Kami and the Yaks, Written by Stenn Stryer, Illustrated by Bert Dodson
       This Schneider Family Book Award-winning book tells the story of Kami, a young, deaf Sherpa boy who lives with his family. Kami and his brother and father's job is to help hikers in the mountains by guiding yaks that carry the hiker's gear. One night, the yaks are nowhere to be found, so Kami takes off to find them. As he looks for them, he gets caught in a storm that rains down hail. He finds the yaks and sees that a calf has got its foot stuck in a crack. Kami treks through the storm to tell his father and brother. He does not know how to speak since he cannot hear. He mimes a yak getting its foot caught between rocks and his brother understands. The trio head in the direction of the yaks and his father frees the calf from the rocks. Kami proudly guides the yak herd and his family back home with the understanding that his father is proud of him for his courage and resourcefulness. The end of the book contains information about the Sherpa people.
     This book would be appropriate for first and second graders. I love how this book empowers Kami. It shows how he was still courageous and intelligent to work with all of his abilities instead of letting his disability discourage him. This book would be a great read-aloud for the classroom and to have in my classroom library. It shows students that no matter what they feel insecure about or what they think they cannot do, everyone can rise above their circumstances to solve problems in a different way. Although Kami could not speak to his family, he still found a way to communicate with his family. This kind of victory is what students need to see. Even if the students do not have an impairment like deafness, they still most likely feel incapable of doing something or feel vulnerable in a given situation. By reading about Kami and his fearlessness, they could be inspired to the same kind of courage.