Naima loves to draw, but how can she use that gift to help her poor Bangladeshi family earn some much needed income? Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins. Charlesbridge, 2008. 96 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended For: Ages 8 and up (as a read aloud or independent read) Naima loves to draw, and she’s the best in her Bangladeshi village at drawing the traditional alpana designs on houses. Made from rice powder, the lovely designs wash away like chalk. Naima can’t earn money making alpana designs, though, no matter how talented she is. Naima can’t earn money doing much of anything as a girl in her village. But…

Chiko and Tu Reh learn to face challenges and love their enemies in modern day, war-torn Burma in this realistic fiction novel for teens. Starred review. *Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins. Charlesbridge, 2012 (reprint). 288 pages. Reading Level: Teens, ages 12-15 Recommended For: Teens (ages 12 and up) All Chiko wants to do is support his mother by earning a little extra money, preferably in a quiet, academic vocation. Ever since the Burmese government took his father for “crimes,” it’s been up to Chiko to be the man of the house. When he answers an ad for a possible job, however, Chiko ends up “recruited” (forcibly) by the Burmese government…

To “pay attention” to the world around you is rule #1 of a life well lived, as this winning middle-grade novel shows. *Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary Schmidt.  Clarion, 2019, 217 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-15 It’s no picnic having the man of the house away on deployment, even though it’s in Germany and supposedly out of danger.  Carter’s mom isn’t handling it well.  On an especially hectic day, the first day of 6th grade for Carter (and other grades for his three sisters), the jeep isn’t running and the household is in an uproar.  In the midst of the chaos, Carter answers…

Ladies, are you enjoying your chosen books for our Faith, Fiction, & Fellowship read-along? Faith, Fiction, & Fellowship Discussion, Week 2 If you’ve purchased the official reading guide, you’ll have plenty of questions to help you think about the themes and connections in the books. But to help get the conversation going, here are a couple of week two’s questions that work for any of the books. (Feel free to answer in the comment section! We’re also going to dive into these in the Facebook group for the read-along.) Question 1: The book of Ruth begins with grief and mourning. How do Ruth and Naomi grieve? What are the safety nets…