APRIL'S JOURNEY

A story of the plight of child refugees, translated from Spanish.

April is alone in a bomb-ravaged landscape, surveying the remnants of buildings, surrounded by the dangerous detritus of utility poles, sewer pipes, electrical wires and rebar, all depicted with wispy, loose linework. It’s a horrifying scene, observed by a sad-eyed, pale-skinned youngster with a button nose, blond pigtails, and a stuffed rabbit clutched at her side. She moves on, pushing through snow and rain, an echo of William Steig’s Brave Irene, until she finds another child, Julio, a boy with brown skin and black hair, a worried gaze, and a well-worn teddy bear. Together, they embark on a journey in search of safety, scaling a mountain, sailing on an endless sea, and finally making contact with a caring adult who offers them a warm, peaceful home. The intentional simplicity and ambiguous cultural context of April’s journey will likely be received very differently depending on the reader. For readers with a growing understanding of real-world refugee crises, April and Julio’s perilous situation and idealized rescue may seem like an oversimplification of the complex causes and lingering effects of such emergencies. But for caregivers of young children seeking a gentle exploration of the emotional impact of violent displacement, the book offers a starting point for meaningful conversation.

A dialogue-sparking meditation on a global crisis.