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“A 6-year-old Hmong child grows up in a refugee camp, unaware of the outside world. …Moments of lightness temper the heaviness, especially when an auntie insists that the young narrator isn’t “a child of poverty, war or despair”; the child is “hope being born.” When the family finally leaves the camp, the auntie whispers, “Your wings have arrived.” In an author’s note, Yang discusses how, after fleeing Laos, her own family lived in Thailand’s Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, where she was born. Offers deep emotional insight into the refugee experience.”

– Kirkus Reviews

Caged

Written by Kao Kalia Yang
Illustrated by Khou Vue
Published by Kokila

A young Hmong girl has never been outside the camp she lives in with her parents and thousands of other families. Most days, she spends her time playing with her cousins and pretending they can fly above the clouds and far away from here.

When her family’s papers are finally approved, she’s uncertain if she’s ready to leave everything—and everyone—she’s ever known behind. But on the day she leaves, her favorite aunt, Golden Flower, sees her off with the words, Your wings have arrived.

With poetic text by Kalia Kao Yang and stunning art by Khou Vue, Caged is about the power of imagination, resilience, and dreaming of freedom.

Primary ISBN: 9781984816368
Publication Date: May 2024
Available As: Hardcover, eBook
Picture Book, Age 04 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , ,

Setting: Thailand

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Refugee, Refugee Camp

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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