We're extremely honored that Pegi Dietz Shea selected Reach And Teach to publish this important novel.She debuted the book at the American Library Association (ALA) conference recently and we are thrilled to announce that Teens Read Too just gave it their highest praise, a 5 Star Gold Award!
Please use the links below to jump directly to sections of this story.
FIRST NOVEL RELEASED BY REACH AND TEACH IMPRINT OF PM PRESS: Abe In Arms by award-winning human rights children's author, Pegi Deitz Shea
Reach And Teach says: "Let the bigger publishers focus on vampires and werewolves. We'll tackle the bigger monsters, the ones that really do snatch children from their parents in the dead of night."
DALY CITY, CA - Reach and Teach, the year-old children / young adult book imprint of PM Press, released its first novel, Abe in Arms, May 17th. The young adult fiction is written by Pegi Deitz Shea, an award-winning author of multicultural books, some of which have human rights topics. Abe in Arms explores a teen's difficulties adapting to life in America, having fled war-torn West Africa.
According to Craig Wiesner, Co-founder in 2004, Reach And Teach has been creating a one stop shop for books and other products that can help transform the world through teachable moments. "Deitz Shea's picture book, The Carpet Boy's Gift, led us to working with Free the Children, an incredible organization that has freed thousands of children from slavery over the last ten years. When Pegi told us she had written a manuscript about child soldiering that was being rejected by large publishers, we had to see it. We were instantly hooked and couldn't put it down."
"I found it riveting," said Andrea Gibbons, editor from PM Press. "I knew immediately that I held one of those rare books capable of meaningfully engaging young adults without condescension. Deitz Shea's book deftly opens up the realities of survival in a way that is desperately needed by so many of our youth who face war and violence directly, as well as by all those who love them. For a publisher like PM, aiming to inspire critical thought and understanding across all boundaries, there could have been no hesitation."
"Powerful storytelling is what led a 12-year-old to create Free the Children," Wiesner said. "Who knows what some young person might do after being inspired by Abe in Arms? Let the bigger publishers focus on vampires and werewolves. We'll tackle the bigger monsters, the ones that really do snatch children from their parents in the dead of night."
Having been an adolescent during the Vietnam War, and having attended parochial schools, Deitz Shea was always keenly attuned to the plight of children in less fortunate situations. Her initiation into children's books in 1989 coincided with a trip to Thailand, where she visited a friend working in refugee camps. "Thirteen years after the US military left SE Asia, tens of thousands hungry, depressed war refugees were still languishing in filthy, crowded camps. Deitz Shea had found her writing purpose, and her resulting books; The Whispering Cloth and Tangled Threads, on the Hmong plight and culture have won many awards.
So when Liberian war refugees moved into her town in Connecticut in the mid-90's, Deitz Shea interviewed them and wrote about their experience in Footsteps magazine (Jan/Feb, 2001). "At that time, I was researching and writing about child labor for The Carpet Boy's Gift. And I knew I wanted to write about child soldiers and ‘wives.'"
Dr. Eleanor Pershing of the West Africa Trauma Team said, "Abe in Arms explores the wrenching irony of a shattered young man being thrust into an American youth culture that glamorizes the very violence that has caused Abe so much anguish. Deitz Shea's resolution, like Abe's epiphany, is surprising, believable, and gratifying."
Having presented at more than 350 schools, libraries and conferences, Deitz Shea writes fiction and poetry as well as nonfiction for all ages. Her books work across the curriculum and often explore difficult issues and history. Her books, including Ten Mice for Tet, The Carpet Boy's Gift and Patience Wright: America's First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy, have been made Notables by the International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English, Children's Book Council/National Council for the Social Studies, Bank Street College, New York Public Library and other organizations. Tangled Threads, the middle-grade novel sequel to The Whispering Cloth, won the 2004 Connecticut Book Award for Children's Literature, and was a Junior Library Guild selection.
Her latest book, Noah Webster: Weaver of Words (Boyds Mills Press, 2009) has already been named a JLG selection, and an Orbis Pictus Honor Book by NCTE for one of the six top nonfiction releases of 2009. In the Fall, Clarion Books will release The Taxing Case of the Cows: A True Story About Suffrage. Co-authored with Iris Van Rynbach, the book is being illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully. Ms. Shea is currently writing a new YA novel, Snake Boy, Sister Spy, which is based on her aunt and uncle's teen Resistance exploits during WWII.
