Beautiful and powerful
Concern for the plight of immigrants/refugees
★ Amnesty International Special Award
★ 2017 Young People's Book Association International Book Honors Selection
★ New York Public Library's Best Children's Book Selection of 2016
★ Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2016
★ The Guardian's Best Children's Book of 2016
After the war began,
A lot of bad things happen every day.
One day, the war took my father away.
Mom said we were going to another country.
We move at night.
The further you go, the more you leave behind.
A huge wall blocked the way ahead.
The guard said, "You are not allowed to pass. Go back!"
We can only hide.
Until my mother paid a stranger,
He led us across the border.
I thought this was the end...
Are the birds in the sky also looking for a new home?
I hope we can find a new home like the birds.
In that home,
We no longer have to worry or be afraid.
We can start our story again.
Highlights of this book
This story involves war, death, and tears. It is very suitable for leading children to understand and think about refugee issues in various places, cultivate an international perspective, and then learn to understand, accept, and treat people with different backgrounds with tolerance.
In addition to the unique story, the book's rich visual elements are also fascinating. For example, migratory birds symbolize migration, and traveling through the forest and animals is a metaphor for seeking a new life and curiosity about the unknown. The author tells these stories through interviews with immigrants, using images and metaphors to present the immigrants/refugees’ inner resilience.
Author/Illustrator
Francesca Sanna
Sanna is an illustrator and children's book writer. She grew up in Sardinia, Italy, graduated from the Lucerne Academy of Art and Design, and currently lives in Zurich, Switzerland, working as an illustrator for children's books and editorial desks. Sanna has won many awards, including the Gold Medal of the Society of Illustrators, the Gold Medal of Parents' Choice Books, and the Honorary Award of the Isaac Jack Keats Award in the United States. In 2017, she won the "Most Anticipated New Illustrator Award" awarded by children's book publisher Klaus Flugge.