Children ’ s Literature Collection

Children’s and Young Adult Literature – Structured Reviews

Sue Christian Parsons

A refugee is an individual forced to leave their homeland due to war or other violence, persecution, or disaster (UNHCR, 2016). Such displacement is a historical constant in human society, an ancient and persistent tale, one that is vigorously playing out in the world today. In the past year, my own community, like others around the nation and world, has welcomed refugees from the war in Afghanistan. Many of these are children. Worldwide, as of mid-2021, an estimated 84 million people are forcibly displaced; 35 million of those are children (UNHCR, n.d.). The causes of the crisis are complex, interconnected with such human forces as culture, religion, ethnicity, and the thirst for power, often enacted through violence and cruelty, and accompanied by hunger, thirst, and fear. As refugees move, human lives become political conversations, nations weighing what they can and cannot or will not do to harbor them. Amid all this hard stuff, we also witness great love, courage, and determination to find a way to care for the strugglers, both by individuals, organizations, and communities.

Each book explored below offers insights into the refugee experience. Some are appropriate for very young readers and thinkers while others, more complex in construction, scope, or concept, are better suited for older ones. Since many picture books are included, it is important to note that books in picture book format are not automatically intended for younger readers. In fact, the interplay between art and text in a picture book offers layers of meaning that come together in powerful synergy. Thus, picture books warrant careful consideration and lend themselves well to rereading for new insights. I’ve offered a suggestion of appropriate audience for each book, but reader experiences and interests may push those boundaries.

For many readers, these books will offer new insight into what people who are refugees experience. Others may find reflections of their own lives, a respect all readers deserve. Each book lends itself to dialogue and response, with readers sharing perspectives and considering implications for how to be in the world.

No one book can capture what it means to be a refugee. While the books addressed are roughly categorized according to topic, they can be connected to each other in myriad ways so that, considered together, they illuminate the many facets of the refugee experience. Some

Understanding the Refugee Experience through Literature for Children and Young Adults

central themes emerging from text-to-text analysis (Wolf, 2003) are offered at the end of this article.

Understanding the Refugee Experience: Voices

We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World by Malala Yousafzai (2019).

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai’s story is known around the globe. Her powerful voice raised in support of women’s rights to education led to an assassination attempt by the Taliban. Her survival led to her voice being amplified around the globe, melding with those of other activists to advocate for educational rights as human rights.

A core theme of Malala’s activism has been that women’s voices are their most powerful weapon. In We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World, Malala begins with her own story of being forced into exile from her beloved home, inviting the reader in, then stepping aside to amplify the stories of other strong, determined young women she has met through her human rights work. Though the women hail from various countries, similarities across experiences speak to the scope and persistence of strife that launches people from their homes. The quote that opens the book, “no one leaves home unless/home is the mouth of a shark/you only run for the border/when you see the whole city is running as well” (Shire, 2009)1, is illuminated “I have never felt ‘at again and again in the stories these women tell. home’ in any other place than the one I keep alive Malala introduces each speaker, telling how she met them in my head, from when I and a snippet of insight into each personality and context. The was a child, before the result is the sense that she is the admiring hostess to this party of world changed.” Maria powerful young women determined to change the world. Fleeing horrific violence and desperate situations, sometimes with family and sometimes quite alone, these young women traveled from Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Columbia, Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Myanmar. They left behind loved ones and beloved homes, endured harrowing escapes to face hardship in refugee camps and animosity from people in their new communities. Detailed but matter-of-fact narration sheds light on both trauma and courage. Rich descriptions of homelands reinforce the importance of place in human lives, helping readers understand the significance of being displaced. Love, too, shines brightly in these narratives, as

1 Read the entire poem “Home” by Warsan Shire (2009) and get ideas for learner engagement here: https://www.facinghistory.org/standing-up-hatred-intolerance/warsan-shire-home

families go to extreme lengths to protect and care for each other. Hope, persistent and enacted, emerges, too, held tenaciously by refugees and offered generously by helpers, including various organizations shown at work to make the world better for displaced individuals and, thus, all of us. Suggested for upper elementary through adult

The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown (2018)

Brown, a master of the nonfiction graphic novel, is particularly adept at explaining complex social events, from catalysts to consequences, while maintaining a strong focus on the human experience. In March 2011, in the middle of the Arab Spring protest movement that swept through Northern Africa and the Middle East, some teenage boys scrawled a message of protest against the dictatorial regime of Syrian President Assad. Their arrest and torture sparked protests that are met with deadly force from the government forces. The protests grew, and so did the response from the armed forces—homes burned, people were kidnapped, tortured, killed. Syria ignited in violence, and the people begin to flee.

