The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson

Then he pulled out something from his pocket and handed it to Mama. "I could only find this little scrap. I think the rest was burned."
    Mama rubbed a finger across the piece of what had once been her beloved photo. "My parents," she said. "This was all I had left of them. Why should anyone destroy it?"
    "Hate makes no sense," Baba said.
    "When are we going home?" Isuf asked the question they were all dying to ask. "I want to go home today. Right now."
    "Right now!" echoed Adil.
    "Me, too," said Vlora. "Right now."
    Baba shook his head sadly. "We have to talk first," he said. Meli sighed, but to her amazement and Mehmet's chagrin Baba told Mehmet to "help watch the little ones" while he and Uncle Fadil asked Mama, Auntie Burbuqe, and Nexima to come with them to Baba's tent.
    "What do they have to talk about, Mehmet?" Meli asked. "What is so complicated? If the store and the apartment are there, why can't we just go home?"
    "You know Baba. He'll always find something to worry about."
    "But the war is over."
    Mehmet shrugged. "I think he fears what will happen next."
    "What? What can happen now?"
    "Don't we need to revenge the evil those pigs have done? Don't we?"
    Meli found herself shivering in the summer sun.
    ***
    After what seemed like hours, Uncle Fadil and the women returned.
Where's Baba?
That was the question that no one quite dared ask. Something was up, and from the grim expressions on the faces of the three adults, it was not something they were happy about. Uncle Fadil had somehow gotten some cigarettes, and he sat down and began to smoke. Auntie Burbuqe, Nexima, and Mama pretended there was something inside the tent that needed doing for the twins. Meli looked to Mehmet for some explanation, but he just shrugged. For once he knew as little as she did.
    The smaller children had begun a game of tag, racing around several tents. Elez shrieked with pleasure when he was caught, so Isuf made sure that he got caught often, which pleased Vlora and Adil, who never wanted to be "it." It made Meli long to be able to forget everything and play like that. But at thirteen one had to have dignity.
Oh, Baba, where have you gone? What are you doing?
    At last Baba appeared, his face flushed, his eyes bright. He poked his head into the tent. Nexima came out, holding a twin by each hand. They could walk alone now, but it was as though she were escorting them to a solemn meeting. The older women followed her out, and Mama called the children from their play. Baba had everyone sit down in the space in front of Uncle Fadil's tent. The adults sat there, their expressions grim but resolute. Now they were going to hear what had been decided. Meli quickly realized that there would be no arguing, not even from Mehmet, with whatever decision their elders had agreed on. She waited for Baba to speak, never dreaming of the words she would hear.
    "As we all know, at present Uncle Fadil and his family have no home to return to. The farm is destroyed, and until things are more settled, it is not wise to try to rebuild. They will go to town, to the apartment, and try to get the store running again. They can take care of Granny and the little children more easily there."
    "But what about us?" Isuf asked. "What about our family?"
    Baba forced a smile. "Our family? Why, we're headed for a great adventure."
    "Adventure?" asked Adil.
    "Yes, son, a great adventure. The papers I filled out last month are still in order. We're in line to go to America."

ELEVEN:  
A Country Far from Home

    A MERICA ?
HOW COULD MELI EVEN IMAGINE IT? OH, SHE HAD seen pictures of Washington and New York on television. But they seemed like cities in science-fiction fantasies to her. She'd never even been to Prishtina, though Nexima and her family had lived there. In her mind America was thin, glamorous women and handsome men, many, many cars, and huge trucks. Maybe there weren't soldiers on the streets or cruel police, but there were lots of criminals, people with guns