Informationen zum Autor Padma Venkatraman (padmavenkatraman.com) was born in India and became an American after living in five countries and working as an oceanographer. She also wrote The Bridge Home (Walter Award, Golden Kite Award, Global Read-Aloud), A Time to Dance (IBBY selection, ALA Notable), Island's End (CCBC Choice, South Asia Book Award), and Climbing the Stairs (ALA/Amelia Bloomer List, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People). She lives in Rhode Island. Klappentext From the award-winning author of The Bridge Home comes a gripping novel about a boy who's released into the world after spending his whole life in jail with his mothera remarkable celebration of the aching will to survive. Borrowing elements of fable, it's told with a recurring sense of awe by a boy whom the world, for most of his life, has existed only in stories. New York Times Book Review A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF THE CENTURY Kabir has been in jail since the day he was born, because his mom is serving time for a crime she didn't commit. He's never met his dad, so the only family he's got are their cellmates, and the only place he feels the least bit free is in the classroom, where his kind teacher regales him with stories of the wonders of the outside world. Then one day, a new warden arrives, and announces Kabir is too old to stay. He gets handed over to a long-lost "uncle" who turns out to be a fraud and intends to sell Kabir. So ?Kabir does the only thing he canhe runs away as fast as his legs will take him. How does a boy with nowhere to go and no connections make his way? Fortunately, he befriends Rani, another street kid, and she takes him under her wing. But plotting their next move is hardand fraught with dangerin a world that cares little for homeless, low caste children. This is not the world Kabir dreamed ofbut he's discovered he's not the type to give up. Kabir is ready to show the world that heand his motherdeserve a place in it. Leseprobe 1 Beyond a Patch of Sky Beyond the bars, framed by the high, square window, slides a small patch of sky. For months, it's been as gray as the faded paint flaking off the walls, but today it's blue and gold. Bright as a happy song. My thoughts, always eager to escape, shoot out and try to picture the whole skyeven the whole huge world. But my imagination has many missing pieces, like the jigsaw puzzle in the schoolroom. All I've learned here in nine years from my mother and my teachers is not enough to fill the gaps. Still, it doesn't stop me from imagining we're free, Amma and me, together, exploring the wide-open world that lives beyond the bars. 2 Not Family "Up! Up! our guard yells at us. I call her Mrs. Snake because she hisses at us every morning. Lazy donkeys! She's the meanest of the guards, but also the most elegant, with her neatly combed hair pinned into a tight knot. Looking at her crisp khaki uniform and shiny boots always makes me feel extra scruffy. I wiggle my bare toes. At least I have slippers. Amma and the other women go barefoot. My mother's hands reach to cover my ears as the other guards join in, calling us worse names than donkeys. Doesn't Amma know I can hear them anyway? Doesn't she remember I've turned nine today? I'm no baby, but I don't shove her hands away. I like her fingertips tickling my ears, even though Amma's skin is as rough as the concrete floor. Only one thing in this room is soft: Amma's voice, saying, Looks like the rainy season is over and the sun-god wants to wish you a happy birthday, Kabir. Today's your birthday? Best wishes, Kabir. Aunty Cloud gives me a quick smile and returns her gaze to the floor. Aunty Cloud likes looking at the floor a...

Autorentext

Padma Venkatraman (padmavenkatraman.com) was born in India and became an American after living in five countries and working as an oceanographer. She also wrote The Bridge Home (Walter Award, Golden Kite Award, Global Read-Aloud), A Time to Dance (IBBY selection, ALA Notable), Island's End (CCBC Choice, South Asia Book Award), and Climbing the Stairs (ALA/Amelia Bloomer List, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People). She lives in Rhode Island.

Klappentext

From the award-winning author of The Bridge Home comes a gripping novel about a boy who's released into the world after spending his whole life in jail with his mother—a remarkable celebration of the aching will to survive.

“Borrowing elements of fable, it's told with a recurring sense of awe by a boy whom the world, for most of his life, has existed only in stories.”—New York Times Book Review

A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF THE CENTURY

Kabir has been in jail since the day he was born, because his mom is serving time for a crime she didn't commit. He's never met his dad, so the only family he's got are their cellmates, and the only place he feels the least bit free is in the classroom, where his kind teacher regales him with stories of the wonders of the outside world. Then one day, a new warden arrives, and announces Kabir is too old to stay. He gets handed over to a long-lost "uncle" who turns out to be a fraud and intends to sell Kabir. So ·Kabir does the only thing he can—he runs away as fast as his legs will take him. How does a boy with nowhere to go and no connections make his way?

Fortunately, he befriends Rani, another street kid, and she takes him under her wing. But plotting their next move is hard—and fraught with danger—in a world that cares little for homeless, low caste children. This is not the world Kabir dreamed of—but he's discovered he's not the type to give up. Kabir is ready to show the world that he—and his mother—deserve a place in it.