Barbed Wire Between Us song wins Global Music Award

Barbed Wire Between Us, an original song by Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou of Daria World Music for Kids has won a bronze award in the protest song category of the Global Music Awards:

Daria, Barbed Wire Between Us: A Song About Kids in Detention Camps, protest

Check out her YouTube channel or listen to her on Spotify.

Here’s the Barbed Wire Between Us song:

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

**★ “A haunting dual narrative of imprisonment and family separation.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review**

**★ “A significant portrayal of ongoing U.S. civil rights violations, exposed through the experiences of young children.” –Kirkus Reviews, starred review**

★ “A must-purchase for elementary poetry collections for its elegant combination of the seriousness of history repeating itself and the promise of a new tomorrow.” –School Library Journal, starred review

One of the most anticipated children’s books of Spring 2026 –Kirkus Reviews

Barbed Wire Between Us is a powerful reverso poem that tells two deeply resonant stories across time. It begins with a Japanese American girl sent to an internment camp in Oklahoma during World War II. Read in reverse, it reveals the journey of a Latina girl detained in the very same camp decades later, during the U.S. policy of migrant family separation. Harrowing and emotionally charged, this poetic narrative compels us to confront a haunting question: What have we truly learned in the past 80 years about how we treat the most vulnerable among us? With haunting symmetry and striking parallels, Barbed Wire Between Us is a moving meditation on justice, memory, and the echoes of history that still shape our present. [reverso poem picture book, ages 7 and up]

p.s. Related posts:

Teacher’s Guide for BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US

Barbed Wire Between Us ORIGINAL Song by Daria Music

BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US at the Japanese American National Museum

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

UNBREAKABLE and BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US interview in Publishers Weekly

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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

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

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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

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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