Sold

By Patricia McCormick

     This poignant tale of a young girl sold into slavery is an eye opening tale of abject poverty and hopelessness.  The battle to retain one's life and a beautiful spirit that never gives up is embedded into this tale.
     Lakshmi is a poor girl growing up in the mountains of Nepal, she has learned to find joy in simple pleasures.  She dislikes her stepfather whom uses money for gambling and smoking, while her mother and sister live in destitution.  They are barely eeking out a living on the mountainside when the monsoon season sends their crops down in a torrent of rain.  Lakshmi's stepfather decided to send her to work in the city to help support her family, but in reality he sells her to a brothel.
     Lakshmi "works" under the eye of Mumtaz, in the hope that she will be able to pay off the family debt and return home.  Whether or not she can get the money and risk it all to return home is the heart of the story.
     This coming of age story may not be for everyone, it is a very mature and disturbing topic, not for a young audience.

Relevant Links; 

Biographical information about the author of "Sold"    http://patriciamccormick.com/about/

A picture image of the realities of farming on the Roof top of the world!   http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/ghandruk-1990-metres-annapurna-himal-nepal-high-res-stock-photography/160012777  -

A short video of the Himalayan monsoons   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0lTfJDiZsw

Statistics around the tragedy of human trafficking
http://endslaverynow.org/learn/resources?gclid=CjwKEAiAmqayBRDLgsfGiMmkxT0SJADHFUhP5uZKkULXJ5ehqcysUnBugBVK55e31jzrpN2eZkOy2xoCbhrw_wcB  - 

     

Berlin Boxing Club

By Robert Sharenow

A heartwarming tale of hope in war torn Europe.  This is a beautifully crafted story of a young jewish boy and how he grows into manhood in Berlin during the beginning of World War II.  

Young Karl is living with his family and going to school like any good German boy.  Due to his Jewish background he is forced to leave his current school and attend a school for Jewish boys.  He meets World Boxing Champion Max Schmeling at his parents art gallery.  Max encourages young Karl to come to his boxing club for "lessons!"  Karl begins a regimen of daily conditioning to strengthen his thin body.  He falls in love with a girl that lives in the building.  As Hitler gains power, Jewish families are torn apart and lose all of their possessions.  

Karl and his family eventually, move out of their apartment into the basement of the art gallery, where his dad makes money by printing different pamphlets.  Karl is the delivery person, but still trains, whenever possible at the "Berlin Boxing Club".  Everything comes to a head, when the gallery is broken into and Karl and his sister seek refuge with one of his parents clients.  Eventually, moving in with Max, who aids in getting them out of the country.  

A heartwarnming tale of coming to age, and is a great read for everyone!

Related Links:

Jewish Museum in Berlin Home page:  http://www.jmberlin.de/main/EN/homepage-EN.php

Jewish Holocaust Library:  https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html

Auschwitz http://auschwitz.org/en/museum/news/

Robert Sharenow: http://robertsharenow.com/

Max Schmeling: http://www.auschwitz.dk/schmeling.htm

Jewish Holocaust - Background Builder

The Holocaust and Holocaust denial from Henry Hollis

In preparation of our next book "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", I have uploaded these two multimedia files to help build background!

The Running Dream by Wendelin VanDrannen

This is a beautifully written story about a young girl, Jessica, who is a star track athlete.  She is one of the top runners in her county and is sure to get a college scholarship, but on the way home from a track meet the bus gets in a horrible accident.  One team mate is dead and Jessica is missing her leg from the knee down.  Based on a true story, the tale takes you through Jessica's road to recovery both physically and mentally.

She returns to school, initially in a wheelchair, and befriends Rosa, a girl with Cerebral Palsy.  Rosa's unique outlook on life, gifts Jessica.  Jessica's old track team run fundraisers in an effort to help purchase a "Running Leg" for Jessica, while her family is onset with mounting bills, that the school district refuses to cover.  As she becomes whole again, she devises a plan to gift Rosa with something special.

This is a very heartwarming and beautifully written story.  The surprise ending will leave you with hope and inspiration.  I think this a great book for anybody!


Links

Childhood Amputation

Psychological Implications of Amputation

Running Dream - video trailer - Youtube - this is a short video of the basic premise of the book "The Running Dream".  Most of the video is spent building background for the main character, Jessica.

Wendelin VanDraanen - Biography - This is a brief biography of the author of "The Running Dream" developed by Scholastic.

Other Books by Wendelin VanDrannen - A list by Scholastic books of some other titles written by Wendelin VanDraanen