The graphic novel format allows Brown to cover a lot of ground to show readers the scope, depth, and complexity of this crisis, but without overwhelming with text. Deft explanations of the sociopolitical context (including religious conflict) and the complexities of seeking and offering asylum intertwine with panels featuring refugees of various ages and genders, all making their way out of Syria in search of safety. Illustrations, maps, and graphs make settings and attempted pathways clear, while characters, often speaking directly to the reader, flesh out the human struggle and sociopolitical realities, including increasingly powerful nativist views in potential welcoming countries. Statistics are carefully selected and contextualized, often offered with analogy to support understanding. Readers learn about refugee processes, such as the difference between registered and unregistered refugees and the workings of refugee camps, and of the work of both governmental and non-governmental support organizations. As the stories unfold and intertwine, important insights and themes about the refugee crisis emerge, including the desperate circumstances that prompt immigration, the treacherous nature of escape, the incredible scope of the Syrian refugee crisis, the need for access to education, and, importantly, the many people and organizations who are trying to help. Suggested for middle grades through adult

Understanding the Refugee Experience: Information

What is a Refugee? By Elise Gravel (2019)

illuminating for all ages. Gravel answers the title question, and those that naturally follow it, simply and directly. Beginning with “a refugee is a person, just like you and me,” she continues with reasons people may have to leave their homes, the process and difficulty of finding a new place that offers a normal life with peace and safety, and the power of welcoming kindness to heal lives. The colorful, graphic style illustrations are simple but effective in depicting refugee experiences. End pages feature quotes from refugee children telling about themselves and brief biographies about famous refugees. Perfect for younger readers but

Far From Home: Refugees and Migrants Fleeing War, Persecution, and Poverty by Cath Senker (2018).

Far From Home explores the reasons people leave their homes in search of better lives through a series of case studies. Senker clarifies the difference between “refugee” and “migrant,” also addressing the sometimes-confounding fluidity in the terms in real life. She explains that the common practice of categorizing refugees under the blanket term “migrants,” takes attention away from the specific needs of refugees and can undermine support from them.”

Though Senker introduces a few migrants and their reasons for relocating (usually work), the focus is on refugee experiences. For each case study, Senker provides additional information about reasons and circumstances, drawing heavily on the power of well-crafted sidebars and captioned photos. Readers are introduced to reasons people must flee such as war and persecution, including gender, religious, and ethnic. Processes and experiences of escape and relocation are explained—the many ways refugees may fall victim to violence, fraud, or calamity on the journey and political wranglings as countries wrestle with how or whether to support them. Importantly, Senker also addresses the long-term challenges refugees face, including difficulty getting an education, learning a new language, and garnering care for physical and mental health challenges resulting from trauma. The final chapter addresses proposed solutions to the refugee crisis, such as designating official routes and distributing numbers of refugees evenly between receiving countries. Back matter includes a timeline of the Syrian refugee crisis from 2011 to

2018, a glossary, suggestions for further reading, a bibliography, and a detailed index. Suggested for middle level through adult.

Understanding the Refugee Experience: The Journey

Wishes by Muon Thi Van, illustrated by Victor Ngai (2021)

Wistful, yearning verse anchors this emotional voyage of a family leaving home in search of safe harbor. With one simple, evocative line on each spread, the details of the story unfold through the art, from preparations under the cover of darkness, through the perilous journey, and on to the possibility of safety. The voice is that of a child in the family. In most scenes, Ngai highlights the child’s face, expressive with emotion, often angling the perspective to suggest her gaze on the action. Broader perspective scenes show the scope of the trip, such as the family following a path winding through a broad landscape or a single crowded boat in a wide sea. The topic is a difficult one, but Van and Ngai soften the hardest moments (most profoundly a baby dying on the crossing) by taking the focus visually off the main character child and using language broad enough to invite questions but also allow the reader to easily skim past. Throughout, hope shines in every image with a persistent glow, often highlighting the child’s face. Recommended for all ages

Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy’s Story of Survival by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch with Tuan Ho. Illustrated by Brian Deines (2016).

Some of the most striking images in 20th century U.S. history are of the evacuation of people out of Vietnam as Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces in late April of 1978. Thousands of at-risk individuals, including diplomatic staff, a few remaining troops, and at-risk South Vietnamese were ferried via helicopter out of Saigon to U.S. ships waiting nearby (Brockell, 2021). In the weeks prior, Operation Babylift carried approximately 3,300 children out of Vietnam, an act later roundly criticized for separating some of those babies from families who loved and wanted them (Operation Babylift: 1975, n.d.). South Vietnamese remaining in Saigon faced horrid circumstances, from violence and persecution to crushing economic conditions, so the flow of refugees continued for years.

