Pajama Press

“…As books can do, this second release from Pajama Press today helps those who read it to see through a window into others’ experiences and to begin to understand and empathize with their journey to a new life.

Suzanne Del Rizzo imagines what it might have been like for Sami’s family. War sends them scrambling on a long trek to a refugee camp. The realities of life there are grim, especially for Sami who had to travel without his much loved pigeons….

A closing author’s note provides information for her readers concerning work being done to help refugees by the United Nations Refugee Agency. The original art was created with polymer clay and acrylic, and also includes children’s paintings on the endpapers. The inside images are colorful, textured and appealing. I found myself particularly attracted to the striking and unexpected variety in perspective. There are the dark shadows of war; there is also light-filled promise for a better future. Books like this are needed to help our students and children begin to understand the plight of refugees around the world. Heartfelt and timely, this book deserves to be shared.”

Click here to read the full review

“…[A] powerful story, and it doesn’t shy away from the dangers experienced—sometimes fatally—by the refugees. Deines’…scenes of escape are dramatic, and creative perspectives occasionally add dimension to the visuals. While this will be useful in a curriculum about immigration, it’s also a way to contextualize current refugee crises that haven’t yet hit the literature. A concluding note gives more information about the Vietnamese ‘boat people,’ and pictures of Tuan Ho and his family are included alongside the summary of the Ho family’s subsequent life.”

Read the full review in the January 2017 issue of Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Suzanne Del Rizzo, author and illustrator of My Beautiful Birds, writes:

With the increased news coverage about the Syrian conflict, young readers may have questions and feel distressed. Approaching the subject in an age-appropriate way to ensure they feel safe can often be difficult. Here are some website resources which feature information on the Syrian conflict and other displacement stories to begin the conversation.

TeachingKidsNews.com

This site has original news articles on today’s current events, such as the Syrian crisis, written for a school aged audience (grades 2-8).

Amnesty International

Amnesty International has compiled a list of educational resources that explain the rights of refugees.

United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

This website offers classroom resources and an interactive online game “Against All Odds” which “lets you experience what it is like to be a refugee”.

In fact, while I was researching child-friendly resources to use myself to discuss this crisis with my own children, I came across a short UNICEF article, written by Krystel Abimeri, about a boy who fled to the Za’atari refugee camp with his family, and began an incredible friendship with an assortment of wild birds. This article inspired me to create My Beautiful Birds.

Za’atari, Jordan’s largest refugee camp, has grown rapidly from a few hundred tents into a massive network of tents and self-renovated structures with public services like schools, mosques, stores, and medical buildings, making it more like a city than a camp. Now, structured activities such as therapeutic art workshops, mural painting, and sports are offered by various organizations. Volunteers engage youth to reintroduce play and ignite their self-expression to release the trauma of war. Many residents have set up small shops such as barbershops, falafael stands, clothing/household goods stores (even a wedding-dress shop), and pizza delivery, along the main street nicknamed the Champs-Elysee. Although the distribution of these services and shops is not ideal due to the quick growth of the camp, the trade and public services access helps make this semi-permanent living situation feel more like home.

More info on life in Za’atari camp:

Za’atari’s own twitter feed with tweets by the UNHCR

The Lived Zaatari Project

How can we help?

There are many Canadian and international aid agencies providing emergency assistance, supplies and resources:

The United Nations Refugee Agency

The Canadian Red Cross actively supports SARC (Syrian Arab Red Crescent) working on the frontline across Syria to provide food, life-saving health services, and household items to people in need.

UNICEF distributes clean water, vaccines, education, psychosocial support, winter supplies, and protection to refugee children and families in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, European countries, and those actively fleeing Syria.

Canada’s Response to the Refugee Crisis

Canada has welcomed over 25,000 Syrian refugees though government and private sponsorship. As of April 2016, Canadians generously donated a total of $31.8 million to charitable organizations in response to the conflict in Syria, which the Government of Canada will match through the Syria Emergency Relief Fund.

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In a recent article titled “Lost Childhood,” School Library Journal contributor Kathleen St. Isaacs highlighted books “about child refugee experiences and children who’ve found safe havens, but have haunting memories.” The selections are “emotionally rich narratives, often with a political subtext.” They include two books published by Pajama Press:

A Good Trade by Alma Fullerton, illustrated by Karen Patkau

“Gr. 1–3—On his daily trek to get water, a Ugandan boy sees a treasure in an aid truck—bright new sneakers—and finds just the right thing to exchange. Colorful illustrations full of details of daily life in a war-torn country will show well when the spare text is read aloud.”

