Friday, August 1, 2014

Caminar

Caminar
Skila Brown
2014

Carlos lives in a peaceful little village with Mama.  He cannot wait to be grown so that he can work and help her.  But while his village might be peaceful, the country isn’t and eventually soldiers come looking for rebels that are supposedly nearby.  The soldiers leave, but they assure everyone that they will deal harshly with anyone who helps the rebels.

One day when Carlos’ mama has seen him into the forest to gather mushrooms, he hears gunshot and he realizes that the soldiers have come back everyone in the village is being massacred.  Knowing he cannot go back to the village without being killed, Carlos decides to try and reach his grandmother’s village high up on the mountain so that he can warn the people there of the great danger they are in.


Caminar is a heart-breaking story of loss amid horrible violence.  Skila Brown has chosen to tell the story through verse, and I really like that decision.   This would be a great book to pair with Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen.

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