A sobering tale that shines a light on recent history—and an all-too-real mirror for many young refugees.
Set in early-1990s Afghanistan, this tale sees young Zia’s life change drastically after his father is taken away by soldiers one night.
With the Taliban in power and women’s rights severely curtailed, Zia’s mother, Aisha, must give up her job teaching at the university. Now the sole provider for his household, Zia sells the food Aisha makes at the market. Amid escalating violence, including an explosion in their neighborhood, the two of them flee Kabul for Pakistan. They face numerous dangers as vulnerable refugees, including being stopped by members of the Taliban and later encountering potential human traffickers in Pakistan. Theft of their savings shatters Aisha’s hopes, plunging her into a deep depression. Zia finds work at a kebab restaurant, where he befriends a fellow worker named Najib, an Afghan boy who’s quitting his job to enroll in a school that will support his family—and who encourages Zia to join him. But Zia soon learns dark truths about the school, a Taliban-run madrassa. Qayumi walks a fine line, offering an honest depiction of the trauma Zia endures while keeping the narrative palatable to a young audience. An author’s note provides a brief historical overview of Afghanistan’s tumultuous past and observes that in the wake of the U.S.’s withdrawal of troops, the country still confronts similar issues today. Kazemi’s illustrations, stark in grayscale pencil and pastel, compound the narrative’s somber atmosphere.
A sobering tale that shines a light on recent history—and an all-too-real mirror for many young refugees. (Historical fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: June 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781990598128
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Tradewind Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
It’s not the first time old Ben has paid our times a call, but it’s funny and free-spirited, with an informational load that...
Antics both instructive and embarrassing ensue after a mysterious package left on their doorstep brings a Founding Father into the lives of two modern children.
Summoned somehow by what looks for all the world like an old-time crystal radio set, Ben Franklin turns out to be an amiable sort. He is immediately taken in hand by 7-year-old Olive for a tour of modern wonders—early versions of which many, from electrical appliances in the kitchen to the Illinois town’s public library and fire department, he justly lays claim to inventing. Meanwhile big brother Nolan, 10, tags along, frantic to return him to his own era before either their divorced mom or snoopy classmate Tommy Tuttle sees him. Fleming, author of Ben Franklin’s Almanac (2003) (and also, not uncoincidentally considering the final scene of this outing, Our Eleanor, 2005), mixes history with humor as the great man dispenses aphorisms and reminiscences through diverse misadventures, all of which end well, before vanishing at last. Following a closing, sequel-cueing kicker (see above) she then separates facts from fancies in closing notes, with print and online leads to more of the former. To go with spot illustrations of the evidently all-white cast throughout the narrative, Fearing incorporates change-of-pace sets of sequential panels for Franklin’s biographical and scientific anecdotes. Final illustrations not seen.
It’s not the first time old Ben has paid our times a call, but it’s funny and free-spirited, with an informational load that adds flavor without weight. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93406-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
Warmhearted cross-cultural friendship for a refugee on distant shores: both necessary and kind.
In 1938, a Jewish refugee from Poland joins her father in small-town Cuba.
After three years abroad, Papa’s saved only enough money to send for one of his children. Thus Esther boards the steamship alone even though she’s not quite 12. Cuba is a constant surprise: Her father’s an itinerant peddler and not a shopkeeper; they live as the only Jews in a tiny village; and she’s allowed to wear sandals and go bare-legged in the heat. But the island is also a constant joy. Nearly everyone Esther meets is generous beyond their means. She adores her new trade as a dressmaker, selling her creations in Havana to earn money to bring over the rest of the family. In glowing letters to her sister back in Poland, Esther details how she’s learning Spanish through the poems of José Martí. She introduces her sister to her beloved new friends: a White doctor’s wife and her vegetarian, atheist husband; a Black, Santería-following granddaughter of an ex-slave; a Chinese Cuban shopkeeper’s nephew. Esther’s first year in Cuba is marked by the calendar of Jewish holidays, as she wonders if she can be both Cuban and a Jew. As the coming war looms in Europe, she and her friends find solidarity, standing together against local Nazis and strike breakers. An author’s note describes how the story was loosely inspired by the author’s own family history.
Warmhearted cross-cultural friendship for a refugee on distant shores: both necessary and kind. (bibliography) (Historical fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-51647-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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