Hopes and dreams are international commodities. Yasmin and her family used to live in a bamboo house in the country where they raised rice and ate mangoes from their own tree. Then, the cyclone came and stole away the life they knew. Now they live in the city of Dhaka in Bangladesh where Abba pedals his rickshaw taxi and Amma cleans for the people who live in big houses. Yasmin and her sister, Mita, work in the brickyard pounding bricks into little pieces with their hammers. It is endless work with little hope for a better life. But, Yasmin has a dream. She sees the neon signs flashing above her as she travels through the city and she has come to understand that being able to read can open up the world to her. She wants to go to school. She wants to learn. She makes a plan. This is a story of hope and determination and the value of education. The tones of the warm illustrations connectl you to this exotic but unfamiliar place filled with poverty and hardworking people. Welcome to the People's Republic of Bangladesh. 40 pages