Ms. Shea teaches Children's Literature, and Writing Books for Children at the University of Connecticut, and Writing for Children and Teenagers through the Institute of Children's Literature. More information, including cross-curriculum guides for all books, can be found at www.pegideitzshea.com
Reach and Teach's first book was Girls Are Not Chicks (June 2009), and has two additional books in the pipeline for 2010/2011: Sometimes the Spoon Runs Away with Another Spoon and Ivy: A Tale of a Homeless Girl. PM Press, which is known for its activist fiction and nonfiction for adult readers, has released dozens of books, DVDs, and CDs since its founding in 2008.
Abe in Arms by Pegi Deitz Shea - Published by Reach And Teach
A senior in high school, Abe's got a Division I track scholarship awaiting him, a hot girlfriend, and a loving and wealthy adoptive family, including a brother his age. But suddenly, horrific flashbacks and seizures rip him back five years ago to war-torn Africa, where he lost his mother, his sister, his friends, and almost his own life to torturous violence. In therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Abe uncovers even darker moments that make him question why he's still alive.
This contemporary young adult novel portrays the pressures of teens to live a normal life, let alone succeed at high levels; while facing mental illness and--in Abe's case--a past that no one could possibly understand…or survive.
Pegi Deitz Shea has written a suspenseful, action-filled book that will open teens' eyes and hearts to the lives of young people exposed to violence around the world.
...ABE IN ARMS amazed me. In spite of the horrors of child soldiers, war, and struggles to come to terms with who he is and where he came from, Abe is easy to relate to. I found myself turning the pages without realizing I was even doing it. The story drew me in and kept me mesmerized as I learned more about Abe and his life.
...the truth of Abe's experiences in a war-torn country, and the struggles he faces as he deals with memories he'd much rather forget, compelled me to keep reading until I couldn't help falling in love with ABE IN ARMS.
...This eye-opening novel is a must-read!
More Praise
Abe in Arms is powerful and vivid, a moving exploration of the after effects of severe childhood trauma. Readers will come to care deeply about Abe as he struggles to overcome the emotional consequences of surviving the brutal life of a child soldier.--Sharon McClintock, Children's Librarian - City of Mountain View Public Library
"Written in straightforward prose, Abe In Arms hooks you on and pulls you deep into the past. It tells the story of Abe as he sorts through his war torn past. Abe struggles with the juxtaposition of the past and the present, Liberia and the US, a militant rebel and a loving family. I found myself rooting for Abe, both on and off the track - Cheering when he succeeds and disheartened as he falters."--Jeremy Mineau, PAC10 and NCAA Championship Runner - University of Washington Huskies
"Pegi Shea’s book, Abe in Arms, although fictional in nature, could have been true for any number of young boys in West Africa whose lives were devastated by conscription into the rebel army through force, threats, manipulation, bribery, and drugs. As a counselor and member of a trauma team who went to Liberia to teach counseling skills to civic and religious leaders following their civil war, I found it very heart breaking to witness the long term effects of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome upon the young boys, often no more than 11-14 years of age. Although there is a nation-wide effort in Liberia to rehabilitate these young boys, many require extensive mental health treatment and the prognoses are often disappointing. In her book, Pegi Shea engrosses us in the horrors of war, pulls at our heartstrings as we weep for Abe, and causes us to yearn for a time when he can confront the demons that control his life. At the same time, she explores the wrenching irony of war refugees being thrust into an American youth culture that glamorizes the very violence that has caused Abe so much anguish. Shea’s resolution, like Abe’s epiphany, is surprising, believable, and gratifying" --Eleanor Porter Pershing, PhD., West Africa Trauma Team
"Whether in the ruined cities of Bosnia or the refugee camps in Thailand, the images that stay with me the longest are of the children... What will their futures be like when all they've known is war and fear? This book perfectly captures the ambiguity of traumatic memories and the paradox of healing faced by a boy who survived the war but struggles to become whole." ---Susan Beam, International Rescue Committee (IRC); Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia.
