SECOND SEMESTER HONORS SOCIAL STUDIES READING ASSIGNMENT BOOK LIST: These are some possible books to read about Asia for this semester’s reading assignment. You need to choose one of these books, or find one based in Asia yourself, to read independently. You will be doing several projects based on the book, similar to first semester’s assignment. You will be receiving the directions for the project later, but choose a book and start reading now! 1. Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine (China) Starting in 1972 when she is nine years old, Ling, the daughter of two doctors, struggles to make sense of the communists' Cultural Revolution, which empties stores of food, homes of appliances deemed "bourgeois," and people of laughter. 2. Shen and the Treasure Fleet by Ray Conlogue (China) After rebel forces seize the Chinese royal city of Nanjing in 1403, thirteen-year-old Shen and his younger sister Chang take refuge with a traveling acrobat troupe who gains passage on a vast fleet of ships setting sail to explore the world. Based on the life of the explorer Zheng He, this book captures what life was like during this period of Chinese history. 3. Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (India) - copies in the LMC When thirteen-year-old Koly enters into an ill-fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India's tradition or find the courage to oppose it. (Please do not read this if you read it before in elementary school!) 4. Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth (India) In India in the 1940s, thirteen-year-old Leela's happy, spoiled childhood ends when her husband since age nine, whom she barely knows, dies, leaving her a widow whose only hope of happiness could come from Mahatma Ghandi's social and political reforms. 5. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman (India) In India, in 1941, when her father becomes brain-damaged in a non-violent protest march, fifteen-year-old Vidya and her family are forced to move in with her father's extended family and become accustomed to a totally different way of life. 6. The Revenge of the Forty-Seven Samurai by Eric Christian Haugaard (Japan) A fourteen-year-old serving boy finds himself surrounded by suspicion and betrayal as his master gathers a group of samurai to avenge Lord Asano's death. 7. The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy Hoobler (Japan) While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan. 8. Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka (China) Ailin's life takes a different turn when she defies the traditions of upper class Chinese society by refusing to have her feet bound.

9. Sisters of the Sword by Maya Snow (Japan) Two aristocratic sisters in ancient Japan disguise themselves as samurai warriors to take revenge on the uncle who betrayed their family. 10. My Brother, My Sister, and I by Yoko Kawashima Watkins (Japan) Living as refugees in Japan in 1947 while trying to locate their missing father, thirteen-year-old Yoko and her older brother and sister must endure a bad fire, injury, and false charges of arson, theft, and murder. 11. Camel Bells by Janne Carlsson (Afghanistan) It is 1978, and Hajdar is living in a small farming village in the mountains of Afghanistan. He dreams of a more exciting life beyond the village, but when he gets the chance to visit the great capital city of Kabul, as the government is overthrown and Russian tanks and troops move in, Hajdar is caught in forces beyond his control. 12. A Stone in My Hand by Cathryn Clinton (Palestine) Eleven-year-old Malaak and her family are touched by the violence in Gaza between Jews and Palestinians when first her father disappears and then her older brother is drawn to the Islamic Jihad. 13. Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird (Iraq) Her father's involvement with the Kurdish resistance movement in Iraq forces thirteen-year-old Tara to flee with her family over the border into Iran, where they face an unknown future. 14. A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird (Palestine) During the Israeli occupation of Ramallah in the West Bank of Palestine, twelve-year-old Karim and his friends create a secret place for themselves where they can momentarily forget the horrors of war. 15. Anahita’s Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayres (Iran) - in LMC In Iran, more than 100 years ago, a young girl with three suitors gets permission from her father and a holy man to weave into her wedding rug a riddle to be solved by her future husband, which will ensure that he has wit to match hers. 16. Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples (Afghanistan) - in LMC During the 2001 Afghan War, the lives of Najmal, a young refugee from Kunduz, Afghanistan, and Nusrat, an American-Muslim teacher who is awaiting her huband's return from Mazar-i-Sharif, intersect at a school in Peshawar, Pakistan. 17. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (Korea) Tree-ear, a thirteen-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potters' village, and longs to learn how to throw the beautiful celadon ceramics himself, but cannot find a potter willing to teach him. 18. Goodbye, Vietnam by Gloria Whelan (Vietnam) Thirteen-year-old Mai and her family embark on a dangerous sea voyage from Vietnam to Hong Kong to escape the unpredictable and often brutal Vietnamese government. 19. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang (China) The true story of Ji-li Jiang, a twelve-year-old girl growing up in China in 1966, the year

that Chairman Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, and the changes it brought to her and her family.

20. The Golda Meir Story by Margaret Davidson (Israel) A biography of Golda Meir whose childhood memories of Russia helped her work to establish the independent state of Israel. 21. The Rainbow People by Laurence Yep (Asia) A collection of twenty Chinese folk tales that were passed on by word of mouth for generations, as told by some oldtimers newly settled in the United States. 22. Chu Ju’s House by Gloria Whelan (China) - in LMC When a girl is born to Chu Ju's family, it is quickly determined that the baby must be sent away. After all, the law states that a family may have only two children, and tradition dictates that every family should have a boy. To make room for one, this girl will have to go. 23. Snow Falling in Spring by Moying Li (China) - in LMC This inspiring memoir follows Moying Li from age twelve to twenty-two, illuminating a complex, dark time in China’s history as it tells the compelling story of one girl’s difficult but determined coming-of-age during the Cultural Revolution. 24. Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah (China) - in LMC Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. 25. Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian (Armenia) Based on the experiences of the author's great-uncle during the Armenian Holocaust, Forgotten Fire is the story of one boy's search for the survivor inside himself. It is the story of a lost nation-a powerful celebration of the resilience of the human spirit during the darkest of times.

(Synopses taken from a variety of websites about books for middle school and above.)