The Night Diary

The Night Diary

Illustrator

Dial Books for Young Readers

Publisher

Dial Books for Young Readers

Publication Year

2018

ISBN

9780735228511

Pages

272 pages

Genre

historical

Format

novel

Item Type

Fiction

Annotation

It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders. Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn't know where she belongs, or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it's too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, and after losing her mother as a baby, Nisha can't imagine losing her homeland, too. But even if her country has been ripped apart, Nisha still believes in the possibility of putting herself back together.

Grade Level

3-5; 6-8

Lexile Measure

700L

Diversity Topics

Family Relationships; Culture/Ethnicity; Disability and Health; Family Member Death; Homelessness; Single Parent; Biethnic; Immigrants and Refugees; Physical Appearance; Physical Disability; single father; death of a mother; displaced; refugee; grandmother living with family; two ethnicities; biethnic child; exile; relocation; resettlement; refugee family; mute; muteness; cleft palate

Main Character

female child

Race/Ethnicities

Asian (Indian)

Awards

Children's Book of the Year Award, 2015, Notable Book, Picture Book
Cybils Awards, 2018, Nominee, Middle Grade Fiction
John Newbery Medal, 2019, Honor, Children's Literature
South Asia Book Award, 2019, Honorable Mention, Children
Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children's Literature, 2019, Honor Book, Younger Readers

Keywords

Hindus; Muslims; India; Partition of India (1947); diaries; finding your voice

Diversity Impact

direct

The Night Diary

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