Story Boat
by Kyo Maclear (Author) Rashin Kheiriyeh (Illustrator)
When you have to leave behind almost everything you know, where can you call home? Sometimes home is simply where we are: here.
A imaginative, lyrical, unforgettable picture book about the migrant experience through a child's eyes. When a little girl and her younger brother are forced along with their family to flee the home they've always known, they must learn to make a new home for themselves -- wherever they are. And sometimes the smallest things -- a cup, a blanket, a lamp, a flower, a story -- can become a port of hope in a terrible storm.
As the refugees travel onward toward an uncertain future, they are buoyed up by their hopes, dreams and the stories they tell -- a story that will carry them perpetually forward.
This timely, sensitively told story, written by multiple award--winner Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Sendak Fellowship recipient Rashin Kheiriyeh, introduces very young readers in a gentle, non-frightening and ultimately hopeful way to the current refugee crisis.
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Kirkus Reviews
The love shared among the group is plain. When they get to their destination, they don’t look too different from the few people welcoming them—save hair color. A timely and uplifting book about and for refugees.
Booklist
The eye-catching folk-style artwork done primarily in orange, blue, and black places the accent on the humanity and hopefulness of the refugees rather than exhaustion and despair, though that too comes out in a few of the adult faces. This puts a gentle face on a difficult, worsening problem.
Publishers Weekly
Maclear (Operatic) captures in lyrical verse the lives of two young refugees, for whom "here" is a different place every day. In warm, childlike drawings on blue pages, Kheiriyeh (Saffron Ice Cream) portrays a group of people dressed in thick overcoats, their belongings loaded in carts and suitcases, helping each other. A girl in the group speaks to a smaller boy about the few treasured belongings that give meaning to their existence. Their teacup is one: "Every morning,/ As things keep changing,/ We sit wherever we are/ And sip, sip, sip.../ From this cup." A page turn corresponds to a new perception: "And this cup is a home." Kheiriyeh draws the children within the cup underneath a bright orange sun. More cherished objects--the family's blanket ("patterned and soft"), their lamp, a field of flowers--become the children's "here." And as the blanket becomes a sail, the lamp a lighthouse, and so on, the objects combine, becoming a boat that carries everyone over the waves, and a story that takes the group at last to a welcoming place. The creators tell a refugee story in simple language with everyday objects, making it graspable for young readers. Ages 3-7. (Feb.)
Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
An utter masterpiece, Story Boat tackles a very serious issue that affects many children today. . . . [A]n immensely enjoyable read. —CM Reviews
A timely story that will allow parents and teachers to open a discussion with young readers about the experiences of refugees. —School Library Connection Luminous and thought-provoking, Story Boat contains deep layers of meaning that are sure to spark conversations from young readers. —STARRED REVIEW, BookPage Maclear's poetic text and Kheiriyeh's mixed media illustrations explore the continuing refugee crisis in this gentle picture book. —Globe and Mail [A] beautifully illustrated picture book. —Tablet
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
