The short chapters make for easy wins, and Dae's gripping situation keeps even reluctant readers turning pages just to find out what's going to happen next. Sure to appeal to fans of New York Times Bestseller Lauren Tarshis's I Survived Series and Refugee by Alan Gratz. For how else can he help feed his family and pay the bribes to free his father? But can he survive the deadly crossing? Does he have what it takes to escape? This is the 1st children's book in the I Escaped Series about brave boys and girls who face real-world challenges and find ways to escape disaster. Alone, things turn from bad to worse and Dae dreams of rebellion-of fleeing across the scary border into China to look for work. When Dae's beloved father is hauled away to a hard-labor camp, the young teen must fend for himself.

Dae begins to question why the Great Leaders look so well fed.

At school, Dae and his friends bow before the giant portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, their clothes flapping around their bony limbs. Yet the painfully skinny boy can't help wondering why all his family has to eat is watery porridge made from grass. Short attention spans Chapter Book Ages 8-12 B&W Illustrations 14-year-old Dae has been taught that North Korea is the best place in the world. 14-year-old Dae battles hunger, border guards, and homelessness when he's separated from his parents and forced to flee North Korea alone.The Survival Series that celebrates the awesome history of us.Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature winner Ellie Crowe and bestselling children's author Scott Peters tell this gripping story about one young refugee's escape from the oppression of North Korea.

I Escaped North Korea by Ellie Crowe