Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group!
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Wishing Upon the Same Stars by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman
All available formats here
When Yasmeen Khoury moves to Texas, she feels isolated in a way she never did in Detroit – at least until she begins to make friends, including with Ayelet Cohen, an Israeli-American girl in her grade. But as she and Ayelet learn more about the destruction each others’ countries have wreaked on their families, can they find a way to reconcile the difference between a person and their homeland?
I found Yasmeen to be a very compelling protagonist, balancing everyday worries that any reader can relate to with larger worries about family history and a war that seems like it will never end. Human connection, empathy and a desire for peace rule this story; crucial direction these days, no matter who we are or where we come from.
Check out the book that Booklist Reviews praised as an “absorbing story [that] compassionately tackles challenging subjects: immigration, explicit racism, family strife, and the enormity of Palestinian-Israeli history…[it] discusses the background of both sides, along with the difficulty of combining long familial history with new familial history with newer American citizenship”; School Library Journal Reviews described as “a valuable title [that] explores an issue rarely discussed in contemporary children’s literature[;] highly recommended for middle grade collections” and “the information, thoughts, and feelings relating to the conflict are expertly done, especially for upper elementary readers”; and Kirkus Reviews called “an ambitious novel about home and belonging” that described the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as “a dispute between two sides who have been equally wronged.”
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