8.) Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

AR Level – 3.5
Points – 3
Interest Level – Middle to Upper Grades

To those of you who are looking at the 3.5 reading level and discounting this as a possibility for your jr. high book shelves…don’t. Home of the Brave is a book written in poems and while that may not sound like a big deal, I think it is important to expose students to many different types of writing styles.  The poems are not rhyming little kid poems, but stanzas that tell the story of a refugee teenager named Kek.  Kek is sent to Minnesota to live with his aunt and cousin after a deadly civil war attack on his African village leaves his father and brother dead and his mother missing.  Did you just raise one eyebrow and say Minnesota?  I know that is what I thought while reading this book, but as it turns out, 13% of Minnesota’s foreign-born residents are from Africa. (This information was taken from the Author’s Reading guide in the back of the book.  I LOVE the comprehensive guide for teachers to use in the classroom with their students!)

Kek has a gentle disposition and a positive outlook on his new life even though it is extremely confusing at times.  As a reader, we get the opportunity to experience such things as snow and french fries through the sensations of Kek who has no knowledge of such things.  The scenes in the ESL classroom are eye-openers through which students can develop a better understanding of what it must be like to enter our country not knowing one English word.

The struggles Kek endures during his relocation to America is something that every student should read so they understand the need for acceptance.  Both to be accepted as a foreigner and the need to accept others for their differences and what they can bring to our country.  

I will be using this book during our study of immigration.  While our Social Studies textbook focuses primarily on Ellis Island and the history of immigration, I think this will be a perfect addition that will allow a modern day connection.

Kek is the perfect character to make you realize America really is the “Home of the Brave”.