Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of the Sudan

As the result of renewed fighting in Sudan in the mid 1980's, thirty thousand orphaned, homeless boys were forced to walk almost one thousand miles through eastern Africa in search of refuge. Based on true accounts as told to her by some of these Lost Boys, Mary Williams' story describes the experiences of eight-year-old Garang, as he seeks safety after his village is destroyed by war. Unable to find his family, Garang wanders down the road where he joins thousands of other boys, who like him, were spared because they were tending their family animals when the war came upon their villages. Organizing themselves into groups, the boys travel east to Ethiopia, hunting for food, caring for younger ones, and avoiding the soldiers along the way. After finding safety in an Ethiopian refugee camp, the boys are forced to flee again, this time to Kenya, when war erupts in Ethiopia. Eventually, some find safety in the United States. This inspirational story of courage and survival provides students a starting point for a deeper study of the effects of war on civilian populations, especially children. In her Author's Note and Afterword, Mary Williams describe her experiences with these children that inspired her to write their story and create a foundation to support their adjustment to life in America.

This is a beautifully illustrated book that will be used for elementary students in a program of cultural awareness within an afterschool program.

This is a wonderful story that is even better when read aloud. Perfect story to teach children about collective work, perseverance and how other children have triumphed over adversity.

My 10 year old son and I read a lot of books together. Usually we read for adventure and for laughs, but we're currently working on the 2008 Children's Sequoyah Masterlist, a group of 12 books thought to be the best of recent books by authors living in the United States. The award is named after Sequoyah, who is remembered as the father of the Cherokee alphabet. The thing that really grabs my son's attention is a true story about kids, especially if they've had to endure hardships. The hardest part about reading these books with him is explaining that all these horrible things really took place. That idea sometimes overwhelms him. He still lives in the mindset that adults can fix everything. I hate taking that away from him, but he also learns to appreciate the life he has and learns to be giving to others that have less. BROTHERS IN HOPE: THE STORY OF THE LOST BOYS OF SUDAN is one of those books. It's really short and can be read within minutes, but the impact of the story is still with my child days later. Based on the tragic, real-life incidents in the Sudan where warlords massacred whole villages in the civil war that took place there, the book focuses on an eight year old boy named Garang Deng. Garang became one of the leaders of the 30,000 Sudanese boys between 8 to 15 that became orphans as a result of that war. They ended up walking over 1000 miles to try to find safety. The fact that boys that age could endure the hardships and know enough to save most of them is astounding. As I read the book to my son, I knew he was lost in that struggle, trying to imagine what he would do. That's what he's like. It wasn't an adventure like we normally read. This was a real life-or-death situation. Several of the boys died along the way. That fact is touched upon in the narrative but doesn't weigh too heavily. Mary Williams, the author, has handled truly difficult subject matter here and in a way that leaves young readers shaken but not despondent. Although only 40 pages long, the books is a real eye-opener about what goes on in the rest of the world. The artist, R. Gregory Christie, does an amazing job with kid-friendly pictures. The acrylic medium really stands out on the page, and the colors are all warm earth tones that reflect the geography of that region. Emotions, despair and joy, are plain for the reader to see in the way the characters stand. The art complement the simple, hard-hitting text wonderfully. If you're working with your child in the Sequoyah Reading this year, you may find that the subject matter in BROTHERS IN HOPE: THE STORY OF THE LOST BOYS OF SUDAN is hard to deal with. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions from your child. Thankfully, I knew enough about what had happened there to answer most of them. You might want to read up on that civil war and the general outcome. I know my son seemed less pensive when I could answer his questions and let him know that most of those boys were truly safe now

I was very pleased to find this book. I have been the ESOL teacher of several Sudan refugees and this book clearly explains the trip the people have taken to escape. The kids can't always fully explain to me their experience but I can often see what affect their background has on their current lives in the United States. I liked that there was a picture book with easy to read yet indepth writing. I will definitely have my two girls from Sudan read this book and discuss the book and compare it to their lives. Sudan refugees tend to be better than some other refugee groups at making the effort to live in safe neighborhoods and looking for good schools. Resettlement groups often put refugees from Africa in some bad neighborhoods. Sudan refugees often get themselves out of those situations. Education is also very important to many of them and it is common to find young Sudan men starting Community College and then pursuing Bachelor's Degrees. It is very difficult because they have lack of prior education and many educators believe they can't "do it". ESOL education is often limited to educators who are ESOL or Bilingual teachers, Administrators, Regular Ed and Special Ed teachers have no training so they see only inability and lost time. Adult ESL classes are often poorly funded with no requirement for certification in ESOL. The young adult people who make it, do it against the odds and with many people around them telling them that they can't. I'm glad there is a picture book to share their experiences with others and for the Sudan refugees to see their story in print.