Tuan Ho was six years old when he, his mother, and two sisters dodged bullets to board a tiny boat in hopes of making it out of Vietnam to join his father and older sister in Canada. First published in Canada and the U.S., this book is likely to reach many readers who can hardly fathom living through such dangerous circumstances. Skypuch’s crafting offers accessibility to a wide range of readers. She tells the story in brief scenes, keeping the focus narrowly on Tuan and his experiences. Scene choices often feature universal experiences such as coming home from school or having conversations with a parent. The familiarity serves simultaneously to comfort and challenge. For example, Tuan’s mother offers water when Tuan is thirsty, a universal kind of comfort, but she can only offer a capful at a time because water is scarce, a tension that punctuates the dire situation. Pacing choices enhance accessibility for a young audience as well. While hard events and treacherous details are addressed clearly and directly (guns are fired at the family as they run to board the skiff taking them out to sea, another refugee boat burns and sinks), the pacing moves the reader quickly past them. As Tuan endures long hours in the boat, the sentences lengthen a bit, the pace more languid, but time is explicitly marked with skipping days: “on the first day,” then “on the third day,” “on the fifth day.” Though the boat drifts, Skypuch doesn’t leave the reader to drift into despair, moving quickly to Tuan’s mother’s seeing a hopeful omen in dolphins surrounding the boat and on to the sighting of the aircraft carrier that will rescue them.

Engaging and detailed back matter explains the sociopolitical context that led to the flood of “boat people” refugees out of Vietnam and offers the rest of the story. Tuan and his family made it first to refugee camps and eventually to reunite in Canada where he lives today. Recommended for third grade and up.

The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story by Thao Lam (2020).

Like the folded paper artwork in this wordless picture book, the story of escape, journey, and refuge told here has layered intricacies to explore. Early scenes show a child at the dinner table, rescuing ants from the sugar water placed to lure them away from the food. A military tank glimpsed through a window sends the adults hurriedly gathering money and belongings. Under the cover of darkness, the family flees, mother and child taking a different path from the father and grandmother—with a few ants tagging along. On their way to the shore, the pair is overheard by armed soldiers who search the high grasses where they hide. A moon beam spotlights a line of ants moving steadily along. Mother and child follow them quietly, arriving at the shore. The coast is still not clear, so they hide quietly again, waiting. The mother offers a snack from a paper wrapper, then folds a paper boat, a little entertainment as they wait. Finally, the pair make their way out of the weeds to a small boat. As she boards, the child drops

the paper boat on the shore…and the focus of the story changes. Instead of showing the journey of the family, Lam has the ants tell the story of a treacherous crossing. Aboard the paper boat, they battle weather, fend off predators, wilt in the hot sun, and toss in a storm—effective allegory for the experiences of the family making this trek and, more broadly, of vulnerable human beings too easily scattered. When we meet the human family again, they are all safely gathered around a table in a new place, and the ants are there, too. An author’s note explains how Lam’s family experiences inspired the story, including a story her mother tells of being rescued by ants. Recommended for all ages.

Story Boat by Kyo McClear, illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh (2020).

The refugee experience is marked by both great loss and great hope. This gentle story doesn’t shy from the loss but holds tightly to the hope. Drawn with soft lines and in a palate of orange, tan, and blue, a group travels in search of a home, stopping here and there to rest. Though the children in the group don’t know where they are, they do know they are “here.” Here changes, but home is consistent. It is found in the worn cup that holds the nourishment of food and memory. It is in the blanket they snuggle under each night and the solar powered lamp that offers a beacon in the dark. It is in songs sung together and flowers in a field. Here, on this journey, “Every week,/We dream and draw,/Make and play,/Search for treasure,/Find our way/And grow,/And wait/And wait/And wait/Adding words to this story./And this story is a boat.” In the final scene, the travelers are in a boat reaching a dock where they are warmly welcomed. Recommended for all ages.

Migrants by Issa Watanabe (2020).

A diverse group of anthropomorphized animals travel communally across a dark, foreboding landscape toward an unknown destination. The mood is somber, their expressions determined. As the migrants move forward, Death travels a short distance behind, a small skeletal creature wearing a floral wrap and traveling with a blue ibis. Rather than frightening and predative, Death, as portrayed, seems tentative and sad. Where the travelers stop to eat and rest, some color grows into the background, as if their caring community nurtures life. Reaching a river, they crowd together onto a small boat and launch, death riding the ibis above them. The boat disintegrates, forcing the animals to swim to shore, helping each other as best they can. One doesn’t make it alive. Death gently embraces the

dead rabbit, the foliage around them turning a dull gray. The others trudge on together in grief, still walking amid the grayed landscape until the background suddenly blooms in color again. Hope.

Rich in symbolism, this wordless picture book warrants repeated readings to explore and consider and is likely to engender rich conversation. Recommended for upper elementary and above.

Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey by Margaret Ruurs, illustrated by Nzar Ali Badr (2016).

