The Bite of Mango (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781554511587)

As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry. But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands. Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown. As told to her by Mariatu, journalist Susan McClelland has written the heartbreaking true story of the brutal attack, its aftermath and Mariatu's eventual arrival in Toronto where she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.

Author: Mariatu Kamara
ISBN-10: 1554511585
ISBN-13: 9781554511587
Publisher: Annick Press
Language: English
Published: 09/30/2008
Pages: 216
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 0.50d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.5
Point Value: 8
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 126920 / Bite of the Mango


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 10/15/2008 pg. 1119
School Library Journal 11/01/2008 pg. 146
Publishers Weekly 11/17/2008 pg. 59
Quill & Quire 12/01/2008 pg. 37
Booklist 01/01/2009 pg. 59
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2009 pg. 186 - Recommended, Satisfactory
Foreword 12/15/2008