCB 5/07)
Combres, Élisabeth. Broken Memory: A
Novel of Rwanda; tr.
from the French by Shelley Tanaka. Groundwood/House of Anansi, 2009.
Gr. 7-12
When
the Rwandan government announces that the perpetrators
of the 1994 genocide will be prosecuted, thirteen-year-old Emma is
thrust out
of her quiet isolation and forced to deal with the terrible memories
she can’t
keep from coming back. (BCCB 12/09)
Edwardson, Derby Dahl. My Name Is Not Easy.
Cavendish, 2011.
Gr. 5-9
Ińupiaq
brothers Luke, Issac, and Bunna are sent to a
Catholic boarding school and compelled to learn the white way of life
in 1960s
Alaska in this dramatic story that depicts rigid Indian reform schools
and
civil rights in an Alaskan context. (BCCB 11/11)
Ellis, Deborah. Children of War: Voices of
Iraqi Refugees;
written and illus. with photographs by Deborah Ellis. Groundwood/House
of
Anansi, 2009. Gr. 5-10
Compiled
solely of interviews with Iraqi children, all now
living as refugees in Jordan, this text offers a detailed look at those
suffering loss of family members, reduced social status and financial
security,
and restricted educational pursuits as a result of the 2003 invasion of
Iraq. (BCCB 7/09)
Gann, Marjorie. Five Thousand Years of
Slavery; by Marjorie
Gann and Janet Willen. Tundra, 2011. Gr. 6-10
Illuminating
photographs and illustrations, as well as
smartly placed and well-conceived sidebars add valuable depth to the
main text
here that exposes readers to systems of slavery across time, place, and
culture
and serves as a starting point for students setting American slavery
(including
modern-day trafficking) into context. (BCCB 6/11)
Lake, Nick. In Darkness. Bloomsbury, 2012..
Gr. 8-12
Alternating
in perspective between Shorty, a slum-dwelling
gangster buried in the rubble of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and
Toussaint
L’Ouverture, leader of the late-18th century Haitian Revolution, this
spirit-driven novel grapples with Haiti’s turbulent political history
and the
island’s contemporary plagues of gang violence and poverty. (BCCB 3/12)
Mardsen, Carolyn. The White Zone.
Carolrhoda, 2012. Gr. 4-7
The
complex relationship between two contemporary Iraqi
cousins, Nouri and Talib, serves as the center of this accessible and
high-interest novel and acts as an intriguing exploration of the
realities of
the Shiite/Sunni conflict. (BCCB 6/12)
Naidoo, Beverley. Out of Bounds: Seven
Stories of Conflict
and Hope. HarperCollins, 2003. Gr. 4-8
These
historical vignettes, spanning the decades from 1948
to 2000, explore the concrete and psychological consequences of
apartheid,
experienced by South African young people.
(BCCB 2/03)
Park, Linda Sue. A Long Walk to Water.
Clarion, 2010. Gr. 5-8
This
factually based dual narrative tells the story of Salva
Dut, a Sudanese refugee of the country’s 1980s civil war, and Nya, a
contemporary fictional Sudanese girl who must make twice-daily treks
for her
family’s water. (BCCB 12/10)
Perkins, Mitali. Secret Keeper. Delacorte,
2009. Gr. 7-12
Through
the pages of her diary, teenager Asha details the
tension of living in a home that isn’t her own as well as her musings
on the
feminist movement in the U.S. when she and her family are sent to live
in Calcutta
in the 1970s. (BCCB 2/09)
Purcell, Kim. Trafficked. Viking, 2012. Gr.
7-10.
This
fictional account of present-day abuse and slavery
offers a richly detailed look at human trafficking when a generous
offer of
employment turns into forced 16-hour work days
and no pay for Hannah, a Moldovian girl who comes to America to
serve as
a nanny to a wealthy family. (BCCB 3/12)
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