Inside Out and Back Again

• Genre: Fiction; middle-grade novel in verse; historical; semi-autobiographical
• Originally Published: 2011
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 800L; grades 4-8
• Structure/Length: 4 parts, each containing many short poems; approx. 277 pages; approx. 2 hours, 30 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: This novel tells the story of 10-year-old Hà and her family as they flee from Saigon during the Vietnam War to start a new life in Alabama. The central conflict involves Hà’s struggle with the change in culture, the bullying she experiences in the United States because she is different, and her longing for her home country.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: War-related themes; displacement and immigration; bullying; adaptation difficulties

Thanhha Lai, Author

• Bio: Born 1965; Vietnamese-born American writer; migrated to the United States after the fall of Saigon; worked as a journalist before becoming a children’s book author; her work often draws from her personal experiences and explores themes of identity, culture, and the immigrant experience
• Other Works: Listen, Slowly (2015); Butterfly Yellow (2019)
• Awards: National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2011); Newbery Honor (2012)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Growth and Change Marked by Endings and Beginnings
• Acceptance Despite Differences
• Family Love and Support Promoting Resilience and Growth

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the historical contexts that surround the central conflict of main character Hà and her family members.
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections to the text’s themes of Growth and Change Marked by Endings and Beginnings, Acceptance Despite Differences, and Family Love and Support Promoting Resilience and Growth.
• Translate prose into verse to better understand the genre of the text.
• Analyze and evaluate the author’s craft to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding language, family structures, text structures, and other topics.