This is a story of the life of an 11-year-old Thai girl named Duangkaew. The story begins at the time her mother dies, her older sister leaves the family and Duangkaew is given the responsibility to care for the home. She has to balance school, shopping, cooking, laundry and other home tasks, and friends.
One day a total stranger enters her life. He is a European businessman that has befriended Duangkaew's aunt. He makes a great impression during a brief visit to Duangkaew's school when he visits all the English foreign language classes. Then he is drawn into a scheme to start a shrimp...

This is a story of a typical family living in a small village in Laos. The children in the family, especially two sisters age ten and eleven, are the primary subjects. There are survival adventures with canoes on the Mekong River. There are learning experiences when the children construct a sand stupa and win the contest, then go to a large city to accept their rewards.
Work is a major activity of many Lao children and this family is no different. The children plant rice. They make pottery which is taken to the market to sell. They fish on the Mekong.
Two Americans visit the village...

This is a story about a 14-year-old Vietnamese boy who lives in a small village near Hanoi. He is befriended by a cousin that is a victim of Agent Orange. They bond on a fishing trip and subsequently have many exciting excursions. A trip with their families takes them to see caves as they traverse a river that flows through several limestone mountains.
Subsequently they travel to Hanoi and visit Friendship Village, home of many victims of Agent Orange. They meet the Director of the Village and learn in depth about the impact of Agent Orange. While enroute home Nguyen's father tells the...