Reading Metrics
Description
Nine-year-old Samira and her Assyrian family are driven from their village when the Turkish army invades Persia in 1918. After only she and her brother survive, they are moved from one orphanage to another and eventually returned to their home.
Quick Summary
If you're looking for a historical fiction that doesn't feel like homework, this one's about a real piece of history many kids never learn about the Assyrian people and what they went through during World War I. Samira's journey is heartbreaking but also full of small moments of courage and kindness, and I think a lot of middle graders will find themselves rooting for her and her brother as they navigate impossible circumstances. The book does deal with some heavy stuff war, losing family, living in orphanages so it's probably better for the older end of that 4-8 grade range, but it never gets gratuitously dark and ultimately lands on a note of hope. Kids who enjoy stories like "Number the Stars" or "A Long Walk to Water" will likely connect with this one, especially if they're drawn to stories about kids surviving hard things with dignity. It's the kind of book that teaches history through heart rather than dates and facts.