Nzar Ali Badr is a Syrian artist who creates scenes using nothing but stones. Ruurs, inspired by his captivating sculptures expressing the beauty of Syrian life and the heartbreak brought on by war, asked if she could build a story around them. The result of that collaboration is this story of Rumi and her family who, like so many others, were forced out of their beloved home by war, joining “a river of people in search of peace.” A young girl, Rumi narrates, sharing images of the journey and voicing her understanding of the confusing events. Ruurs keeps her focus tightly on the loving family, with an emphasis on the weary journey. Hard truths such as people dying on the way are mentioned but not shone. Instead, we see the family plant flowers to remember those who are lost. At the end of the journey, they find new neighbors who welcome them eagerly—“Stay with us. You will be safe now. No more war.” Such a neat ending belies the difficulties migrants often face in new places, a conversation to consider broaching with readers. The ending does serve to highlight hope for a younger audience of readers and, perhaps, model an accepting, loving response to immigrants. This is a bilingual text, the full story offered in both English and Arabic. Appropriate for young children, but all ages need to experience and consider the stunning art.

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (2005).

In 1983, Sudan, plagued with conflict since it gained independence in the 1950s, erupted into violent Civil War— again. As is always the case with war, children were caught up in the conflict. Boys and young men were especially vulnerable, as the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army was forcing children into the fight as soldiers. An estimated 20,000

children fled to safety. These children became known as the Lost Boys of Sudan. (The lost boys of Sudan, 2014).

Mary Williams was working for the U.S.-based International Rescue Committee in 2000 when she first heard the story of the Lost Boys. In 2001, she founded The Lost Boys Foundation to spread their story and raise funds to provide access to educational opportunities in the U.S. One of these boys, Garang, is the narrator to this true and harrowing tale that reveals the horror of war and the power of love and faith.

Garang was tending to his family’s cattle when his village was destroyed. Disoriented and desperate, he begins to walk and soon encounters other wandering boys. They band together and make their way toward Ethiopia to seek refuge, moving only at night, through hunger, extreme thirst, and ever-present danger. They find a refugee camp in Ethopia, but are displaced again when war erupts there, eventually making their way to a camp in Kenya. Williams shares difficult aspects of the story candidly, but the care the boys show each other and their relentless hope shine through as well. Recommended for upper elementary and above.

Understanding the Refugee Experience: Seeking Refuge

Mexique: A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War by María José Ferrada, illustrated by Ana Penyas (2020).

The Mexique set sail from Bordeaux, France on May 27, 1937, with 456 children on board. Their home, Spain, was embroiled in a fierce civil war. Their parents, Spanish Republicans who opposed rule by monarchy and fought for democracy, feared for their children’s lives, so they sent them away to Morelia, Mexico. There they would be sheltered by people who sided with the Republicans in the war. Their stay was to be temporary, just a few months, until things calmed down. But calm never came. With the monarchists in power, it wasn’t safe for the children to return home, so they stayed in exile for years before World War II made it possible for some to return. The Mexican government provided basic support, but the trauma took its toll on this group who came to be known as the “Children of Morelia.”

Ferrada’s telling of this event is poignant. The narrator, one of the children, is perplexed but trusting. Thrust into this strange place, unsure of exactly where they are going, the children cling to their parents’ promises of “[t]hree or four months” and to the hands of older girls who do their best to care for them. Like the sea they cross, the narrative ebbs and flows, moving between events on board to poetic reflections on war and displacement. “In the crowd, I hold my suitcase

tight/(a suitcase is also a clump of earth, a house….We think that the war stayed behind./But it’s not true—we bring the war in our suitcases.”

A meaty afterword details the history. Ferrada, a journalist, conducted extensive research, including exploration of primary documents and interviews. Penyas’s illustrations draw on photographs of the children and the ship. An extensive author’s note provides background on the historical context. While many of the selections addressed in this article focus on contemporary experiences, Mexique’s historical perspective reminds us of the persistence of displacement. Recommended for all ages.

Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus (2019).

When the boat that brought Lubna and her daddy across the water finally reaches the beach, Lubna finds a pebble. Holding tightly to it with one hand and to her daddy with the other, they enter “a World of Tents.” Lubna finds a marker and draws a smiling face on her pebble, claiming it as her friend. Lubna tells Pebble everything that had happened to her. Pebble listens patiently. When the weather turns cold, Lubna worries that Pebble will get sick. Her father makes Pebble a warm bed from a cardboard box. Lubna soon meets Amir, a child who is alone. She introduces Amir to Pebble, and the two children play together in the camp. “You are still my best friend,” Lubna assures Pebble. Soon Lubna learns that she and Daddy will be leaving for a new home. Amir worries. What will happen to him? Lubna gives him Pebble to be his friend while he waits for better circumstances, too.

