Desde las copas de los árboles (From the Tops of the Trees)

  • Interest Level: Kindergarten - Grade 3
  • Reading Level: Grade 2

“Padre, ¿el mundo entero es un campamento de refugiados?”

La pequeña Kalia no ha visto nunca el mundo más allá de las cercas del campo de refugiados Ban Vinai. El campamento tailandés alberga muchos miles de familias hmong que huyeron como consecuencia de la poco conocida Guerra Secreta de Laos, que se produjo durante la Guerra de Vietnam de Estados Unidos. Para Kalia y sus primas, la vida no siempre es fácil, pero igual hallan formas de jugar, corriendo con los pollos o montando a un querido perro de compañía.

Con solo cuatro años, Kalia aún está descubriendo su lugar en el mundo. Cuando pregunta qué hay del otro lado de la cerca, al principio su padre no tiene respuestas para darle. Pero al día siguiente, la lleva al árbol más alto del campamento y, segura en sus brazos, Kalia ve la extensión de un mundo más allá.

La prosa sensible de Kao Kalia Yang y las evocadoras imágenes de Rachel Wada le dan vida a esta tierna historia real del amor entre un padre y una hija.

“Father, is all of the world a refugee camp?”

Young Kalia has never known life beyond the fences of the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. The Thai camp holds many thousands of Hmong families who fled in the aftermath of the little-known Secret War in Laos that was waged during America’s Vietnam War. For Kalia and her cousins, life isn’t always easy, but they still find ways to play, racing with chickens and riding a beloved pet dog.

Just four years old, Kalia is still figuring out her place in the world. When she asks what is beyond the fence, at first her father has no answers for her. But on the following day, he leads her to the tallest tree in the camp and, secure in her father’s arms, Kalia sees the spread of a world beyond.

Kao Kalia Yang’s sensitive prose, now translated into Spanish, and Rachel Wada’s evocative illustrations bring to life this tender true story of the love between a father and a daughter.

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979-8-7656-0924-8
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Interest Level Kindergarten - Grade 3
Reading Level Grade 2
Genre Picture Books, Social Studies
Category 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, 5KN: Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Books: Immigration & Refugees, Diverse Books: #OwnVoices, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity, SEL: A Self-Awareness, SEL: C Social Awareness, SEL: D Relationship Skills, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2023
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Books ®
Language Spanish
Number of Pages 40
Publication Date 2023-08-01
Text Type Narrative Nonfiction
BISACS JNF007050, JNF053240, JNF019060
Dewey 362.7/7914
Dimensions 8.5 x 10.375
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Author/Illustrator note, Awards, Original artwork, and Reviewed

Author: Kao Kalia Yang

Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American writer, teacher and public speaker. Born in the refugee camps of Thailand to a family that escaped the genocide of the Secret War in Laos, she came to America at the age six. Yang holds degrees from Carleton College and Columbia University. Her work has won numerous awards and recognition including multiple Minnesota Book Awards, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, an ALA Notable Children’s Book Award, the 2023 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Dayton’s Literary Peace Prize, and a PEN USA Award in Nonfiction.

Illustrator: Rachel Wada

Rachel Wada was raised between Japan and Hong Kong and is currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has created illustrations for magazines, newspapers, advertising, and even a mural. Her work has won multiple awards including the Freeman Award for The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden and the 2023 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for From The Tops Of The Trees. Visually, Rachel’s works are characterized by the use of rich colours, textures, and fine details through both digital and traditional mediums.

Awards

  • The Best Children's Books of the Year in Spanish, Winner, 2024

Reviews

Booklist

“In any language, Kalia’s story is one of resilience and youthful awe . . . Along with such a moving true story, Wada’s artwork underpins the poignant reality of Yang’s words in watercolor depictions of Kalia’s memories in muted yellows and bold oranges that help unfold the story.”— Booklist