Sunday, October 15, 2017

Home of the Brave

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate (ISBN: 978-0312535636)

Every year, our school chooses books for students to read for summer reading. We're looking for about six options for our students this summer, and we'll be reading books for the next several months in a hunt for the best ones. Our theme this year is diversity, and not just racial diversity. You see, diversity is really all of the various parts of us that make us unique - it could be race, but also religion, gender, sexual orientation, cultural upbringing, languages spoken, adventures experienced, educational attainment, socioeconomic status, physical disabilities, learning styles, and so much more. Therefore, we want books that will give our students windows into the lives of other kids and teens around the world, and which will also provide some of them with mirrors to see that they are not alone in their experiences.

And so, we now enter Home of the Brave. I was looking for books that have characters from other places, and this book fits the mold. Kek lived in Darfur, Sudan (Africa) with his mother, father, and brother. But after tragedy strikes, only Kek and his mother survive. They become separated and Kek travels to the US to live with an aunt and cousin in Minnesota. Equal parts haunting and sad, heartwarming and funny, the story narrates how Kek learns to find his way in a strange new land. Thinking that the "washing machine" will help his aunt with her pile of dishes, he puts all of the plates and cups in only to find that the agitator breaks them all. Another young friend has to tell him that a washing machine for clothes and a dishwasher are two different appliances. Kek eventually discovers, not too far from the urban metropolis where he lives, a small farm with a forlorn cow. From a family of herders, Kek has finally found the familiar: a sad cow who just needs a bit of attention and who becomes like family. Despite struggling with a language barrier, missing his parents, attempting to acclimate to a whole new culture, and living with extended family with their own share of issues, Kek finds his own sort of success in the Home of the Brave.

The cover of the copy I read was so terrible. I thought to myself, "What kid is going to want to pick up this book?" Monochrome and sort of strange illustration, I had a negative initial reaction. But after only a few pages, I was hooked in this story. It is honestly one of the best books I've read about the refugee experience, and such an accessible story as it deals with common issues like loss, the desire to fit in, and friendship in unexpected places. I was so excited to discover that the book has been re-released with a fresh cover and I'm keeping all my fingers crossed that this book makes it to our final cut of summer reading options!

Want more? If you want to hear the author talk about the book in her own words, check out the following video!

Homemade tees: there are not a lot of shirts you can find with "Home of the Brave" on them without there also being American flags, bald eagles, and assault rifles on them. (This seems like a whole other blog post waiting to happen...) So instead, I'm going the route of diversity. How can you celebrate what makes your experience unique? How can we also find common ground with those around us? This shirt is a fun place to start!