Junior Library Guild Selection
ALA APALA Honor Book
Indies Choice 2011 Honor Book of the Year for Young Adults

ALA's 2011 Top Ten Book in Best Fiction for Young Adults
2011 International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society 

A Book Page Top Ten Book of 2010
Nominated for the Massachusetts Book Award, Pennsylvania's Keystone to Reading Book Award, and the Maine Student Book Awards.
Published by Charlesbridge

"With authenticity, insight, and compassion, Perkins delivers another culturally rich coming-of-age novel." —★ School Library Journal Starred Review

"A graceful exploration of the redemptive power of love, family, and friendship." —★ Publishers Weekly Starred Review 

"First and foremost, a compelling story." — Boston Globe

"A tender tale of parallel sorrows and dreams." — Sacramento Bee

"Thrilling jungle survival story." — Stanford Magazine
 

Get it an Indie Bookseller

Chiko isn’t a fighter by nature. He’s a book-loving Burmese boy whose father, a doctor, is in prison for resisting the government. Tu Reh, on the other hand, wants to fight for freedom after watching Burmese soldiers destroy his Karenni family's home and bamboo fields.

Timidity becomes courage and anger becomes compassion as each boy is changed by unlikely friendships formed under extreme circumstances.

This coming-of-age novel  takes place against the political and military backdrop of modern-day Burma. Narrated by two fifteen-year-old boys on opposing sides of the conflict between the Burmese government and the Karenni, one of the many ethnic minorities in Burma, Bamboo People explores the nature of violence, power, and prejudice.


Coming in paperback Fall 2012, and now available as an audio book from Audible.com, narrated by actor Jonathan Davis!