Home of the Brave

Home of the Brave

• Genre: Fiction; middle-grade contemporary realistic
• Originally Published: 2007
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile NP; grades 5-9
• Structure/Length: 4 parts, epilogue; approx. 272 pages; approx. 2 hours, 47 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Kek is a refugee from Sudan who now lives in Minnesota with his aunt and cousin. His father and brother are dead, and his mother is missing. As he tries to assimilate into American culture and the Refugee Resettlement Center attempts to find his mother, Kek makes friends with an unlikely group of people, including a cow, and becomes a beacon of hope for those around him.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Death of family members; missing parents; refugee resettlement; atrocity crimes in Sudan; body mutilation  

Katherine Applegate, Author

• Bio: Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1956; lived in six different states and in Pelago, Italy; began career ghostwriting for the Sweet Valley Twins series; best known as the author of the Animorphs, Remnants, and Everworld series; won the 2013 Newberry Medal for The One and Only Ivan; her most popular books are her science fiction, fantasy, and adventure novels
• Other Works: Making Waves (1993); Zoey Fools Around (1994); June Dreams (1995); The Invasion (1996); Search for Senna (1999); The Mayflower Project (2001); Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs (2008); The One and Only Ivan (2012); Wishtree (2017); The One and Only Bob (2020); Doggo and Pupper (2021); Willodeen (2021); Odder (2022)
• Awards: SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Best Fiction (2008); Josette Frank Award (2008); Judy Lopez Memorial Award honor book (2008)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Holding on to Hope
• Family and Friendship
• Assimilation: Adjusting to a New Home and Culture

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Understand the geo-political context of the violence in and around Sudan, the resulting migration crises, and the role of hope in motivating refugees to strive for a better life, all of which are topics that inform Kek’s character arc.  
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to connect to the text’s themes of Holding on to Hope, Family and Friendship, and Assimilation.
• Research, review, and interpret data from the United Nations Refugee Agency. Students will use this to learn more about the worldwide refugee crisis and inform an imagined dialogue between Kek and another refugee student hailing from a country of the student’s choice.
• Analyze and evaluate the author’s choice in writing this novel in free verse, Kek’s conception of “the American Dream,” and other topics in structured essay responses.