BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US in Read Across America calendar

Thank you so much to NEA for including Barbed Wire Between Us in the Read Across America calendar. We are featured in April 2027, under the theme, Build Belonging.

Belonging grows when people are able to be who they are and find their place among others. Encourage students to read and explore how people navigate exclusion, acceptance, and identity while imagining communities where everyone is valued.

Elementary book of the month:

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnacion, and published by Red Comet Press

A reverso poem that tells two parallel stories of incarceration at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, decades apart: a Japanese American girl during WWII and a Latina girl separated from her migrant family.

Cover Reveal: Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

The Middle School book of the month:

The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller, published by Philomel Books

After her zine project with her best friend Scott gains unexpected attention, seventh-grader Luna, who’s White and Chinese American, becomes involved with the popular crowd and faces increasing pressure to change aspects of herself and leave Scott behind.

The Young Adult book of the month:

Estela, Undrowning by René Peña-Govea, published by Quill Tree Books

While battling anxiety and panic attacks over her family’s looming eviction, Estela, a Chicana seventeen-year-old, grapples with racial tensions at her elite high school after placing second to a non-Latino student in a Latiné poetry contest.

p.s. Related posts:

Geography Game featuring WWII Internment Sites and Children’s Books

Teacher’s Guide for BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US

How to Fold an Origami Crane (activity for BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US)

11 Children’s Books Featuring Origami Cranes

UNBREAKABLE and BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US interview in Publishers Weekly

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My books:

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
⭐ Starred review from Publishers Weekly
⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026

Free and downloadable guide:

Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat

California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)

The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court

ALSC Notable Children’s Book
2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection