the Dalai Lama. Happy presence. Good vibes. A figure to worship in times of distress. But also just a fallible person. Just an all around fascinating character that seems pretty well represented here. The British explorer John Wood, writing in 1838, described Bam-i-Duniah (Roof of the World) as a "native expression" (presumably Wakhi), [1] and it was generally used for the Pamirs in Victorian times: In 1876, another British traveler, Sir Thomas Edward Gordon, employed it as the title of a book [2] and wrote in Chapter IX: Book Genre: Adventure, Childrens, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction Note to Parents: The inciting incident comes when a Buddhist sets himself on fire, known as self-immolation. Students in 8th grade and beyond may have already been exposed to this form of protest, as it was used by Buddhist monks to protest the war in Vietnam, as well, and may be mentioned in the 8th grade Vietnam War curriculum. If your student has not studied this in school, however, or been exposed to it in any other way, this is an excellent teaching moment, and probably warrants a dual-read -- mom or dad on the couch with your kiddo -- to explain and explore while or immediately after reading. Despite the serious subject matter at hand, Jess Butterworth writes with a great sense of adventure from the point of view of Tash. She is optimistic in her outlook and even though adult responsibilities fall to her, Tash is a real child at heart with a whimsical and naive quality that endears her to the reader. She is a character of hope and the reader gets the sense throughout, whether right or wrong, that everything will be alright in the end for Tash and Sam.

We were now about to cross the famous 'Bam-i-Dunya', 'The Roof of the World' under which name the elevated region of the hitherto comparatively unknown Pamir tracts had long appeared in our maps.[...] Wood, in 1838, was the first European traveler of modern times to visit the Great Pamir,". [3] A big part of Tash realising that there's far more going on in the world than she knows is because a man in her village sets himself on fire in protest. And it's brought up several times in the course of the story. But an explanation as to WHY someone might do something like that and an emphasis that it's not something that should be encouraged as a form of protest doesn't come until right at the end of the book. And given that it's a middle grade book, I wanted that stuff to come a liiiiiittle bit sooner. Despite my complaints, though, the book did make me reevaluate some ideas I thought were settled in my mind. It made me question what I thought I knew. It made me research and read up on current events that escaped my notice. It opened my eyes, and that’s the true beauty of all good literature. Other fabulous middle-grade books that deal with serious issues affecting children in other countries include Oranges in No Man's Land by Elizabeth Laird, about Lebanon, and The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon, about Rohinga refugees in Australia. You might also like to look at When the Mountains Roared by Jess Butterworth. The cover from Rob Biddulph is just stunning. The rich colour combinations of reds, oranges and yellows reflecting the vividness of the narrative inside.

For other uses, see Roof of the World (disambiguation). Physical map of Central Asia from the Caucasus in the northwest, to Mongolia in the northeast. Tash and her best friend Sam live in rural Tibet (about 12 hours by road to Lhasa), sometime around now (about 50 years after the Dalai Lama fled to India). We’re not given much more information than that. And perhaps that was the seed of my unease with the book. So much of a modern Tibetan’s perspective is shaped by exactly where and when they live.

One thing I noticed Jess does really well is sets a clear scene of what it is like to trek across the Himalayas; the deep snow, the freezing winds, even the soldiers hidden away to try and catch out those that are trying to escape. The power and importance of friendship is also show really effectively through Tash's relationship with Sam, complete with both ups and downs.Books that open a window onto these events and people have never been more vital. And this book, despite its flaws, does an admirable job of opening that window a bit more. Survival stories are some of my all-time favorite middle grade books. This is a great addition to my survivor collection that contains other titles like Snow Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson and Hatchet by Greg Paulsen.

I’ve been fascinated by Tibet for as long as I can remember. Loved finally reading about it! (Seven Years in Tibet has been staring at me from its spot on my shelf for way too long now.) There have been almost 150 cases of self-immolation protests among Tibetans in China since 2009. Not since China invaded in 1950 or since the Tibetan uprising in 1959 but in just the last 10 years! When Running on the Roof of the World arrived in my mailbox, I didn't waste any time. I dove right in. It was just as good as I was hoping for. EVEEEEEEEEEEEE. My heart. Oh Eve, Eve, Eve. What a gentle soul. What a wonderful companion. A savior and an angel in the body of a large yak. A blessing. (Appa vibes?) I loved the adventure the characters went on, their strength, their courage. They set their minds on a goal and did everything in their power to achieve it.This amazing book keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you want to read more. The chapters are captivating and short, keeping you stimulated. There are also chance encounters that strain credibility and require a HUGE leap of faith by the reader, but that’s basically par for the course in middle-grade books that chart epic journeys such as this. I can forgive the “convenient” plot twists, but I can’t get past these issues of basic geography. Events that initially seemed to stretch believability in Running on the Roof of the World suddenly, upon reflection, seem frighteningly realistic. This is a daily terror that people continue to live with, and it shouldn’t get swept under the carpet. I had no idea what this book was about, but as I am in a group of English teachers who are reading for teaching about the environment, the group suggested we read this children’s book (ages 9-12) and since I saw it only took 3 or so hours to listen to, I did it. It’s no fault of the book that I discovered it is not so much an environmental book, it's mainly an adventure book, where two Tibetan kids, Tash and Sam, escape to India to try and get the Dalai Lama to free her parents. Children crossing the frigid Himalayas with two yaks and no adults.