My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paul Freedman (Grades 5-9, Lexile 690) With a hint of romance and a lot of intrigue, readers will enjoy following Mira as she uncovers family secrets that have kept them apart for many years, and she slowly grows to love two vastly different cultures. She is also able to spotlight some of the tension between the traditional and modern life within the city. Told in first person narration, Brahmachari is able to depict both the beauty of Kolkata (Calcutta), and the challenges once faces living there. In this companion novel to Mira in the Present Tense (which can also be read as a standalone), Brahmachari continues Mira’s story as she embarks on an adventure to India to connect with her mother’s side of the family. Jasmine Skies by Sita Brahmachari (Grades 4-8, Lexile 900) The Scout Award is named in honor of the main character of Booksource’s most popular title, To Kill a Mockingbird. Read more about the awards here. B oo ks ource will nominate books throughout the year and then ask readers to vote on their favorites to determine the winners. * Listen Slowly has been nominated f or a Scout Awar d, an inter nal Booksource award. This title can be found in Fresh New Realistic Fiction Reads. Gracefully written and at times humorous, readers will fall in love with Mai as she begins to learn about her roots and struggles to find balance between the world she grew up in and the one she’s just now discovering. This remarkable story follows Mai as she leaves her California home to travel to Vietnam with her grandmother in the hope of uncovering the truth about what happened to her grandfather during the Vietnam War.

Listen Slowly by Thanhha Lai (Grades 3-7, Lexile 800)

Senzai beautifully incorporates the complex history and culture of both India and Pakistan as Maya transforms from a shy, timid girl to a brave and daring heroine. A little known piece of history, the Partition was the partition of the British India Empire, and led to the creation of what is now Pakistan and the Republic of India. Senzai (Grades 3-7)ĭetailed prose is interwoven with journal entries to depict twelve year old Maya’s journey to India to retrieve her grandmother’s lost treasures, which were left behind after the Partition of India. It’s only after taking cultural journeys that they begin to feel pride for their heritage and gain a stronger sense of self. The protagonists in these books struggle with who they are and what they believe. Sometimes it’s easier to see where you’re going once you’ve gained an understanding of where you’ve been. The shift from childhood to adolescence is often the defining moment when kids begin to wonder who they’re going to be.

Ticket to India by N.H. Senzai