The Yang Warriors are a group of young Hmong children (the eldest is ten, the youngest, five) in a Thai refugee camp. Inspired by the superheroes they see on TV, they begin to train under tiny Master Me, the author’s ten-year-old cousin, who was elected group leader because he “cared the most and believed the fiercest that the children were powerful warriors.” Their rigorous training involves such things as balancing stones on their heads, fighting with sticks as sacred swords, and practicing mind control. Thao’s sweeping vistas show the children from a distance, looking for all the world like children at play, and it soon becomes clear why that is: The story is being told from the point of view of a very young girl who’s not in the group but whose older sister is a warrior. From her she learns that the warriors, seeing how hungry the youngest children are, have planned a nighttime mission to go to the camp outskirts to forage for greens. It’s a dangerous mission—everyone has seen adults punished by the guards for crossing the camp border. This unusual, original story is filled with dramatic tension and has a deeply satisfying conclusion. (Ages 5-8)

Award-winning author Kao Kalia Yang delivers an inspiring tale of resourceful children confronting adversaries in a refugee camp

After lunch the Yang warriors prepare for battle. They practice drills, balance rocks on their heads, wield magical swords from fallen branches. Led by ten-year-old Master Me (whose name means “little”), the ten cousins are ready to defend the family at all costs. After a week without fresh vegetables , the warriors embark on a dangerous mission to look for food, leaving the camp’s boundaries, knowing their punishment would be severe if they were caught by the guards. 

In this inspiring picture book, fierce and determined children confront the hardships of Ban Vinai refugee camp, where the author lived as a child. Yang’s older sister, seven-year-old Dawb, was one of the story’s warriors, and her brave adventure unfolds here with all the suspense and excitement that held her five-year-old sister spellbound many years later. Accompanied by the evocative and rich cultural imagery of debut illustrator Billy Thao, the warriors’ secret mission shows what feats of compassion and courage children can perform, bringing more than foraged greens back to the younger children and to their elders. In this unforgiving place, with little to call their own, these children are the heroes, offering gifts of hope and belonging in a truly unforgettable way.