This Saturday, 20 June 2020, is the United Nations’ World Refugee Day 2020, and in the United Kingdom and other countries, this week is Refugee Week, a “festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees.” As regular readers know, I read, and review, many picture books about the refugee experience. I’m happy to pair two of these recent books this week.
Boundless Sky
Author: Amanda Addison
Illustrator: Manuela Adreani
Publisher/Date: Lantana Publishing/2020
Ages: 4-6
Themes: migration, birds, refugees, welcoming, friendship
Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Nobody knew, nobody dreamed, nobody even considered the possibility that a bird that fits in your hand might fly halfway around the world looking for a place to nest . . . or that a young girl from northern Africa might flee halfway around the world looking for safety. This is the story of Bird. This is the story of Leila. This is the story of a chance encounter and a long journey home.
Read my review.
Wherever I Go
Author: Mary Wagley Copp
Illustrator: Munir D. Mohammed
Publisher/date: Atheneum Books for Young Children, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Publishing/2020
Ages: 6-9
Themes: refugee, resilience, imagination, resettlement
Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
A hopeful and timely picture book about a spirited little girl living in a refugee camp.
Of all her friends, Abia has been at the Shimelba Refugee Camp the longest—seven years, four months, and sixteen days. Papa says that’s too long and they need a forever home. Until then, though, Abia has something important to do. Be a queen.
Sometimes she’s a noisy queen, banging on her drum as she and Mama wait in the long line for rice to cook for dinner. Sometimes she’s a quiet queen, cuddling her baby cousin to sleep while Auntie is away collecting firewood. And sometimes, when Papa talks hopefully of their future, forever home, Abia is a little nervous. Forever homes are in strange and faraway places—will she still be a queen?
Filled with hope, love, and respect, Wherever I Go is a timely tribute to the strength and courage of refugees around the world.
Read my review.
I paired these books because, though they differ in their storytelling techniques, and though neither sugarcoats the refugee experience, both leave the reader feeling hopeful about the fates of the refugees highlighted. In Boundless Sky, Addison parallels the migration of a bird with the journey of young Leila who migrates from Africa to Britain. In Wherever I Go, Wagley Copp reminds readers that refugees, like the narrator, Abia, are survivors who will enrich the community where they eventually settle.
Looking for similar reads? See The Unexpected Friend, about a young Rohingya refugee, and Yusra Swims, about a refugee who competed in the Olympics.
Wander, Ponder, Write 