Review by Booklist Review
Using simple, direct text, Gravel explains what a refugee is, the reasons these individuals leave their countries of origin, and the steps they must follow in order to find safety and regain a normal life. Throughout, she emphasizes that refugees are people just like you and me. War, political instability, and prejudices can disrupt lives, forcing people to flee to refugee camps, where they must wait until a new country will accept them. Gravel's cartoon art is used to great effect here. Bold lines, saturated colors, and expressive faces serve to emphasize the human cost of displacement. Gravel's strength is her ability to humanize this topic without resorting to sensationalism. Both art and text avoid specific details about individual lives before or in the camps, but scenes of burning buildings, barbed wire, and tent cities make clear that the life of a refugee is difficult. Appended interviews with displaced children and mini-biographies of famous refugees add to the appeal of this essential title for promoting understanding of the refugee perspective.--Kay Weisman Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The opening spread of this explanatory resource for younger readers shows a crowd of people with varying skin tones and hair colors--refugees, the image implies, don't all look one way. "A refugee is a person, just like you and me," Gravel (The Worst Book Ever) writes. Simple, cartoon-style line drawings give the pages an easy, informal feel. Gravel lists reasons refugees may have had to leave their countries ("because they were in danger," "because powerful people didn't like what they thought") and outlines the process by which they find new homes ("refugees had to find another country to live in, and that's not easy"). She avoids scary images while making the gravity of circumstances clear: on one spread, a graphic-style explosion on the left drives away an adult and three children who look anxious but not distraught. The distinction between "refugees" and the "you and me" of Gravel's address seems to assume that the text's readers have no refugees among them, a potential obstacle to wider readership. An engaging spread at the book's conclusion, titled "Refugee Kids Speak," offers short quotes and drawings of interviewed refugee kids; another shares short biographies of famous refugees. Ages 3--7. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Beginning with age-appropriate descriptions of the reasons refugees must leave home, including war and persecution, this narrative explores the difficulties of leaving loved ones and finding a new home. The book shows that being a refugee involves hardship and sometimes rejection from other countries or waiting in camps before hopefully finding a new life in a safe place. Digitally rendered illustrations depict refugees of various ages, races, and physical characteristics. The situations they face are shown in representative ways: neither the text nor illustrations identify any specific refugee groups or resettling countries. The end matter features quotes from modern-day refugee children and short biographies of famous refugees. Gravel introduces a globally important concept in a comprehensible way for young readers. A minor weakness is that many of the scenarios are presented in a past-tense narrative which can render the text a bit distant. The refugee experience would be more powerfully voiced in the present tense. Still, this book is an effective and compassionate introduction to this topic. VERDICT With simple text and vibrant illustrations, this picture book introduces young readers to refugees as "people, just like you and me." An excellent purchase for all libraries serving young children.--Kelly Jahng, South Park Elementary School, IL
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A straightforward and simple introduction to what being a refugee means, accompanied by glimpses into real refugees' lives.Sensibly depicted throughout the book as people of varying skin tones; with black, brown, blond, or red hair; of young or old age; and with or without glasses, headscarves, or facial hair, refugees are portrayed and described as "just like you and me." They've been forced to flee their homes on account of danger, although many would have preferred to stay with friends and family, and are described as fortunate if they find a new country where they can live unremarkable lives. Gravel describes war, oppression, and discrimination as reasons to flee one's country, but she misses natural disasters and environmental degradation as other potential reasons, and despite her repeated emphasis that refugees are "just like" readers, she highlights the stereotypical circumstance of refugee camps. The book ends with an engaging collection of portrayals of refugees: children from different countries speaking about their favorite things, followed by famous refugee women and men from around the world. Readers may find the single sentence that some countries "don't want to welcome more refugees" inadequate. The emphasis on "more refugees" has the potential of shifting the conversation away from justice for refugees to justifying racist exclusionary policies.A good introduction with unfortunate missed potential. (Informational picture book. 8-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
