Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Honors and Awards:
Newbery Honor Awards (2020)
Book Summary:
In other words was voted New York Times best seller; it also received the Newbery Honor Book award. The setting is based in America, and is written about a Syrian girl who escapes her war torn country with her mother, who is pregnant at the time, to live with her relatives (her Uncle on her Dad’s side). Jude is nervous about being away from her father, brother Issa and her best friend Fatima, who are left behind in Syria but her parents, acknowledge the difficulty of being away from each other, want to wait for things to settle down in their country. Her brother is a fanatic and joins the protests against the government, and for most of the story the family have not heard from him – this causes them to worry and be concerned for his safety. In the meantime, Jude is left to assimilate into her new environment with her Uncle Mazin and Aunt Michelle, along with her cousin Sarah who almost seems embarrassed by Jude and her Middle East culture. There is a positive message in the book with an emphasis on family, faith, and hope.
Reading Level:
Lexile Measure: 930L
Guided Reading Level: W
Page count: 352
Vocabulary
Revolution: The overthrow of a government by those who are governed
Treasonous: Constituting or having the characteristic of betrayal
Stability: A constant order, especially of society
Subtitle: Translation of foreign dialogue of a movie or TV program
Transcend: Go beyond the scope or limits of
Hummus: A thick spread made from mashed chickpeas
Mosque: A Muslim place of worship that usually has a minaret
Falafel: Fried croquette of mashed chickpeas and spices
Hijab: A headscarf worn by Muslim women
Audacity: Aggressive or outright boldness
Feign: Give a false appearance of
Resources to Support Text
Building / activating schema
Lesson Activity
In this lesson, create a storyboard that defines and illustrates key vocabulary, choose 3 - 5 words from the key words section that are unfamiliar.
Recommended grade level:
6th - 8th grade
Common Core State Standard
Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g.,how characters interact).
Key words or phrases
Habibti: Arabic for "sweetheart"
Marhaba: Arabic for "hello"
Muezzin: A man who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosque. In the context of the book, Jude is referring to the speaker whose voice she hears outside her window early in the morning
Before reading activity
This is an envelope assignment activity. Each student is provided with a topic, theme, or motif prior to reading the story. As they are read the text, the student tracks and reports the topic within a Google Doc. Write a quote or summary of where the examples of this topic appears, and then an explanation of how the quote or summary relates to the topic. Synergistically, create a spider map illustrating relevant details of findings.
During reading activity
During the reading of the novel, identify the main themes/events within the story and record these details within a timeline. Record the setting, time, and place.
After reading activity
Work with a partner in Identifying the main and supporting characters within the story. On an anchor chart (poster paper), write about:
each of the characters and their character traits.
Describe Physical/character traits.
How do these characters interact with each other?
What challenges does this character face?
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