Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature winner Ellie Crowe and bestselling children's author Scott Peters tell this gripping story about one young refugee's escape from the oppression of North Korea.

Short attention spans Chapter Book Ages 8-12 B&W Illustrations

14-year-old Dae has been taught that North Korea is the best place in the world. Yet the painfully skinny boy can't help wondering why all his family has to eat is watery porridge made from grass.

At school, Dae and his friends bow before the giant portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, their clothes flapping around their bony limbs. Dae begins to question why the Great Leaders look so well fed.

When Dae's beloved father is hauled away to a hard-labor camp, the young teen must fend for himself. Alone, things turn from bad to worse and Dae dreams of rebellion-of fleeing across the scary border into China to look for work. For how else can he help feed his family and pay the bribes to free his father? But can he survive the deadly crossing? Does he have what it takes to escape?

This is the 1st children's book in the I Escaped Series about brave boys and girls who face real-world challenges and find ways to escape disaster. Sure to appeal to fans of New York Times Bestseller Lauren Tarshis's I Survived Series and Refugee by Alan Gratz.

The short chapters make for easy wins, and Dae's gripping situation keeps even reluctant readers turning pages just to find out what's going to happen next.

Great for kids book clubs and classrooms--a study guide is available at https: //tinyurl.com/studynk

Packed with a special fact section on North Korea and that's sure to satisfy curious minds.

An empowering must-read for today's turbulent times.

Collect the whole I Escaped Series

"a must for every reading list"

Can Dae find freedom? Read it and find out.