Home of the Brave

Home of the Brave

Juvenile fiction in poetry
"When the flying boat
returns to earth at last
I open my eyes
and gaze out the round window.
What is all the white? I whisper.
Where is all the world?"
Minnesota is a world away from Africa. Kek, protagonist of
Katherine Applegate's Home of the Brave, is in a very strange place.
The unexpected cold feels like claws on his skin. The trees look
dead. English words feel wrong in his mouth.
Kek has come to America to live with his aunt and cousin,
Ganwar. His brother and father were killed. He has no idea where his
mother is or if he will ever see her again.
"The night Ganwar lost his hand
was the night I lost
my father and brother,
the night of men in the sky with guns,
the night the earth opened like a black pit
and swallowed my old life whole."
Kek's life in Africa was that of a nomadic herder. He and his
family moved regularly to keep their cattle healthy. Stories were
carried in songs, not books. And his father was known for his story
telling.
It's the unexpected discovery of a cow that helps Kek begin to
find a place in his very strange new country.
"I stroke her cold, wet coat,
and for a moment I hold
all I've lost
and all I want
right there in my hand."
In Kek, Applegate creates a very convincing child narrator. His
observations show sights and experiences that would be familiar to
American children from an entirely different angle. Young readers
will get a glimpse of what refugee peers go through adapting to a
whole new way of life.
On a purrrsonal note, I woke up in the middle of the night worried
that Joey cat had not eaten enough. I offered him food in my hand and
was delighted when he ate. Then I could not fall asleep so I finished
reading the book and wrote this review.
A great big shout out goes out to the best little cat in the world who
will celebrate his 16th birthday in June.
jules hathaway


Sent from my iPod