The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

Last week I was talking with a few Junior teachers and we were talking about the Global Read Aloud project and the book selections. I did some searching and saw that The Bridge Home was the book for grade 6-8 students, so of course I ordered it right away. 

The Bridge Home is the story of two sisters, Viji and Rukku who have runaway from their home because their father beats them.  As they learn about what it means to live life on the street, they have to worry about food, shelter and staying safe from adults who want to hurt them.  Along the way, they meet Muthi and Arul, two boys who are also homeless.  The four kids form a family and work together to survive. 

This story was a simple story of life for homeless or poor children in India.  It will be interesting to see how students feel about this book.  The one part of this book that made me a little hesitant to share it with students was the references to Christianity and the Bible, I'm not sure how that will go over in a public school classroom.  I'd love to hear what others think about that.