Egnéus draws us in to Lubna’s experience with close-ups on her expressive face. When Lubna and Amir play, his illustrations transform the tent city into a magical landscape. The simple story is intimately crafted with seemingly small details speaking volumes about the refugee experience, including great love and resilience. This one is perfect for young readers.

From the Tops of the Trees by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Rachel Wada (2021).

Kao Kalia Yang was born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand. In this gentle memoir, she captures the moment her father helped her to see the world beyond the fences. In the camp, food was scarce. Kalia and her sisters listened to the aunties talk about the war, the river they crossed to escape, and their worries for the future. Kalia’s father reassures her—she is safe, and her hands and feet “will travel far to find peace.” But all Kalia knows is the camp. She asks,

“Is all the world a refugee camp?” ‘What is the world outside this camp like?’ Kalia’s father asks her mother to dress Kalia in her nice dress and hat. He borrows a camera and, with Kalia clinging to his back, eyes tightly shut, he climbs to the very top of the tallest tree in the camp. Opening her eyes, Kalia sees beyond the camp all the way to the distant mountains. ‘One day,’ her father assures her, ‘my little girl will journey far into the world, to the places her father has never been.’

The photo her mother snapped that day is displayed above the author’s note, showing Kalia and her father peering from the top of the trees. In that note, she explains that she has, indeed, traveled far, seeing sights around the world, in peace—and that, in her own way, she takes her father with her. Recommended for all ages

Understanding the Refugee Experience: War

How War Changed Rondo by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv (2021).

Rondo was an uncommonly beautiful town, known especially for its beautiful singing flowers. People loved living there. Danko, a transparent, luminous fellow who studied plants, Fabian, a balloon dog from a long line of treasure hunters, and Zirka, an origami bird who loved to travel, loved it most of all. One beautiful day, as the three good friends were on their way to meet, war rumbled in, “black and scary,” spreading seeds of destruction that grew to block the sun. Rondo was plunged into a darkness, bewildering the residents, wilting, and silencing the singing flowers. The three friends tried to reason with war, then to fight war with war, but to no avail. In a desperate attempt to save the singing flowers in the greenhouse, Danko powers a light with his bicycle to shine on them. The light revives them a bit but, when a slip misdirects the light onto war, Danko discovers an important truth: light weakens war. The three friends rally the residents to work together to create a light machine to throw many beams into the darkness. War retreats, but Danko, Fabian, Zirka, and many others are left to live with permanent wounds. Even the flowers are changed forever, blooming now only as red poppies. (A note informs readers that red poppies are an international symbol of war remembrance.)

Fantasy literature often invites readers in with whimsy and imagination, then leads them to consider deep truths about life. How War Changed Rondo is an example of such work, offering an accessible moral but also layers of critical conversation. Bold, fanciful artwork offers a wealth of opportunities to read beyond the surface. The three friends suggest qualities that sustain and connect us as people—inner light and an eagerness to share and nurture with it, playfulness and an eagerness to discover, an interest in the world around and in each other, and a willingness to act in loyalty, kindness, and commitment to community. War is dark, destructive,

difficult to understand, and more difficult to sustain. Though hope shines, the result of good people working together for peace, Rondo and its surviving inhabitants are, realistically, forever changed by war.

Ukrainian artists Romanyshyn and Lesiv created the book collaboratively, inspired by “the arrival of war in Ukraine in their own lifetimes.” Originally written in 2015, this English translation reached readers in 2021. The timing is achingly relevant given the current context in Ukraine. Recommended for all ages.

The Day War Came by Nikola Davies, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb

One moment the girl was in school, learning about volcanoes, singing a song about tadpoles, and drawing a picture of a bird. The next, the world exploded into smoke and fire and a noise she didn’t understand. When it came, “War took everything. War took everyone. I was ragged, bloody, all alone.” The girl follows along with other fleeing people, eventually making her way to a refugee camp, safe but not well. War was behind her, but it was also in her. She eventually makes her way to a school but is told there isn’t a chair for her. As she returns to huddle dejectedly in her little shelter, a boy from the school appears, carrying a chair for her so she can go to school.

Nicola Davies wrote the free verse poem that became this book in response to news that the UK would not allow 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children to enter and stay. Near that time, Davies heard of a refugee child being turned away from a school because there was not a chair available for her to sit on. The poem, first published in The Guardian (Davies, 2016), is at once her protest, a call to awareness and action, and a statement of solidarity. Its publication inspired a Twitter campaign (#3000chairs) asking people to post pictures of empty chairs. The picturebook version, with Cobb’s moving illustrations, reaches an even broader audience.

