Home of the Brave

I grew up in rural southeastern Oklahoma, but I traveled widely…by reading every book about other cultures and distant places I could find. Because my father was a minister, my life choice for travel was to become a missionary. But who am I to tell other people how to live?
My life took a different direction, and I hope the students I taught to love books are grateful. Wait, maybe I did become a missionary!
Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness…” To help your young person understand people from other cultures, I could like to recommend a book:
Katherine Applegate’s Home of the Brave will break your heart with its eloquence. This novel in verse follows Kek, an African refugee, to cold Minnesota, as he misses what remains of his family and his homeland despite the war that rages there.