An absorbing and approachable introduction to the struggles of refugees.
A debut nonfiction picture book focuses on a young refugee and her family.
Nasteha is an Ethiopian girl who tells her Oromo family’s story in this work for elementary school readers. Bigots in her country targeted the Oromo. As Beardsley writes in Nasteha’s voice: “When the Oromo people were in danger of being killed, my mother and father fled Ethiopia.” This happened before Nasteha was born. The family moved to the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya, but only Nasteha’s siblings and pregnant mother were allowed to stay because her father did not have the right paperwork. The camp was a dangerous place, without enough food or water to go around. Eventually, the girl’s family was approved to move to Canada. But when Nasteha was born at the medical facility, she was not on the list to travel with her family. Her mother left her behind with an aunt, and finally, Nasteha was brought to Canada to be reunited with her loved ones. Beardsley’s recounting of these events, using Nasteha’s voice, makes the girl’s story feel relatable and urgent. The technique allows the author to gloss over some of the scarier aspects of the account, making the difficulties evident to young readers without terrifying them. The narrative invites readers to identify with Nasteha and to see the problems faced by refugees. Wood’s photographs of Nasteha and her family make up most of the images. A short, useful glossary defines unfamiliar terms.
An absorbing and approachable introduction to the struggles of refugees.Pub Date: April 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5255-6679-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40.
From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us.
Bobbing in the wake of 2016’s heavyweight Book of Joy (2016), this brief but buoyant address to young readers offers an earnest insight: “If you just focus on the thing that is making / you sad, then the sadness is all you see. / But if you look around, you will / see that joy is everywhere.” López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways—beginning with paired scenes of the authors as solitary children growing up in very different circumstances on (as they put it) “opposite sides of the world,” then meeting as young friends bonded by streams of rainbow bunting and going on to share their exuberantly hued joy with a group of dancers diverse in terms of age, race, culture, and locale while urging readers to do the same. Though on the whole this comes off as a bit bland (the banter and hilarity that characterized the authors’ recorded interchanges are absent here) and their advice just to look away from the sad things may seem facile in view of what too many children are inescapably faced with, still, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48423-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Engaging, well-chosen images and a clear, coherent text illuminate the importance of empathy for the world’s inhabitants.
Large color photographs (occasionally composed of montages) and accessible, simple text highlight global similarities and differences, always focusing on our universal connections.
While child readers may not recognize Manzano, the Puerto Rican actress who played Maria on Sesame Street, adults will recognize her as a trusted diverse voice. In her endnote, she explains her desire to “encourage lively conversations about shared experiences.” Starting out with the familiar, home and community, the text begins with “How many WONDERFUL PEOPLE do you know?” Then it moves out to the world: “Did you know there are about 8 BILLION PEOPLE on the planet?” The photo essay features the usual concrete similarities and differences found in many books of this type, such as housing (a Mongolian yurt opposite a Hong Kong apartment building overlooking a basketball court), food (dumplings, pizza, cotton candy, a churro, etc.), and school. Manzano also makes sure to point out likenesses in emotions, as shown in a montage of photos from countries including China, Spain, Kashmir (Pakistan/India), and the United States. At the end, a world map and thumbnail images show the locations of all photos, revealing a preponderance of examples from the U.S. and a slight underrepresentation for Africa and South America.
Engaging, well-chosen images and a clear, coherent text illuminate the importance of empathy for the world’s inhabitants. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4263-3738-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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