Books with author Alice Mead

For as long as thirteen-year-old Azad can remember, the Islamic Republic of Iran, where he lives in the predominantly Kurdish town of Sardasht, has been at war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, and his country has been a harsh society full of spies, secrets, and "disappearances." Still, most of the time Azad manages to live a normal life, hanging out at the bakery next door, going to school with his friend Hiwa, playing sports, and taking care of his parrot. Then Azad learns that his town may soon become a target for Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. Now more than ever, Azad feels torn between his divorced parents and his conflicting desires to remain in his home or escape. His father is somehow connected to the police and is rooted in the town. His mother may be part of the insurgency, yet is ready to flee. How can Azad make the choice? The story of how one boy's world was turned upside down in 1987 Iran is a timely and memorable introduction to the conflicts in the Middle East.

Jasmyn Williams is shocked and angry when her mother, a member of the Army Reserve, is called up for service during the Persian Gulf War. While Jas comes to understand that her mother has to do her job, she wonders, should a mother have a job that might require abandoning her children? “Jasmyn’s ready for her big seventh-grade season in basketball . . . when her home life bounces out of control . . . There’s an emotional impact here that will resound with other youngsters making sacrifices.” – The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Recorded at a 10-15% slower pace to help readers. Paperback book is included. From School Library Journal Grade 3-6. Junebug is the story of risks taken and goals achieved by a small nuclear family struggling against a harsh environment. Nearly 10-year-old Reeve McClain, Jr. (Junebug) says, "For my birthday wish I would like to sail a boat." Hardly an ordinary request for a black kid living in the projects of New Haven. Especially since the other big topics on the boy's mind are how to avoid the pressure to join a gang, the sense of abandonment once his 16-year-old friend flees town to escape a drug lord, and ways he can help make his mother's tough life a little easier. The characters are fresh and vivid: self-involved, fast-traveling Aunt Jolita; little sister, Tasha, remarkably sensitive and shy; and Mama, who finally steps off the treadmill of daily survival when her job provides a chance to move away. Junebug himself is quite clear about who he is and where he should be going. Told in the first person, the narrative is immediate and casual, the setting starkly revealed. The book is engaging and suspenseful, with enough scary characters and situations to keep most readers engrossed. The youngster, by the way, gets his wish in the end via a message placed in each of 50 bottles and set to sea. The ultimate message, however, is that change is possible when responsibility is an individual obligation. Mead's writing approaches the power of Walter Dean Myers's novels about inner-city life, but is for a younger audience.?Carolyn Noah, Central Mass. Regional Library System, Worcester, MA Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.