One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way

“Gr. 4–6—A seven-year-old Vietnamese refugee, newly arrived in Canada and unable to understand the language, faces a painful operation to straighten an ankle bent by polio. Tuyet’s poignant story was begun in Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War (2012) but readers don’t have to have read that to enjoy this story of healing.”

Learn more about School Library Journal here.

…Readers will immediately be drawn in from the very first page. The book only covers Tuyet’s journey by airplane from Saigon to Toronto, Canada and her adoption to a new family who loves her very much. When Tuyet is flying to Canada, another orphan, Linh, gives her some advise. Whenever someone asks you something in English, answer, No. That will stop them from doing what they were going to do. The last three chapters are most touching as we learn just how patient Tuyet’s new family is as they learn how to communicate with each other. (They do not speak Vietnamese) Some of the changes in Tuyet’s life were difficult. For instance, Tuyet was used to sleeping with all the other orphans on the floor at the orphanage, she is unable to adjust to sleeping alone in a bed in her own bedroom.

Historic black & white photographs, including some of Tuyet, enhance the reading experience.

In a historic note, Skrypuch briefly explains the rescue operation. In her Author’s note, we learn that Tuyet currenly lives in Skrypuch’s hometown of Brantford, Ontario. It is great to see Tuyet as a grown up woman.

Click here to read the full review.

One Step at a Time is an easy-to-read book about Tuyet, a Vietnamese girl adopted by a Canadian family. It is the sequel to Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War and picks up where that book leaves off. Tuyet suffers great pain from having a weak ankle. Just weeks after her adoption, her new family decides Tuyet should have surgery to correct the problem. Tuyet goes through the surgery, learns to use crutches, and takes physiotherapy in the hope of one day being able to walk confidently on her own two feet.

At the same time, Tuyet, who speaks little English, is learning about her new family, new home, and new culture and is healing from terrifying experiences in Vietnam. Events that seem ordinary to many Canadian children are extraordinary for Tuyet, and we share her confusion and delight as situations—such as a flaming cake and a pile of pretty boxes, or the passing of a crop-dusting airplane—begin to resolve into meaning.

This is a gentle non-fiction telling of a particular period in Canadian history and of the experience of being a new immigrant with health concerns. Notes in the end matter provide some useful context for readers who may not understand the significance of polio or the conventions of narrative non-fiction. Black-and-white photos, including pictures of Tuyet and her family, add to the reading experience. Although Tuyet’s experiences are unusual and sometimes frightening, the narrative is full of love, kindness, and comfort.

One Step at a Time is a good choice for sensitive young readers interested in non-fiction about other children, other cultures, and recent history; it may be eye-opening for many readers. Although aspects of Canadian culture have changed, the disorientation that new Canadians experience may be similar to Tuyet’s. The book is likely to encourage many questions and wide-ranging discussion in a reading group, and the story is highly likeable. Readers do not need to know the author’s earlier book about Tuyet to understand this one, but many will want to read more about this brave and spirited girl.

Rating: G – Good, even great at times, generally useful!

—Leslie Vermeer

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Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and Tuyet Yurczyszyn (born Son Thi Anh Tuyet, later Tuyet Morris), met with Brantford Expositor journalist Michelle Ruby this week to talk about One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way. The book, written by Marsha about Tuyet’s experiences as a young refugee in Canada, is the sequel to Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War, which tells of Tuyet’s rescue from Vietnam and adoption into the Morris family in Canada.

Click here to read the interview.

“…Skrypuch, who originally intended Tuyet’s experience to take the form of a novel, opted instead for a nonfiction presentation as interviews helped Tuyet reclaim many of her early memories and participate in retelling her own story. This biographical approach helps to humanize a war that, for most readers, may seem like ancient history, and the tight focus on the airlift and Tuyet’s first days with the Morrises reminds readers that they are sharing the experiences of an agemate.” –Elizabeth Bush

Click here to read the full review.

[Last Airlift] would make a wonderful story, even if it were completely made up.  But it’s not.  Last Airlift is 100% nonfiction…At the same time, it reads like a novel, with characters and dialogue, bringing the experience of a young refugee vividly to life…Highly recommended to history fans, native North Americans interested in other cultures, and kids who love survival stories. –Lindsay Carmichael

Click here to read the full review