This graphic novel was hilarious and well-drawn, definitely worth the money and the hype, and I hope will be successful!

This is such an inspiring story! I loved this book, and my students thoroughly enjoyed the read aloud.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book is informative and heartbreaking. It's important for children to read because it shows that there are different perspectives in the world and not everyone is able to live happily and peacefully all of the time. It will grow kids that are compassionate and understanding and help broaden their minds at a young age.

A gorgeous picture book that does a wonderful job telling a difficult story in a way that is understandable by a range of readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing for the opportunity to view this advanced copy of From the Tops of Trees. A gorgeously illustrated children's book with powerful messages and a distinct sense of place and humanity. Both children and adults will be drawn into the story and the broader context of the author's life.

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My father says, “When someone falls, you have to pick them up and lift them higher than they were before.”

From the Tops of the Trees by Kao Kalia Yang is a true story of Kalia, who is a refugee. Kalia and her cousins are refugees in Thailand, displaced by America’s Vietnam War. Kalia is four years old and doesn’t remember life before the Refugee camp. When she asks her father what is beyond the fence, her father decides to show her.

This book is a reminder that children don’t forget to have fun even in the toughest times. The story also reveals the depth of a father’s aspiration for his daughter and his desire for her to see the world.

Thank you to @netgalley and @lernerbooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Category: children’s non-fiction picturebook

Age: 5-9

From the Top of the Trees, isn't really about the struggles of war, but a child's perspective of being born and raised in a refugee camp. Based on a true story, Yang didn't know the world's dangers outside of their "imprisonment." She didn't know anything outside of the barricades. So when she looked up and questioned her dad about what's beyond the top of the trees, we see a bond take shape and grow before our eyes. I love that you can feel the relationship between father and daughter. Whatever lessons and conversations Yang had with her dad resonated throughout her life to create this book. And having the actual photograph of the two in the trees gave it the most personal intimate touch that brought the story together.

It is a children's book, but I think this was made for her family. It's a momento that says she remembers, and that she was able to see what was beyond the trees. As a child reading this, they can get a beautifully painted perspective of a four-year-old's life, but it's the dedication page that will bring tears to an adult's eyes.

This was a touching first person story told by the author, as a young child in a refugee camp. Beautifully worded and illustrated. Powerful imagery shows the reader how a family that had very little material wealth could be overflowing with love and support. Kao Kahlia’s vivid memories bring the story to life for reader’s of all ages. Feeling the love her father shows her brought tears to my eyes. The photograph and backstory included by the author are powerful reminders of what life is like for refugee families, whether 30 years ago or today. I recommend every classroom and family reads this book together!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the early e-ARC to review. This is a beautiful and profound story that sheds light on what was happening in a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Our main character, a little girl named Kalia, was born in the camp and did not know what life was like outside of it. Like any child, she is full of questions, fears, and reflections as she learns about daily life around her, but her questions have so much more meaning as she's also learning about her own situation as it exists in the context of a great big world out there. As the author writes about her own experiences, this story does a wonderful job in illustrating the realities of children in the refugee camp. It's challenging explaining conflict and hardships to kids, especially not without being as scary as real life can be: younger readers will read this and be enchanted by the nature and beauty that little Kalia sees, while slightly older readers can begin to learn about this specific time in history and how the themes are very much alive today.

I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Powerful story told from the author's memories. She brings readers to the refugee camp in Thailand and shares about her life there. One day, her father held her and climbed to the top of one of the tallest trees in the camp to show her the world beyond the walls and fences. Her mother took a photo of them (the actual photo is included in the book). So many readers will relate to her experience and connect their lives to their own journeys. The illustrations are soft and comforting to match her father's way of encouraging their family. Informative text is provided at the end to learn more of the author's journey.

From the Tops of the Trees is a thoughtful read, opening our eyes to the author's memories of her early years in a Thai refugee camp. It offers a glimpse of the commonality of many childhood experiences, despite very different (and in this case, difficult) circumstances: Kalia and her friends play in the shade, make up outdoor games, and wonder about the fear expressed in conversations they can't help but overhear. The author's gentle, clear, almost ethereal tone seems to flow directly from lessons she absorbed at a young age from those who loved her. "When someone falls," her father tells her, "lift them higher than they were before!" And when others discuss war, her father tells her she "will travel far to find peace."

In 1985 Thailand, the Hmong people left their homes in Laos to escape the war raging in and around Viet Nam and came to Thailand to live in refugee camps and live in continuing uncertainty. It was a hard time for everyone, but when you are only four it seems unknowable and she asks her father "Is all of the world a refugee camp?" He takes her high in the biggest tree to show he that there is other things than fenced in camps and shows her how much she is loved.
It is a marvelous book written in love for her father and beautifully illustrated by Rachel Wada.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Lerner Publishing Group, Carolrhoda Books ® via NetGalley. Thank you!

www.the-sun.com › news › 3379901
Jul 30, 2021 · The St. Paul-Minneapolis metropolitan area is home to 70,000 Hmong, while about 30,000 to 40,000 Hmong live in California. Hmong refugees from Laos make up 10 percent of the population of Wausau, Wisconsin. In December 2003, the United States agreed to take the last 15,000 refugees remaining at Wat Tham Krabok in Thailand.

I am a huge fan of Kao Kalia Yang and have been dying for this book to be available. Like all her books, it is told simply and makes big events child sized and understandable, but over time as the child grows, their understanding of the story will grow as well. I entered the story with child's eyes, looking for food, not understanding, but I ended the story through the father''s eyes—all his love and hopes and dreams. Wonderful story and well-matched by the illustrations.

What a beautiful memoir! Experiencing refugee life through the eyes of a child. The parents' hope and love for their child are shown throughout this story.

This is another beautiful book by Kao Kalia Yang. She shares a lovely story from her childhood. The love between Kalia and her father is evident in every interaction. In spite of the difficult circumstances they were living in, her father knew that there would they would not be confined to this one place forever. He was able to share his vision and hope for the future with his daughter as they look out at the world beyond the refugee camp. It's a story of love, hope, and determination. I'm looking forward to having it in the hands of students soon.

A brief look at what it is like living in a refugee camp through a child's lens. A hope to go outside of it. The images a very pretty.

This beautifully illustrated, moving picture book is based on the author's childhood experience of growing up in a refugee camp. The book portrays details related to life in a refugee camp, what it means for a child to grow up without any sense of the world beyond, and the sacrifices that parents make to help their children have the best possible chance at life.

This book has wonderful art and text, and powerfully conveys both the authors' personal experience and elements that universalize to refugees everywhere. I would highly recommend this to families, classrooms, and libraries, and am grateful that I had a chance to read it.

Such a heartfelt story of Kalia, a young girl, and her family in Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. Kalia is curious if the whole world is a refuge camp and asks her father. The next day, Kalia and her father climbs to top of the largest tree to see the world outside the camp. I highly recommend it to kids of all ages. Thanks #netgalley for the advanced reader copy.