Holiday Break Reading Challenge Activity 12

Karin challenged us to talk about books with animals in them - not the magical kind, but everyday animals. Here's a book I suggest:

Home of the Brave

Strangely, the animal that means the most to the main character is a cow. This book is beautifully written in verse and was a moving read. Here's the summary (from goodreads.com):

Kek comes from Africa. In America he sees snow for the first time, and feels its sting. He’s never walked on ice, and he falls. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter – cold and unkind.

In Africa, Kek lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived, and now she’s missing. Kek is on his own. Slowly, he makes friends: a girl who is in foster care; an old woman who owns a rundown farm, and a cow whose name means "family" in Kek’s native language. As Kek awaits word of his mother’s fate, he weathers the tough Minnesota winter by finding warmth in his new friendships, strength in his memories, and belief in his new country.