A Million Shades of Gray

A boy and his elephant escape into the jungle when the Viet Cong attack his village immediately after the Vietnam war.

"Newbery Medalist Cynthia Kadohata commingles shadow (Y'Tin helps dig a mass grave) and light (his gentle care of his little sister and the elephants) in this finely drawn portrait of a boy trying to find hope and direction in an upended world. This remarkable work of historic fiction powerfully evokes a specific time and place while exploring issues pertinent to any war." —Mary Quattlebaum for The Washington Post