The Storyteller's Beads
Publisher
Gulliver Books
Publication Year
1998
ISBN
9780152010744
Pages
160 pages
Genre
historical
Format
chapter book
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
During the political strife and famine of the 1980's, two Ethiopian girls, one Christian and the other Jewish and blind, struggle to overcome many difficulties, including their prejudices about each other, as they make the dangerous journey out of Ethiopia.
Grade Level
3-5; 6-8
Lexile Measure
750L
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Culture/Ethnicity; Racial Diversity; Disability and Health; Family member death; Homelessness; Poverty; Multiethnic; Immigrants and refugees; Race discrimination; Physical disability; death of a parent; death of a sibling; grief; family tragedy; loss; no home; displaced; impoverished family; financial hardship; starvation; multiple ethnicities; different ethnicities; refugee children; prejudice; marginilized group of people; blind
Main Character
female children
Race/Ethnicities
Black (Ethiopian; Sudanese)
Family Formation
uncle
Awards
Best Children's Books of the Year, 1999 Twelve & Up Growing Up
Best of the Bunch, 1998
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001
Children's Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006
Children's Literature Choice List, 1999 Longer Books with More Sophisticated Themes for Middle Readers (Children 8 to 12)
Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Third Edition, 2001
Lasting Connections, 1998 Fiction
Middle And Junior High School Library Catalog, Eighth Edition, 2000
Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Ninth Edition, 2005
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 1999 Contemporary Concerns
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, Grades 5 Up
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, 1998 Grades 5 Up
Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association, 1999
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, 2000
Lamplighter Award, 2002
Society of School Librarians International Book Awards, 1998, Winner, Language Arts K-6 Novels
Sydney Taylor Book Award, 1998, Notable Book, Older Reader
Keywords
drought; famine; The Red Terror; Ethiopia; Israel; Jewish; Christian; Jerusalem; Sudan; journey; barriers; faith; hope; country; history; disease; hunger; friendship
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Kurtz, Jane, "The Storyteller's Beads" (1998). Diverse Families. 1965.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1965