20th June World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day unites the globe on 20th June  to honour the strength, courage, and resilience of millions of refugees. This day, established by the United Nations, focuses on understanding and improving the lives of those forced to flee their homes. 

The global theme for World Refugee Day this year is "Courage". This theme honours the immense resilience and strength of individuals who have been forced to flee their homes to escape conflict or persecution

Picture books about refugees are powerful tools to build empathy and introduce young readers to complex global issues. They highlight themes of courage, resilience, and hope. Many of these stories draw on true accounts to explain displacement, while focusing on the universal need for safety, home, and belonging. 

I have written about Refugee Day and Refugee Week several times, but each year I purchase 

new books for the library which provoke me to think that I need to do more with my entitled group

of students who will probably never meet a refugee.

See Pinterest here and here for picture books.

New to the library:

• The Bicycle  by Patricia Mc Cormick & Mevan Babakar

Mevan and her family lived in their beloved Kurdistan. But when they are forced to flee by the Iraqi government, Mevan must leave everything behind. Her family travels from country to country in search of safety; and with each stop, Mevan feels more and more alone. Until … a stranger’s gift changes everything.

• To the Other Side by Erika Meza

A young boy and his older sister have left home to play a game. To win she tells him, they must travel across endless lands together and make it to the finish line. Perfect for opening up conversations about conflict and war, encouraging empathy and understanding.

• A Map for Falasteen by Maysa Odeh

Can a place exist if it's not on a map? At school, Falasteen and her classmates are tasked with finding their families' home countries on a map. This is a story of family, resilience and home always being where the heart is.

• Noah's New Home  by Zeshan Akhter

In a tale of home and healing, Noah's family have taken a journey no one should have to make. They arrive in a different country as refugees. While settling into their new house, Noah misses his Baba, Jida and their old home. When a fireworks display brings back both happy memories and difficult moments of their journey and arrival, his family and their new community support him in facing his fears and feeling hopeful for the future.

•  My Name is Bana by Bana Alabed

When seven-year-old Bana Alabed took to Twitter to describe the horrors she and her family were experiencing in war-torn Syria, her heartrending messages touched the world and gave a voice to millions of innocent children. Written in Bana’s own words, this picture book offers a uniquely intimate child’s perspective on one of the biggest humanitarian crises in history.

• The Endless Sea  by Chi Thai

This picture book tells the moving true story of Chi Thai’s refugee crossing from Vietnam to the UK, at just four years old ... leaving her home behind, and setting out across the vastness of the sea in a tiny boat. It's a deeply personal account, rooted in important history – and yet, her story resonates with those of families all over the world today, forced to make perilous journeys of their own. 

• A Home for Grace  by Kathryn White

No one knows who Grace is. One day, she appeared in a shop doorway in a sleeping bag, with a cat called Luna, surrounded by strange things. When Jess and her mum strike up a friendship with Grace, Jess has questions: why did she leave her home? Does she have enough to eat? And what happens when the cold weather comes?

16th - 22nd June Refugee Week

Refugee Week is the world’s largest festival celebrating the contributions, resilience and creativity of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. It started in the UK in 1998 and has since become an international festival and movement celebrated in 22 different countries.

There are students from overseas at the school I teach at, but they are not refugees. This makes our job as teachers harder as most of our students would have no interaction with refugees, but they do need to know about refugees given the troubled times they live in and the fact that there will no doubt be more refugees looking for receptive countries in which to resettle.

Fortunately, there are so many wonderful children's books to use as introductions to the dilemmas that face them and to their amazing resilience, bravery and persistence. These books help our students build knowledge and empathise with refugees' lives.

Ozlitteacher has devised a useful framework of questions as part of a refugee reading spine to help teachers plan what books they share.

Question prompts for three parts:

Before migration

• Why might people choose to leave their home country?
• What circumstances could lead to this?
• What’s the difference between an asylum seeker, a refugee and a migrant?

During migration

• How do refugees travel to Australia?
• What challenges can they face along the way?

After migration

• How do refugees build new lives in their new country?
• What challenges can they face upon arrival?

I have kept a Pinterest list of books here and together with Momotimetoread here.

Refugees and Homelands  by Louise Spilbury and Toby Newsome

This book explains civil rights and the reasons why refugees flee their homelands in an accessible way for younger readers.Throughout history, people have been forced to flee their homelands for many different reasons. These people have gone to new lands in the hope of a better life or for protection. In this historical look at refugees, readers will discover some of the many reasons why people leave their homes to go to a new land. 

However for the very young students I teach I find these books are good starting points.

What is a Refugee  by Elise Gravel

Who are refugees? Why do they need to leave their country?
In this simple, graphic and bold picture book, author/illustrator Elise Gravel explores what it means to be a refugee. This book is the perfect tool to introduce an important and timely topic to young children in an accessible and straightforward way.

My Name is Not Refugee  by Kate Milner

A young boy discusses the journey he is about to make with his mother. They will leave their town, she explains, and it will be sad but also a little bit exciting. They will have to say goodbye to friends and loved ones, and that will be difficult. They will have to walk and walk and walk, and although they will see many new and interesting things, it will be difficult at times too. A powerful and moving exploration that draws the young reader into each stage of the journey, inviting the chance to imagine the decisions he or she would make.

Counting Kindness  by Hollis Karma and Barroux

A compassionate counting book that captures the power of a welcoming community. Teaches children about refugees and how each kindness can help them find a new home. 

Story Boat  by Kyo Maclear

When you have to leave behind almost everything you know, where can you call home? Sometimes home is simply where we are- here.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.

