Running on the Roof of the World

by Jess Butterworth

Overview

Join 12-year-old Tash and her best friend Sam in a story of adventure, survival and hope, set in the vivid Himalayan landscape of Tibet and India. Filled with friendship, love and courage, this young girl's thrilling journey to save her parents is an ideal read for children aged 9-12.

There are two words that are banned in Tibet. Two words that can get you locked in prison without a second thought. I watch the soldiers tramping away and call the words after them. 'Dalai Lama.'

Tash has to follow many rules to survive in Tibet, a country occupied by Chinese soldiers. But when a man sets himself on fire in protest and soldiers seize Tash's parents, she and her best friend Sam must break the rules. They are determined to escape Tibet - and seek the help of the Dalai Lama himself in India.

And so, with a backpack of Tash's father's mysterious papers and two trusty yaks by their side, their extraordinary journey across the mountains begins.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510102088
Publisher:	Hachette Children's
Publication date:	04/02/2025
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.99(h) x (d)
Age Range:	9 - 11 Years

About the Author

Jess spent her childhood between the UK and India, and grew up hearing stories about the Himalayas from her grandmother. She's lived in India and even met with the Dalai Lama. She studied creative writing at Bath Spa and after a few years living in Louisiana, is now back in the UK, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

The short, cliffhanger chapters will have readers anxiously turning the pages. Middle-grade readers who love Margi Preus will devour Butterworth’s debut.”
—Scholastic Teacher

“The perfect summer novel for young middle-grade readers, [a] tale of adventure and courage, halfway around the world . . . a story told with hope and compassion.”
—New Orleans Magazine
 
“An exceptional, riveting novel that will leave readers breathless in many important ways.”
—Nationally syndicated columnist Kendal A. Rautzhan forReading Eagle
 
“This unique debut novel is perfect for inspiring anyone who, like the dedication says, ‘has ever felt too small to make a difference.’”
—Booklist

“The unique setting and Buddhist perspective adds depth to this page-turning adventure.”
—School Library Journal
 
“Short chapters and simple sentence structure keep the pages turning. The tale diligently provides details of Tibetan daily life, customs and culture, and it appropriately raises questions about freedom, occupation, and exile.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“An accessible meditation on the value of faith in a distinctive geopolitical context.”
—The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books

“The perfect combination of adventure, friendship, cultural appreciation, and real-worldliness that make it a five-star read for kids and adults alike.”
—Foreword Reviews
 
“A lively tale of courage, persistence, and growth . . . Butterworth engenders warm appreciation not only for what the scrappy Tash and Sam endure but also the culture and its traditions they wish to protect, without denying that the conflict is still ongoing.”
—The Center for Fiction

“[An] adventurous tale of survival. Twelve-year-old Tash embarks on an incredible journey with her best friend, Sam, encountering Chinese soldiers and the Dalai Lama. It’s a great opportunity for kids spending the summer at home to escape to a part of the world they’re probably not all that familiar with.”
—TravelingMom.com

From the Publisher

02/01/2018
Gr 5–8—In a small Tibetan village controlled by Chinese soldiers, Tashi-la (Tash) and her family must hide their Buddhist beliefs or risk imprisonment. A door-to-door search for dissidents ensues after a street protester sets himself on fire, and Tash's parents are frantic. They push her out a window with a backpack of important papers and tell her to run. Their fate in jeopardy, Tash is certain the Dalai Lama will help, but it is a dangerous journey across a mountain pass to India, where he rules in exile. Undeterred, Tash recruits her school friend, Sam, and borrows two yaks, Eve and Bones, to help carry gear and navigate deep snow. A neighbor cuts Tash's hair to disguise her as a boy for safety. Compounding the fear of being captured or robbed by unfriendly nomads is Tash's uncertainty about her parents' involvement in the resistance. Why are the flyers in the backpack so important? Is there a secret message? Can she trust Sam? At first, readers will wonder if the time period is current, as the culture in this isolated agricultural area exists with few vehicles and little connection to the outside world. Information about Tibet is appended, but many facts are integrated into the story regarding the Dalai Lama's teachings and his forced exile more than 50 years ago. VERDICT The unique setting and Buddhist perspective adds depth to this page-turning adventure. A strong choice for middle grade collections.—Vicki Reutter, State University of New York at Cortland

School Library Journal

2018-03-04
A Tibetan girl and her friend find themselves on a quest through the Himalayas. Twelve-year-old narrator Tashi's small Tibetan village is suffering under the heel of the Chinese military. After one of the villagers publicly sets himself on fire to protest the harshness of the occupation (a graphic event that continues to haunt Tash through the book and might well haunt readers), soldiers come to arrest Tash's parents as suspected dissidents. Tash and her best friend, Samdup, barely escape, taking with them the illegal resistance leaflets and a coded letter her journalist dad gives her. With their two borrowed yaks, the two children are determined to make the long, dangerous trek through the Himalayas into India to seek help from the Dalai Lama, who is living there in exile. Short chapters and simple sentence structure keep the pages turning. The tale diligently provides details of Tibetan daily life, customs, and culture, and it appropriately raises questions about freedom, occupation, and exile. However, sometimes the characters' voices sound very Western, and readers familiar with the culture may wonder at the yaks' Western names, the characters' nicknames, and their use of Western rather than Tibetan address for their parents. Plot-driven conveniences and a tidy ending further undercut the story's realism. A brief bulleted list of facts concludes the story, but there is no map—an absence readers may feel.This story of friendship, courage, and survival is an imperfect peek into the Tibetan culture and way of life. (Adventure. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews