[Nonfiction Wednesday] Knowing More About “Refugees and Migrants” by Roberts and Kai

We are delighted to join the Nonfiction Picture Book meme 2017 hosted by Alyson Beecher @ Kid Lit Frenzy. We would also be linking our nonfiction choices with our reading themes throughout the year.

Before I share my review this week, I would like to invite you all to join our Literary Voyage Around the World Reading Challenge for 2018. Here is our Announcement Page which also contains detailed guidelines if you so decide to participate – you can be a Literary Backpacker/ Hitchhiker – or a Literary Globetrotter, totally your choice.

Here are our book prizes to be given away on a quarterly basis (with special thanks to Pansing) for those who have committed to reading the world along with us!

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This was one of the titles that I came across when my research team and I were building our multicultural picturebook database. I deliberately did not review this title yet, because I was waiting for the perfect reading theme to feature it. This is Part One of Three of the “Children in Our World” series which I will be covering for our “Writing Home: Hues of Diaspora in Literature” theme until end of December.

Refugees and Migrants

Written by: Ceri Roberts Illustrated by: Hanane Kai
Published by: Wayland, 2016
ISBN-10: 1526300206 (ISBN13: 9781526300201)
Bought a copy of the book. Book photos taken by me.

This nonfiction title offers a very accessible, simple (yet not simplistic), and effective way of conveying to young readers who are refugees and migrants and the many reasons that make them move to a different country.

The distinction between one and the other has likewise been established from the very first page:

Sometimes people leave their homes because war, a natural disaster or terrorism mean that it’s dangerous to stay. These people are known as refugees. Others leave for a happier, healthier life, to join family members overseas, or because they don’t have enough money and need a job. People who choose to do this are called migrants.

What I like about this book is how it allows young readers to insert themselves into the narrative, as it makes reference to what an ordinary child may have experienced when they go on vacation or on a journey – and comparing it to refugees’ or migrants’ experiences, who are forced to leave behind everything that mattered to them in their previous lives.

By presenting the realities in a non-dramatic, matter-of-fact manner, it allows greater opportunities for young readers to practice perspective-taking and to really reflect on how life can be like from a refugee/migrant’s eyes.

I also like how proactive the entire narrative is as it invites readers to consider ways through which they can reach out to a new child in their school or community or how to take very concrete steps to assist refugees who may have moved to their city.

For teachers who may be considering using this picturebook in their classroom, you may want to pair it with this short video clip as this depicts the differences between a refugee and a migrant: