A Thirst for Home
Illustrator
Eric Velasquez
Publisher
Books for Young Readers
Publication Year
2014
ISBN
9780802723079
Pages
32 pages
Genre
realism
Format
picture book
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
Alemitu lives with her mother in a poor village in Ethiopia, where she must walk miles for water and hunger roars in her belly. Even though life is difficult, she dreams of someday knowing more about the world. When her mother has no choice but to leave her at an orphanage to give her a chance at a better life, an American family adopts Alemitu.
Grade Level
K-3
Lexile Measure
610L
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Adoption; Interracial; Poverty; international adoption; adoptive parents; adopted child; interracial/transracial adoption; impoverished family
Main Character
female child
Race/Ethnicities
Black (Ethiopian) / White
Family Formation
adoptive mother and father
Awards
Core Collection: Picture-Book Refugee and Immigration Stories, 2017
Guide Book to Gift Books, 2016 Picture Books
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2015 Biography
Keywords
Ethiopia; water supply; sacrifices; remembering your homeland; quality of life; new home
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Leronimo, Christine, "A Thirst for Home" (2014). Diverse Families. 22.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/22