The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani (Delacorte Press, 2012). When Sonia’s father loses his job, she must move from her small, supportive private school to a public middle school. The new school, her …
2013
Torn
Torn by David Massey (Chicken House, 2012). The story follows Ellie, a 19-year-old British medic, during her tour of duty in Afghanistan. Her squad is attached to a small troop of American SEALs who must find …
Tina’s Mouth: an Existential Comic Diary
Tina’s Mouth: an Existential Comic Diary by Keshni Kashyap, illustrations by Mari Araki (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012). Tina Malhotra, a sophomore at the Yarborough Academy in Southern California, creates an existential diary for an assignment …
The Sweetest Mango
The Sweetest Mango by Malavika Shetty, illustrations by Ajanta Guhathakurta (Tulika Publishers, 2012). The sweet, simple story and luscious pictures evoke delicious flavors of hot days, warm friendships and the smell of mango in the air. …
Shadow
Shadow by Michael Morpurgo; illustrated by Christian Birmingham (Feiwel and Friends Book, an imprint of Macmillan, 2012). 14 year old Aman and his mother flee the horrors of war in Afghanistan and escape to England. But just as …
Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth
Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth by Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes (Chronicle Books, 2012). The bold, bright colors of India leap right off the page in this fresh and funny picture book adaptation of how Ganesha came to …
The Wooden Sword
The Wooden Sword by Ann Redisch Stampler, illustrated by Carol Liddiment (Albert Whitman & Company, 2012). Disguised in servant’s clothes, an Afghani shah slips out of his palace to learn more about his people. When he …
Same Sun Here
Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani (Candlewick Press, 2012). A twelve-year-old Indian immigrant in New York City and a Kentucky coal miner’s son become pen pals, and eventually best friends, through a series …
The Elephant’s Friend and Other Tales from Ancient India
The Elephant’s Friend and Other Tales from Ancient India by Marcia Williams (Candlewick Press, 2012). Drawing from three books of best-loved Indian folktales — Hitopadesha Tales, Jataka Tales, and Panchantra Tales — this graphic storybook collection, alive with …
Chained
Chained by Lynne Kelly (Farrar Straus Giroux, Margaret Ferguson Books, 2012). To work off a family debt, ten-year-old Hastin leaves his desert village in India to work as a circus elephant keeper but many challenges await …