Brothers In Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book in 2006, is fascinating and moving. Mary Williams worked with the Lost Boys and compiled this book from conversations with them. It is based on their experiences during the civil war in Sudan during the 1980s and 1990s. The book follows 8-year-old Garang, who loses his family and meets the other Lost Boys on the road to Ethiopia. There were more than 27,000 Lost Boys in reality, they were all out tending to cattle in the fields when their various villages were attacked. They walk from Sudan to Ethiopia, are forced back into Sudan when civil war breaks out in Ethiopia, and then walk to Kenya. Garang grows up during these years of displacement and becomes a leader looking out for younger boys and helping them survive. Eventually, he becomes one of almost 4,000 Lost Boys relocated to America for a chance at education and a better life.
Archive: June 5, 2008