"Working in Zaire, I encountered many check-points to and from Kigali, Rwanda, patrolled by child soldiers. Although they tried to look tough with their mirrored sunglasses and AK-47s, they could barely carry their weapons. They were also nervous and jumpy which made them extremely dangerous. This book doesn't romanticize child soldiers, but is nonetheless a story of their hope in regaining trust in themselves and in others." ---Ferdinand Kalkhuis, Doctors without Borders; International Rescue Committee (IRC); and United Methodist Committee for Relief (UMCOR) in Bosnia and Kosovo.
About the Author:
Pegi Deitz Shea is best known for exploring human rights issues in children's books. Pegi has brought the worlds of refugees, immigrants, child laborers, and historical figures into the minds of readers of all ages. Her books include The Whispering Cloth, Tangled Threads, Ten Mice for Tet, The Carpet Boy's Gift and Patience Wright. Her books have been made Notables by organizations including the International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council for the Social Studies, Bank Street College, Junior Library Guild and the New York Public Library. She has been teaching writing for the Institute of Children's Literature since 1996, and teaching children's literature at the University of Connecticut since 2007. Pegi has presented at more than 350 schools, libraries and conferences across the nation. Raised in New Jersey, Pegi lives in Connecticut with her family when she's not traipsing around the world.
Child Soldiers - Facts and Resources:
Published reports estimate that there are approximately 250,000 children enslaved as soldiers around the world.
Amnesty International has been working for years to end the exploitation of children. They created this powerful animation about child soldiers in the Congo. Sadly, the same story could be told by countless children all over the world.
The problem is most critical in Africa, where children as young as nine have been involved in armed conflicts. Children are also used as soldiers in various Asian countries and in parts of Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.
The majority of the world's child soldiers are involved in a variety of armed political groups. These include government-backed paramilitary groups, militias and self-defence units operating in many conflict zones. Others include armed groups opposed to central government rule, groups composed of ethnic religious and other minorities and clan-based or factional groups fighting governments and each other to defend territory and resources.
Most child soldiers are aged between 14 and 18, While many enlist "voluntarily" research shows that such adolescents see few alternatives to involvement in armed conflict. Some enlist as a means of survival in war-torn regions after family, social and economic structures collapse or after seeing family members tortured or killed by government forces or armed groups. Others join up because of poverty and lack of work or educational opportunities. Many girls have reported enlisting to escape domestic servitude, violence and sexual abuse.
Forcible abductions, sometimes of large numbers of children, continue to occur in some countries. Children as young as nine have been abducted and used in combat.
Demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) programs specifically aimed at child soldiers have been established in many countries, both during and after armed conflict and have assisted former child soldiers to acquire new skills and return to their communities. However, the programs lack funds and adequate resources. Sustained long-term investment is needed if they are to be effective.
Despite growing recognition of girls' involvement in armed conflict, girls are often deliberately or inadvertently excluded from DDR programs. Girl soldiers are frequently subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence as well as being involved in combat and other roles. In some cases they are stigmatized by their home communities when they return. DDR programs should be sensitively constructed and designed to respond to the needs of girl soldiers.
See www.childsoldiersglobalreport.org for lists of countries where child soldiers were recuited and used during the four years 2004-2007.
Lesson Plans about Child Soldiers:
The following are lesson plans available on the web for covering the issue of child soldiers.
Stories like Abe in Arms often stir a passion in children and adults to DO SOMETHING about a situation like the enslavement of children as soldiers. Here's one example of something children did to help encourage UN countries to ban the use of children as soldiers.
You could launch a Red Hand Day campaign in your school, church, synagogue, mosque, or community center! Plan the event, gather the red hand drawings, and present them to your local Congressional Representative and ask them to sponsor legislation against the recruitment of child soldiers!
There are many ways you can get involved to help keep children from being enslaved this way and to help the survivors of child slavery begin to heal their lives. Below are links to organizations where you can find resources and action opportunities.
The team at Reach And Teach invites you to tell us about other resources on child soldiers that you feel should be shared. Please contact us with any suggestions. Meanwhile, keep your eyes out for this film, The Silent Army, which was featured in the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
So when Liberian war refugees moved into her town in Connecticut in the mid-90's, Deitz Shea interviewed them and wrote about their experience in Footsteps magazine (Jan/Feb, 2001). "At that time, I was researching and writing about child labor for 