A Refugee's Journey from Colombia. (Leaving My Homeland). Linda Barghoorn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2018. 32 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $9.95 (pbk.), $26.95 (List RLB), $21.56 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3678-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3672-1 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1969-8 (HTML). Subject Headings: Refugees-Columbia-Juvenile literature. Refugees-Ecuador-Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Columbia-Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Ecuador-Juvenile literature. Refugees-Social conditions-Juvenile literature. Columbia-Social conditions-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Suzanne Pierson. **** /4
	A Refugee's Journey from Guatemala. (Leaving My Homeland). Heather Hudak. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2018. 32 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $9.95 (pbk.), $26.95 (List RLB), $21.56 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3679-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3673-8 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1970-4 (HTML). Subject Headings: Refugees-Guatemala-Juvenile literature. Refugees-Mexico-Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Guatemala-Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Mexico-Juvenile literature. Refugees-Social conditions-Juvenile literature. Refugee camps-Mexico-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Suzanne Pierson. **** /4
	A Refugee's Journey from Myanmar. (Leaving My Homeland). Ellen Rodger. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2018. 32 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $9.95 (pbk.), $26.95 (List RLB), $21.56 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3681-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3674-5 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1971-1 (HTML). Subject Headings: Refugees-Burma-Juvenile literature. Refugees-United States-Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Burma-Juvenile literature. Refugee children-United States-Juvenile literature. Refugees-Social conditions-Juvenile literature. Burma-Social conditions-Juvenile literature. Boat people-Burma-Juvenile literature. Boat people-United States-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Suzanne Pierson. **** /4
	A Refugee's Journey from Somalia. (Leaving My Homeland). Linda Barghoorn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2018. 32 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $9.95 (pbk.), $26.95 (List RLB), $21.56 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3698-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3675-2 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1972-8 (HTML). Subject Headings: Refugees-Somalia-Juvenile literature. Refugees-Kenya-Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Somalia-Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Kenya-Juvenile literature. Refugees-Social conditions-Juvenile literature. Somalia-Social conditions-Juvenile literature. Refugee camps-Kenya-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Suzanne Pierson. **** /4
	A Refugee's Journey from South Sudan. (Leaving My Homeland). Ellen Rodger. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2018. 32 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $9.95 (pbk.), $26.95 (List RLB), $21.56 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3699-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3676-9 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1973-5 (HTML). Subject Headings: Refugees South Sudan Juvenile literature. Refugees-Canada Juvenile literature. Refugee children-South Sudan Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Canada Juvenile literature. Refugees Social conditions Juvenile literature. South Sudan Social conditions Juvenile literature. Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Suzanne Pierson. **** /4
	A Refugee's Journey from Yemen. (Leaving My Homeland). Heather Hudak. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2018. 32 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $9.95 (pbk.), $26.95 (List RLB), $21.56 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3700-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3677-6 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1974-2 (HTML). Subject Headings: Refugees Yemen (Republic) Juvenile literature. Refugees-Canada Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Yemen (Republic) Juvenile literature. Refugee children-Canada Juvenile literature. Refugees Social conditions Juvenile literature. Yemen (Republic) Social conditions Juvenile literature. Boat people-Yemen (Republic) Juvenile literature. Boat people-Canada Juvenile literature. Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Suzanne Pierson. **** /4

excerpt:

Ataui's Story: My Home in the Camp

The camp is our home now. We have no other home. We have been here three years. My father is dead. We do not know about Deng. I think about him all the time. In my dreams, he is alive and looking after our cattle. I do not want to think that he is dead or that he has been forced to join the army as a soldier. If he is gone, our cattle will be gone, too. Our cattle were our life. (From A Refugee's Journey from South Sudan.)

Crabtree Publishing has added six new books to the timely series "Leaving My Homeland".

      The six new books follow the same format as the previous four books in the series. The books present six personal stories, each told from a child's perspective. The stories are unique, but they share a common storyline. In each, a child's life is disrupted by conflict in their homeland. The reasons why there is conflict in each country vary, but the results are the same. The family is forced to flee from their home.

      Each book follows one child and his or her family as they relocate. Some of the children escape to a different country where they are accepted as refugees; some children become Internally Displaced People (IDP) when they are forced to abandon their homes and relocated to camps within their own country. Statistics, maps, background information about the homeland country, and specifics of the crisis set each family's story in a unique context. Different articles of the United Nation's Rights of the Child are highlighted throughout the books.

      All of the books include a table of contents, a simple glossary, an index, and a page of resources for additional information. Each book ends with a list of ways young readers can help, such as "Offer to show new students around your school and neighborhood. Introduce them to your friends and family."

      Discussion prompts, such as "Explain the difference between a refugee, an immigrant, and an IDP", help students consolidate their learning from the books while more open-ended discussion prompts, such as, "What event could you host in your community to help welcome newcomers?", will promote deeper thinking and encourage action.

      A Refugee's Journey from Colombia tells the story of Andres. The civil war in Colombia began more than 50 years ago over the rights and needs of poor farmers. Drug cartels developed to fund weapons for the resistance. Recently, peace has been negotiated although many people are afraid to return to their homes.

In 2016, President Juan Manuel Santos received an international award called the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending his country's long conflict.

      A Refugee's Journey from Guatemala relates Martinez's story. Although the Guatemalan civil war ended in 1996, "hundreds of thousands of people fled Guatemala to escape the violence" from gangs and former military officers. Martinez's family is eventually granted asylum in Mexico, and Martinez is able to attend school again.

      A Refugee's Journey from Myanmar tells Syed's story. A member of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, Syed and his family are persecuted by their own government. Syed's mother is already dead, and his father dies during the attempt to flee Myanmar. Alone in a refugee camp in Indonesia, Syed is eventually able to escape and join his brother in Malaysia.

      Fatuma is at the center of A Refugee's Journey from Somalia. Somalia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a weak government and severe famine. Eventually, Fatuma and her family relocate to Sweden where they learn to deal with a new language and very different weather.

      Ataui's story is the focus of A Refugee's Journey from South Sudan. After years of conflict, South Sudan became independent in 2011. Today, the country is torn by a civil war that began in 2013. Ataui's father is killed while the family is fleeing an attack by a rebel army. After a harrowing journey, the remainder of Ataui's family make it to a UN PoC camp. But the future is uncertain.

In South Sudan, there are six Protection of Civilians (PoC) camps run by the UN. The internally displaced people who live there are given food, water, and a place to stay. These camps have armed peacekeepers, but they cannot always keep people safe from attacks.

      A Refugee's Journey from Yemen tells Sahar's story. After her house is bombed and her baby brother killed, Sahar and her family flee to Djibouti where they live in a refugee camp. Finally, they are relocated to Toronto, Canada.

      As in the four earlier books in the series, the details of the simply told narratives are easy to read but almost impossible to comprehend by people who have never experienced them.

      The books in this series support the concept of global citizenship. Purchasing one or all the books may help students who have never been refugees gain some empathy for the turmoil experienced by some of their new classmates and discover ways to support refugees in their communities. Some newcomers may feel supported by seeing stories similar to their own experiences presented in the books.

Highly Recommended.

Suzanne Pierson is a retired teacher-librarian, currently instructing Librarianship courses at Queen's University in Kingston, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, contact cm@umanitoba.ca.

Next Review | Table of Contents for This Issue - February 2, 2018.


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