Brother's Keeper by Julie Lee ( Grades 4-6)
North Korea. December, 1950. Twelve-year-old Sora and her family live under an oppresive communist regime. But war is coming, war between North and South Korea--and war is the perfect time to escape. The plan is simple: Sora and her family will walk hundreds of miles to the South Korean city of Busan from their tiny mountain village. They just need to avoid napalm, frostbite, border guards, and enemy soldiers. But when an incendiary bombing changes everything, Sora and her little brother Young will have to get to Busan on their own. Can a twelve-year-old girl and her eight-year-old brother survive three hundred miles of war zone in winter? In Brother's Keeper, Korean-American author Julie Lee recounts an edge-of-your seat survival story, inspired by the experiences of her mother, who fled the Korean War before moving to the United States. Writing prompt: Imagine somone you loved was in danger. Where would you take them for safety? What obstacles would stand in your way? Write a short story about helping your loved one to safety, no matter the cost.