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
STARS Citation
Hiranandani, Veera, "The Night Diary" (2018). Diverse Families. 2117.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/2117