In her Briley Memorial Lectureship speech, given at the United States Board of Books for Young People conference in 2019, author Nicola Davies spoke of hope as a moral obligation (The moral obligation of hope, 2019). This book calls readers of all ages to contribute all they can to make hope for refugee children a reality. Recommended for all ages.

Understanding the Refugee Experience: Adjustment and Welcome

The Suitcase by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros (2020).

A stranger arrives in town, an unusual looking animal dragging with him a large suitcase. The rabbit, bird, and fox who encounter him want to know what is in his suitcase. A teacup, says the stranger, and a table and chair in a kitchen where the stranger makes his tea, all in a little cabin on a hillside with trees, near the ocean. Exhausted from his long journey, the new arrival excuses himself to sleep. He dreams of running away, hiding, and swimming across deep waters, and of his suitcase with all it holds. While he sleeps, the others, sure he’s lying about the contents, break into his suitcase. Inside they find a broken teacup and a picture of a photograph of the stranger at home in his cabin having tea. Suspicion slowly shifts to understanding. When the stranger awakes, he finds that his new friends have glued together his cup and recreated his house—so he invites them for tea. The fanciful characters invite readers to see anyone, and everyone, welcomed into a new community, with kindness and understanding. Appropriate for the youngest readers but recommended for all.

My Two Blankets by Irene Kobald, illustrated by Freya Blackwood (2015).

The narrator, known for her joyful, continual cartwheels before the war, no longer felt like herself. In the new place, where they came to be safe, everything was strange, especially the language. “When I went out, it was like standing under a waterfall of strange sounds. The waterfall was cold. It made me feel alone.” Her own language, on the other hand, felt like a warm blanket wrapped around her. When she met a kind girl in the park, she wanted to make a friend, but the language barrier held her back. When the new girl started bringing paper shapes to share, each a new word, the narrator begins to weave those words into a new “blanket” of words. “My new blanket grew just as warm and soft and comfortable as my old blanket. And now, no matter which blanket I use, I will always be me.” Koblad, a multilingual teacher who is, herself, an immigrant, wrote the story to honor a friendship between her daughter and a young Syrian refugee. The book offers encouragement to both newcomers and welcomers that reaching out can help make home better for everyone. Appropriate for early elementary and up.

Salma, the Syrian Chef by Danny Ramadan, illustrated by Anna Bron (2020).

Salma and her mother have made it from the refugee camp to a new home in Canada. They live in an apartment in the Welcome Center while they wait for Salma’s father to be able to join them in Canada. They are safe and surrounded by helpers, but mama never laughs anymore. Salma can’t bring her father sooner. She can’t rebuild their home in Syria. But she does get an idea about how to help her mother. She will cook her an authentic Syrian meal. But how? Her friends at the welcome center know the dishes they yearn for, but no one knows how to make foul shami. Making the dish is easier said than done, though. She doesn’t have the English words to communicate the ingredients she needs, and she can’t find an important spice. With the help of her friends at the center, Salma is able to put together a not-so-perfect but perfectly lovely Syrian dish for her mother, minus the olive oil she drops and breaks on the floor. Salma’s mama is happily surprised with her gift, but when the friends from the welcome center arrive at their door carrying olive oil and bringing community to the apartment, her mother laughs and laughs.

The residents at the welcome center represent a variety of global communities from countries who have recently experienced strife—Lebanon, Jordan, Somalia, and Iraq—including a same-sex couple. All are finding together, with the help of welcoming friends, a new home, different but good. Recommended for early and upper elementary.

Everything Sad is Untrue: A True Story by Daniel Nayeri (2021)

Khosrou was born in Iran to a wealthy, prestigious family. His father was a dentist. His mother was a physician, but when she converted to Christianity and got involved in the underground church, she “got a fatwa on her head, which means the government wanted her dead” (p. 15), so she fled with her children. Khosrou’s father stayed behind. After waiting in a refugee camp in Italy, the family received sponsorship from a church to come live in the United States. So, 8year-old Khosrou became Daniel, who is now a 12-year-old boy in Edmond, Oklahoma, who lives with his mother and sister. He is in Mrs. Miller’s class in school. He rides the poor-kid bus home, dodging beatings as best he can, just as his mother dodges beatings from her abusive new husband. And he tells stories, sharing them in class at his teacher’s request but also in hopes his classmates will see him as more than the smelly refugee kid in the back of the room. But most of all, Daniel tells stories because storytelling is part of him. His classmates think that

all Persians are liars, but Daniel’s father tells him that “Persians aren’t liars. They’re poets, which is worse. Poets don’t even know when they are lying. They’re just trying to remember their dreams” (p. 1). And so is Daniel trying to make sense of his own story, piecing together his early childhood memories because “a patchwork memory is the shame of a refugee” (p. 37). Like Scheherazade in 1001 Nights, Daniel tells stories to save himself, to hold on to and make sense of his life.

