Going on a Journey

In The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, a china rabbit named Edward needs go on a journey before he can learn the most important lesson of all: that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

Oftentimes we need the catalyst of a change in our circumstance in order to grow. This is one reason why taking a journey can change us in a deep and profound way.

Here is a reading list that features other great journeys.  How do these characters change from the beginning of the book to the end of the book?  What did their journey teach them?

Younger Readers

1. Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
A Japanese-American man recounts his grandfather's journey to America, which he later undertakes himself, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries. Through compelling reminiscences of his grandfather's life in America and Japan, Allen Say gives us a poignant account of his family's unique cross-cultural experience. Illustrated with memorable full-color paintings, this is Say's most personal and remarkable picture yet of the bridging of the two cultures.   Get it at Changing Hands Bookstore here.

2. Red Knit Cap Girl by Naoko Stoop
Red Knit Cap Girl lives with her animal friends in an enchanted forest. There is so much to see and do, but more than anything Red Knit Cap Girl wishes she could talk to the Moon. Join Red Knit Cap Girl and her forest friends on a journey of curiosity, imagination, and joy as they search for a way to meet the Moon.
Gorgeously illustrated on wood grain, Red Knit Cap Girl's curiosity, imagination, and joy will captivate the hearts of readers young and old as her journey offers a gentle reminder to appreciate the beauty of the natural world around us.  Get it at Changing Hands Bookstore here.

3. In the Land of Milk and Honey by Joyce Carol Thomas
Lemons as big as oranges, the cool Pacific Ocean, mountains that rise up beyond the outstretched bay—California beckons as one girl makes her way west on a journey filled with excitement, hope, and the promise of a place where people from all paths come together and music fills the air.  This is the true story of author Joyce Carol Thomas's trip from Oklahoma to California in 1948, when she moved there as a girl. During that time, many people went west, drawn by warmth and possibility, reflected in the people of all cultures and ethnicities who started a new life there. Coretta Scott King honoree Joyce Carol Thomas and Coretta Scott King Award winner Floyd Cooper capture the anticipation of a bright adventure and a world filled with freedom and opportunity.  Get it at Changing Hands Bookstore here.

Older Readers

1. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
This Newbery Honor book features magic, adventure, friendship, and even a dragon who can't fly!
In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.  Get it at Changing Hands Bookstore here.

2. The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
"The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in, it said, come in."
Thirteen-year-old Sophie hears the sea calling, promising adventure and a chance for discovery as she sets sail for England with her three uncles and two cousins. Sophie's cousin Cody isn't sure he has the strength to prove himself to the crew and to his father. Through Sophie's and Cody's travel logs, we hear stories of the past and the daily challenges of surviving at sea as The Wanderer sails toward its destination -- and its passengers search for their places in the world.  Get it at Changing Hands Bookstore here.

3. The Arrival by Shaun Tan
The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images that might seem to come from a long forgotten time. A man leaves his wife and child in an impoverished town, seeking better prospects in an unknown country on the other side of a vast ocean. He eventually finds himself in a bewildering city of foreign customs, peculiar animals, curious floating objects and indecipherable languages. With nothing more than a suitcase and a handful of currency, the immigrant must find a place to live, food to eat and some kind of gainful employment. He is helped along the way by sympathetic strangers, each carrying their own unspoken history: stories of struggle and survival in a world of incomprehensible violence, upheaval and hope.  Get it at Changing Hands Bookstore here.

4. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it's up to Hazel to go in after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," breadcrumbs is a stunningly original fairy tale of modern-day America, a dazzling ode to the power of fantasy, and a heartbreaking meditation on how growing up is as much a choice as it is something that happens to us.  Get it at Changing Hands Bookstore here.