  | From the tops of the trees Author: Yang, Kao Kalia | |
| Price: $23.08 | ||
Summary:
A powerful true story of a young girl who has never known life outside a refugee camp and a father determined to help her dream beyond the fences that confine them.
| Illustrator: | Wada, Rachel |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: LG Reading Level: 3.70 Points: .5 Quiz: 518363 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (07/15/21)
School Library Journal (+) (11/01/21)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 11/01/2021 Gr 1–3—In this moving, positive story, a father encourages his young daughter to confront challenges and look beyond borders. In Wada's scenes, no Hmong refugee appears skeletal, but the "Humane Deterrence Policy" of the camp in Thailand, in 1985, includes just three days' worth of food a week. Kids play happily together, ride dogs and chase chickens; the aunties of the extended families embroider calmly; but soldiers appear as splotchy memory-shadows, behind pretty blue-green foreground leaves. Kalia has overheard talk about the war and adults' fears, and asks, "Is all the world a camp?" Then, from a treetop, her father changes her perspective, assuring her she'll "travel far to find peace." Autobiographically based, like Yang's The Most Beautiful Thing, this book includes an account of the writer's successful subsequent life, pronunciation help, and a map. Wada seamlessly mixes media (graphite, watercolor, digital) in subdued hues into a simple, sensitive child's-eye depiction of the camp and its people, scaled for reading to a group. VERDICT This is a gentle celebration of vision, hope, and determination in a book for all collections.—Patricia D. Lothrop, formerly at St. George's Sch., Newport, RI - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