Nayeri’s narrative style in this fictionalized memoir is at once intricate and intimate. Stories of Daniel’s life and family, past and present, weave together with Arabic folklore. He alternates between philosophical musing and laugh out loud humor (often of the middle-school brand, complete with poop jokes). Daniel’s ache to belong is intense, but even more powerful is his mother’s unwavering love, faith, and courage that, like his ancestor’s stories, guide him through. Recommended for middle school and up. The author-narrated audiobook is outstanding

Understanding the Refugee Experience: Central Concepts

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin (2017)

What can happen when people in power seek to silence others? The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet invites conversations into the importance of voices being heard and the courage it takes to speak out in an oppressive context, as well as our responsibility to live in community with respect for each other’s needs. Like many of the best picture books, this one invites insight and connection in a variety of ways, supporting learners at various levels of maturity and with varied background knowledge. Deedy came to the U.S. as a refugee from Cuba in 1960 when she was three years old (Interview, n.d.). Illustrator Yelchin grew up in the Soviet Union where possibilities were limited and speaking out against the government had dire consequences. His memoir, The Genuis Under the Table, details his childhood experiences. Yelchin emigrated to the U.S. after being officially deemed a “persona non grata” in the U.S.S.R. (Goddo, 2021). The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet is appropriate for early elementary and up. The Genius Under the Table for upper elementary and up.

The Chickens Build a Wall by Jean-François Dumont (2011).

Dumont is known for his entertaining but thought-provoking allegories for young readers. When a hedgehog shows up in the barnyard, the other animals clammer with surprise, having never seen such a creature! Overwhelmed, the hedgehog curls into a ball until nightfall when the other animals fall asleep. His absence fuels suspicion. The hens check to see if eggs or chicks were missing. When an attention-seeking chicken suggests there are fewer worms today than yesterday, and others quickly agree. The rooster, seeing the opportunity to be important, launches a plan to protect the henhouse from “prickly invaders.” So, the chickens begin to build a wall, higher and higher, through the cold winter, until it was so high the top could not be seen from the bottom. Just as the last brick was laid and the exhausted chickens hoped for rest, the hedgehog emerged from the straw he had hibernated in. Because there was no door in the wall, he had to wait until the rooster could dig one out. In the meantime, chickens and hedgehog got used to each other and weren’t afraid anymore. Comical illustrations delight and lend an appropriate sense of absurdity to the tale that reminds us that strangers are only strangers until we know them, and our efforts are more wisely spent on connecting than building walls. Appropriate for very young readers, with humor and wisdom for all ages.

Every Child a Song by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Marc Martin (2020)

The free verse poem in this picture book was written in honor of the 30th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Speaking directly to children, Davies asserts and celebrates their uniqueness and inherent value. Every child brings a new and very special melody into the world, but each one needs to be nurtured, nourished, and protected, named, celebrated, and included. “Whatever melody a song sings,/ each one is true and beautiful;/ unique and special as your own. No song should be worn away to silence…/No song should be drowned out…/nor stolen or made to sing the tune of darkness, hate, and war.” Davies encourages all to raise their voices in support of the right for every child to sing their song in joy, love, and freedom. A forward explains what it means for a human being to have rights and describes the work the UNCRC does to try to ensure that every child gets what they need. A child-friendly version of the United States Convention on the Rights of a Child agreement can be found here: https://www.unicef.org/media/60981/file/convention-rights-child-text-child-friendlyversion.pdf. Recommended for all ages.

Understanding the Refugee Experience: Connections

Refugee by Alan Gratz (2017).

In Refugee, Gratz tells three different stories, each marking an historical event that pushed masses of people out of their homes and into the uncertainty of refugee life. In 1938, 12-year-old Josef and his family flee from Nazi Germany aboard the St. Louis bound for Cuba. Josef’s father had been sent to a concentration camp in the wake of Kristallnacht. Released, but incapacitated by trauma, he joins the family on the journey. When the St. Louis reaches Cuba, they learn only a few passengers will be allowed to disembark. Aaron’s father jumps from the ship in a suicide attempt but is rescued and taken to the island. The others in the family are denied. The ship returns to Europe where they are resettled in France. But the war finds them again, with tragic consequences. When Josef’s mother is forced to choose between saving one child and sending the other to a concentration camp, Josef offers himself to save his sister Ruthie.

In 1994, 11-year-old Isabel and her family board a small hand-made vessel heading to the U. S. from Cuba to escape Castro’s regime. Her father is wanted by the Cuban police for protesting Castro’s policies. When Castro unexpectedly lifts laws forbidding Cuban citizens to leave, Isabel rallies her family, including her pregnant mother, to join their neighbors in a hasty escape. But when the neighbor’s police-officer son suddenly joins them on the board, the police open fire to stop the desertion, resulting in a bullet hole in the boat. On the journey ahead, the two families fight to keep the boat afloat. Isabel’s grandfather reveals that he was the officer responsible for turning away the St. Louis all those years before, so should be the one to sacrifice himself to lighten the load on their compromised vessel. Another in their group dies on the journey, too, but Isabel’s mother gives birth to a healthy boy whom Isabel carries to shore and into a new life.

