Yang Warriors

by Kao Kalia Yang (Author) Billy Thao (Illustrator)

Yang Warriors
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Award-winning author Kao Kalia Yang delivers an inspiring tale of resourceful children confronting adversaries in a refugee camp

After lunch the Yang warriors prepare for battle. They practice drills, balance rocks on their heads, wield magical swords from fallen branches. Led by ten-year-old Master Me (whose name means "little"), the ten cousins are ready to defend the family at all costs. After a week without fresh vegetables, the warriors embark on a dangerous mission to look for food, leaving the camp's boundaries, knowing their punishment would be severe if they were caught by the guards.

In this inspiring picture book, fierce and determined children confront the hardships of Ban Vinai refugee camp, where the author lived as a child. Yang's older sister, seven-year-old Dawb, was one of the story's warriors, and her brave adventure unfolds here with all the suspense and excitement that held her five-year-old sister spellbound many years later.

Accompanied by the evocative and rich cultural imagery of debut illustrator Billy Thao, the warriors' secret mission shows what feats of compassion and courage children can perform, bringing more than foraged greens back to the younger children and to their elders. In this unforgiving place, with little to call their own, these children are the heroes, offering gifts of hope and belonging in a truly unforgettable way.

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$16.95

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Kirkus

"A powerful tale about finding purpose and strength in the face of extreme adversity."

Review quotes

"Yang Warriors entranced me from start to finish. Kao Kalia Yang reminds us that children can be just as brave, steadfast, and pure of heart as any adult. This tale of hope and resilience will inspire young warriors everywhere."—Christina Soontornvat, author of All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team

"These children are not warriors in violence or ferocity, or even strength or speed, but rather by way of their purposeful, determined, courageous compassion. The lessons in this book are not for children so much as from them, and I remain grateful to Master Me and his tiny band of heart warriors for this demonstration of love in action."—Liz Garton Scanlon, author of All the World

"Yang Warriors is a gentle reminder that superheroes come in all shapes and sizes. A moving and powerful story of the hope and resilience of a Hmong family."—Carole Lindstrom, author of We Are Water Protectors

Kao Kalia Yang
Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong-American writer. She is the author of the adult memoirs The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, The Song Poet, and Somewhere in the Unknown World. Yang is also the author of the children's books A Map Into the World, The Shared Room, The Most Beautiful Thing, and Yang Warriors. Yang is a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, and her work has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Chautauqua Prize, the PEN USA literary awards, the Dayton's Literary Peace Prize, the American Library Association, Kirkus Best Books of the Year, the Heartland Bookseller's Award, and garnered four Minnesota Book Awards. Kao Kalia Yang lives in Minnesota with her family, and teaches and speaks across the nation.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781517907983
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
University of Minnesota Press
Publication date
April 13, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF053240 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Social Topics | Emigration & Immigration
JNF007000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | General
JNF038020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | Asia
JNF025140 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Modern
Library of Congress categories
Refugees
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Vietnam
Refugee children
Hmong Americans
Yang, Kao Kalia

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