Aleutian Sparrow

Karen Hesse

Nov 2003 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Sarah Jones

About this audiobook

Vera, a young Aleut girl who lives with an elderly couple on a larger island so that she can attend school, returns home for the summer of 1942 to visit her mother and friends. But when the Japanese launch an air attack on the Aleutian Islands, the U.S. government reacts by "evacuating" most of the Aleut population. Vera and her village are forced to leave their small island of Kashega and spend the rest of the war in internment camps, facing sickness, suffer, and death.

About the author

KAREN HESSE is the author of some fifteen books for children, and was recently awarded a prestigious MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" for her contribution to the literature of children and young adults. Her many novels have garnered considerable success, including the Sydney Taylor Award, the IRA/YA Award, 5 Notable Books for Children, 4 Best Books for Young Adults, and the Newbery Medal in 1998. Hesse has spent many years promotion her books to the school market, and is well-known in classrooms throughout the country. She and her husband, Randy, live in Brattleboro, Vermont.