Thirteen-year-old Mahmoud has learned a lot about surviving in war-torn Aleppo, but when his apartment building is bombed, his parents decide they can wait it out no more. Mahmoud, his parents, and his two younger siblings join the throngs leaving Syria in search of safety. They encounter danger from many angles—soldiers, swindlers, and the weather. When they are finally able to board a dinghy to Greece, a storm capsizes them. Separated from his father and brother, Mahmoud and his mother struggle to stay afloat while protecting his baby sister. Refugees in a passing boat cannot take more people aboard, but they agree to take the baby in hopes of saving her. Mahmoud and his mother are reunited with his father and brother, but not little Hana. After a demoralizing stay in a refugee camp, the family is relocated to Germany with a host family, Saul and Ruthie. Ruthie, it turns out, is Josef’s sister, the only

member of her family to survive the Holocaust. Refugee is just right for middle school and beyond.

The connections between Josef’s, Isabel’s, and Mahmoud’s lives emphasize common refrains in the dreadfully persistent stories of refugees across time and place: loss and hope, courage and resilience, and the continual need for refuge in the world.

Those themes and more emerge across the texts addressed in this article. These books help us understand why, build empathy as we witness the how, and call upon our moral imaginations (Johnson, 1994) to consider what we can do to finally change for the better. Some important take-aways include, but are not limited to, the following: ● Displacement is an effect, not a choice. ● Refugees seek only a safe place to live and a way to support themselves and their families. ● Refugee journeys are always difficult, often dangerous. They require great courage. ● It is hard for a refugee to find a welcome and safety in the world. ● Members of marginalized communities in any society are disproportionately at risk. ● Children, especially, are at risk, needing protection for a safe and productive future. ● Hope is a powerful, resilient force, as is love. ● Speaking out and listening to others is an important step in bringing change. ● Education offers hope but is hard to come by. ● All human beings are valuable. ● We can do better.

As Muon Thi Van writes in the afterward to Wishes: More refugees are made every day, not only from local violence and persecution, but increasingly from catastrophic natural disasters and climate change effects. It is not always easy to decide whom to help and when. But I think it is easy to open our hearts and to do what we can when we can. Sometimes that means sharing what we don’t need, whether it’s food, clothing, or room. Sometimes that means volunteering as a language tutor, a guide, or a driver. Sometimes that means demonstrating to show support and solidarity, and sometimes that means petitioning to change laws and policies. Sometimes doing what we can just means saying, “Hello.” I wish only for a safer, kinder, fairer, and more beautiful world. I hope you’ll join me in this wish. Together, we can make it come true.

If you may be interested in hosting a faculty or community read of books like these at your school or organization, or to share with your students, please send an email to sue.parsons@okstate.edu.

References

Brockell, G. (2021, August 16). The fall of Saigon: As Taliban seizes Kabul, the Vietnam War’s final days remembered. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/08/15/saigon-fall-kabul-taliban/ Davies, N. (2016). Retrieved from (https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-bookssite/2016/apr/28/the-day-the-war-came-poem-about-unaccompanied-child-refugees) Goddo, K.P. (2021, September 28). Four questions for Eugene Yelchin. Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrensauthors/article/87484-four-questions-for-eugene-yelchin.html Interview Transcript of Carmen Agra Deedy: From Havana, Cuba to Decatur, Georgia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/agra-deedy/transcript Johnson, M. (1994). The moral imagination. University of Chicago Press. Operation Babylift: 1975 (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/daughter-operation-babylift1975/ Shire, W. (2009). Home. Retrieved from https://www.facinghistory.org/standing-up-hatredintolerance/warsan-shire-home The lost boys of Sudan (2014, October 3). Updates 2021, December 13). Retrieved from https://www.rescue.org/article/lost-boys-sudan The moral obligation of hope. (2019, November 16). Retrieved from https://www.usbby.org/november-2019/the-moral-obligation-of-hope UNHCR (2016, March 16). Refugees and migrants: Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/latest/2016/3/56e95c676/refugees-migrantsfrequently-asked-questions-faqs.html. UNHCR (n.d.). Refugee data finder. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/ Wolf, S. (2003). Interpreting literature with children. Routledge.

Suzii Parsons believes that books truly matter in the lives of young people. She serves as the Jacques Munroe Professor of Reading and Literacy at Oklahoma State University. You can contact her at sue.parsons@okstate.edu