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| Recommended for 4+ |
Out
by Angela May George and Owen Swan $24.99hb
by Angela May George and Owen Swan $24.99hb
A little girl and her mother have fled their homeland, making the long and treacherous journey by boat to seek asylum. Out celebrates the triumph of the human spirit in the darkest times, and the many paths people take to build a new life. Owen Swan’s soft, evocative illustrations work so well with this touching story about starting a new life. This gorgeous picture book is a timely and sensitive discussion of what drives people to become refugees and the challenges they face without ever being confrontational.
A stunning book that challenges and rewards, and that is a lovely story to share with children of 4 and beyond.
The Bone Sparrow
It is difficult to convey just how important, timely, brave (very) and deeply moving we have found The Bone Sparrow. Subhi is as beautiful a character as any you wiill read in children’s fiction, Jimmie too in her own sparkling, bubbly way, but it is the events that unfold at the detention centre and the impact they will have on everyone in their wake that makes this story so compelling.
Highly – and really, we cannot recommend this one highly enough – recommended for readers of 12 and up.
Welcome to Orphancorp
by Marlee Jane Ward
Aug 2015 | $14.99pb
A sharp-edged semi-futuristic riff about a rebellious teenager’s last week at an industrial orphanage, Welcome to Orphancorp is inventive and evocative. Mirii has spent just about her entire life in the Orphancorp system and despite all odds, she has figured out how to turn the place into something resembling a home. Life is not easy in the Orphancorp system, life is short and hard but there are familial bonds to be made and the book focuses on the tenderness that the kids within the system work at, to retain their humanity in the face systemic degradation.
A confident and powerful debut for readers of 14 and up.
When Michael Met Mina
by Randa Abdel-Fattah
July 2016 | $18.99pb
A stunning book that challenges and rewards, and that is a lovely story to share with children of 4 and beyond.
The Bone Sparrow
by Zana Fraillon $19.99pb
Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention centre after his mother fled the violence of a distant homeland, life behind the barbed wire fences is all he has ever known. As he grows, Subhi’s imagination gets bigger too, until it is bursting at the limits of his world. The Night Sea brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories. The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie, a scruffy, impatient girl who appears from the other side of the wires, bringing a notebook written by the mother she lost that she cannot read. Subhi, however, can read and together they unravel Jimmie’s family story.
Highly – and really, we cannot recommend this one highly enough – recommended for readers of 12 and up.
by Marlee Jane Ward
Aug 2015 | $14.99pb
A sharp-edged semi-futuristic riff about a rebellious teenager’s last week at an industrial orphanage, Welcome to Orphancorp is inventive and evocative. Mirii has spent just about her entire life in the Orphancorp system and despite all odds, she has figured out how to turn the place into something resembling a home. Life is not easy in the Orphancorp system, life is short and hard but there are familial bonds to be made and the book focuses on the tenderness that the kids within the system work at, to retain their humanity in the face systemic degradation.
A confident and powerful debut for readers of 14 and up.
by Randa Abdel-Fattah
July 2016 | $18.99pb
A boy. A girl. Two families. One great divide. When Michael meets Mina, they are at a rally for refugees - standing on opposite sides. Mina fled Afghanistan with her mother via a refugee camp, a leaky boat and a detention centre. Michael's parents have founded a new political party called Aussie Values. They want to stop the boats. Mina wants to stop the hate. When Mina wins a scholarship to Michael's private school, their lives crash together blindingly. A novel for anyone who wants to fight for love, and against injustice.
