14 Cows For America

14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy and Wilson Kimeli Nalyomah, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez, shares the story of a great sacrifice that a village in Africa makes as a gesture to an American diplomat less than a year after the attacks of September 11. The start of the book shows Kemili, a Standford college student, returning home on his summer break and interacting with those in the village. As he recounts the events of September 11th, people of his village are deeply affected - enough to offer their 14 cows for America. The earlier sections of the book provide insights into just how huge of a sacrifice this was.

Told in third person verse with vivid, full page illustrations, this book conveys a lot of emotions. While Carmen Agra Deedy and Wilson Kimeli Nalyomah could have decided to recount the events through first person, telling it through third person helped to illuminate the event as a collective story, rather than his story, highlighting the decisions of people from his village.

The school library journal recommends this book for 2nd-5th grade. It could also appeal to older readers as well. The illustrations can capture the interest and inspire awe in a wide-range of grade levels, but depending on the grade level, the discussions and depth of understanding would be different. For example, in the younger grades, students will be able to understand that it was a great sacrifice and a kind gesture, while older students (or younger students with more background) will be able to understand a little bit more about economics.

Aside from the main focus of the book, there is also the underlying background of Kimeli as a college student returning home. We see him in his Standford jacket, "American clothes", and backpack, in contrast to the dress of the people of his village on the first pages. With a foot in two worlds, the book can prompt discussions about interacting with different cultures and having different experiences than most people in the community in which you grew up in and navigating similarities and differences. This book could be used with middle school to college students as an introduction to discuss identity, before pairing it up with other books appropriate for the target age group, such as Gloria Anzaldúa's Borderlands, Dancing Home, The Whole Story of Half a Girl, and Mexican Whiteboy.

You can see more background about the book, including a book trailer that shares more of the illustrations, on the site for the book.