FIRST CHAPTER FRIDAY | A Year Without Home by V.T. Bidania | Hmong Historical Fiction
What would you take with you if you had to leave your home—and didn't know if you'd ever return? Today's First Chapter Friday read aloud is A Year Without Home by V.T. Bidania, a powerful middle grade historical fiction novel about a Hmong family fleeing Laos and becoming refugees after the Vietnam War and the Secret War in Laos.
Inspired by the experiences of the author's own family, this story gives young readers a window into an important piece of Hmong history that is often missing from traditional classroom history lessons.
ABOUT THE BOOK: It's 1975, and eleven-year-old Gao Sheng and her family have been forced to leave their home in Laos. Like thousands of other Hmong people, Gao's family is in danger because of the Hmong community's involvement with American forces during the Secret War in Laos.
Their journey takes them away from everything familiar as they search for safety, eventually crossing the Mekong River into Thailand and living in a refugee camp. Through Gao's eyes, readers experience what enormous historical events look like from the perspective of an ordinary kid—someone who misses home, worries about her family, faces uncertainty, and tries to hold onto hope even when she has no idea what comes next.
SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS: A Year Without Home offers students an accessible entry point into learning about Hmong history, Laos, the Vietnam War, the Secret War, refugees, migration, and the Hmong American experience. It's an especially meaningful opportunity to explore a part of U.S. and Southeast Asian history that many students may not encounter in their textbooks.
ELA TEACHERS & LIBRARIANS: This middle grade historical fiction novel creates opportunities for conversations about identity, home, family, courage, belonging, perspective, resilience, and displacement. It can also be paired with nonfiction sources, maps, oral histories, and primary sources to help students connect an individual story with a larger historical event.
HMONG READERS & FAMILIES: This story centers Hmong characters, history, culture, and family experiences while introducing a new generation of readers to the difficult journey many Hmong families made from Laos to refugee camps in Thailand and, eventually, new homes around the world.
V.T. Bidania herself was born in Laos and came to the United States with her family as a Hmong refugee, making this story especially personal. Listen to the first chapter and discover a story about what it means to lose a home—and what we carry with us when we have to build a new one.
MORE FIRST CHAPTER FRIDAY!
First Chapter Friday Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVe6VlpCwJZCLWm7CR4yX93l3xN2conB
FULL First Chapter Friday Worksheet Bundle:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Chapter-Friday-Read-Aloud-Videos-Engaging-Middle-School-Reading-Resource-8469855
⭐ Find even more middle school ELA resources, book recommendations, and student engagement ideas inside Word Nerd Collaborative: www.wordnerdcollaborative.com
Music Credit: Amanda Zieba and Suno Pro (2026)
#AYearWithoutHome #VTBidania #FirstChapterFriday #HmongHistory #HmongAmerican #HmongStories #HmongBooks #SecretWarInLaos #VietnamWarHistory #RefugeeStories #MiddleGradeHistoricalFiction #MiddleGradeBooks #MiddleSchoolELA #SocialStudiesTeachers #SchoolLibrarians
What would you take with you if you had to leave your home—and didn't know if you'd ever return? Today's First Chapter Friday read aloud is A Year Without Home by V.T. Bidania, a powerful middle grade historical fiction novel about a Hmong family fleeing Laos and becoming refugees after the Vietnam War and the Secret War in Laos.
Inspired by the experiences of the author's own family, this story gives young readers a window into an important piece of Hmong history that is often missing from traditional classroom history lessons.
ABOUT THE BOOK: It's 1975, and eleven-year-old Gao Sheng and her family have been forced to leave their home in Laos. Like thousands of other Hmong people, Gao's family is in danger because of the Hmong community's involvement with American forces during the Secret War in Laos.
Their journey takes them away from everything familiar as they search for safety, eventually crossing the Mekong River into Thailand and living in a refugee camp. Through Gao's eyes, readers experience what enormous historical events look like from the perspective of an ordinary kid—someone who misses home, worries about her family, faces uncertainty, and tries to hold onto hope even when she has no idea what comes next.
SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS: A Year Without Home offers students an accessible entry point into learning about Hmong history, Laos, the Vietnam War, the Secret War, refugees, migration, and the Hmong American experience. It's an especially meaningful opportunity to explore a part of U.S. and Southeast Asian history that many students may not encounter in their textbooks.
ELA TEACHERS & LIBRARIANS: This middle grade historical fiction novel creates opportunities for conversations about identity, home, family, courage, belonging, perspective, resilience, and displacement. It can also be paired with nonfiction sources, maps, oral histories, and primary sources to help students connect an individual story with a larger historical event.
HMONG READERS & FAMILIES: This story centers Hmong characters, history, culture, and family experiences while introducing a new generation of readers to the difficult journey many Hmong families made from Laos to refugee camps in Thailand and, eventually, new homes around the world.
V.T. Bidania herself was born in Laos and came to the United States with her family as a Hmong refugee, making this story especially personal. Listen to the first chapter and discover a story about what it means to lose a home—and what we carry with us when we have to build a new one.
MORE FIRST CHAPTER FRIDAY!
First Chapter Friday Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVe6VlpCwJZCLWm7CR4yX93l3xN2conB
FULL First Chapter Friday Worksheet Bundle:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Chapter-Friday-Read-Aloud-Videos-Engaging-Middle-School-Reading-Resource-8469855
⭐ Find even more middle school ELA resources, book recommendations, and student engagement ideas inside Word Nerd Collaborative: www.wordnerdcollaborative.com
Music Credit: Amanda Zieba and Suno Pro (2026)
#AYearWithoutHome #VTBidania #FirstChapterFriday #HmongHistory #HmongAmerican #HmongStories #HmongBooks #SecretWarInLaos #VietnamWarHistory #RefugeeStories #MiddleGradeHistoricalFiction #MiddleGradeBooks #MiddleSchoolELA #SocialStudiesTeachers #SchoolLibrarians