BACK COVER:
Each story in this jubilantly acclaimed collection pays tribute to the wisdom and resilience of children, even in the face of the most agonizing circumstances. A family living in a makeshift shanty in urban Kenya scurries to find gifts of any kind for the impending Christmas holiday. A Rwandan girl relates her family's struggles to maintain a facade of normalcy amid unspeakable acts. A young brother and sister cope with their uncle's attempt to sell them into slavery. Aboard a bus filled with refugees--a microcosm of today's Africa--a Muslim boy summons his faith to bear a treacherous ride across Nigeria. Through the eyes of childhood friends, the emotional toll of religious conflict in Ethiopia becomes viscerally clear.

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