The Little Refugee by Anh Do 

This is an autobiography by the children's author Anh Do and as his books are so popular with my students I find that this book relates to them in a very real way. They feel that they 'know' a refugee.

Refugee Week, is using Moomin artwork to celebrate this year’s theme “Community as a Superpower” and to adorn 10 Simple Acts that anyone can do to stand in solidarity with refugees. In London A 6-metre high Moominhouse decorated by children equipped with hammers, a refugee tent containing a dream of a better future, a Moomin-inspired raft, and bird nests symbolising home and belonging – Refugee Week presents four different art installations inspired by the Moomin stories.

20th June World Refugee Day

Refugee Week in Australia is always held from Sunday to Saturday of the week which includes 20 June (World Refugee Day). For 2023, it will be held from Sunday 18 June to Saturday 24 June. It is Australia’s peak annual activity to inform the public about refugees and celebrate positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society.  

There is always a theme for refugee Week and this year it is Finding Freedom.

It is always interesting having a discussion with the children under eight years old,  that I teach about what freedom is. They live very comfortable, safe lives and experience very little hardship so they have a view that being free means that you can do whatever you like...but        

What does it mean to be free?  

Are we all born free?

Using this page from this book might be a good place to start a discussion.

To live without the fear of war, to have your basic human rights upheld, to live in equality and without the fear of persecution are just some of the examples of what freedom can entail. Every day millions of people across the world embark on dangerous journeys for the sole purpose of finding safety and freedom. From Australia to nations across the globe, settling into a new environment after experiencing the perils of a refugee’s journey can also provide the opportunity to live, to love and to dream.   

Rightly so, young children here are generally shielded from the fear of war and persecution, but this doesn't mean that they cannot feel through literature some of the feelings that refugee children experience. There are Ukrainian children living temporarily in Sydney and our children may meet them at school, their sporting club or church. It is important that these privileged children see that refugee children are just like them, wanting to play, eat, learn...

There are so many picture books that can be shared to start conversations about what it is like to be a refugee. You can start with something subtle like Amira's Suitcase where it is inferred or you can look at life in a refugee camp where the children are busy playing as if it is in the school playground. 

The Refugee Council of Australia's website suggests picture books to read. Also look at this Pinterest page.

Refugee Week 19th - 25th June.

All libraries can and should celebrate 

Refugee Week! 

Go here to my pinterest page to see books that you can read to and with children or you can use to make a display. There are so many really good ones!

There will be many lists of books on offer, Just google picture books refugees and see.

16th May International Day of Living Together in Peace

The International Day of Living Together in Peace is held on 16th May every year. The UN General Assembly, declared 16 May the International Day of Living Together in Peace, as a means of regularly mobilising the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity. The day aims to uphold the desire to live and act together, united in differences and diversity, in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony. 

Living together in peace is all about accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognise, respect and appreciate others, as well as living in a peaceful and united way.

Following the devastation of the Second World War, the United Nations was established to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. One of its purposes is to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems, including by promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

The declaration came about as a result of the long-held and cherished concept — contained within the Constitution of UNESCO — that "since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed." The Declaration embraces the principle that peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process, in which dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are resolved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.

Perhaps this year more than ever we need a day like this to focus on what we can do about the plight of Ukrainians. Australia has taken some Ukrainian refugees and so the children we teach may well meet refugee children. When I suggested at school that we did need to ensure that the children we teach had some understanding of what is happening in the world without necessarily scaring them, teachers said the children were too young to know, but I agree with this quote:

‘While children should never have to be in a war, to fail to teach them about the cruelty of warfare and its horrific consequences means that they will be less prepared to make decisions about the wars waged in the future and will be less likely to be empathetic to the innocent victims of war.’

The tricky part of teaching children about war and conflict, of course, is that you want to make sure that the material is not too ‘heavy’ for their age. It is difficult to find age-appropriate books about war for very young children. However, there are several really great books about PEACE that can be used to introduce some of the same concepts and there are picture books which allow young children to empathise with refugees.

If you too are looking, try these:

A simple and colourful book that gets preschoolers and kindergarteners thinking about what peace means in terms they can understand using examples from their daily life, such as, “Peace is sharing a meal.” “Peace is sharing a meal.” “Peace is making new friends.”

A unique book where the author asked children what peace feels like, looks like, sounds like, etc. Answers were gathered from a variety of children and are fun and interesting to read.  

At the beginning, the author ponders what needs to happen in order to bring peace to the world. Through successive pages, filled with poignant quotes from famous peacemakers, the story guides the reader to see how creating peace is a responsibility that we all share.

Like all great picture books, this one is an allegory that can be read on many levels. Superficially, it is about a child who finds a lone plant growing in a war-torn ruin and shows how he nurses it until it covers the barbed wire fence separating him from the other side. For young readers, we can emphasize the message of hope with the vision that one day war ends, and there can be peace. But only if we work at it.

A frog finds a beautiful flower and picks it for himself. When a mouse sees him with it, his jealousy overcomes him, and he swipes it. Frog’s friends come to his aid and chase the mouse away. But before the frogs can celebrate, Mouse’s friends return for a counter-attack. Before long the conflict has devolved into a full-scale frog-mouse war. By the end of it, all either side can ask is: why? This seemingly simple book tackles an important subject and will be an invaluable way to talk to young children about conflict and warfare. 

A young boy discusses the journey he is about to make with his mother. They will leave their town, she explains, and it will be sad but also a little bit exciting. They will have to say goodbye to friends and loved ones, and that will be difficult. They will have to walk and walk and walk, and although they will see many new and interesting things, it will be difficult at times too. A powerful and moving exploration that draws the young reader into each stage of the journey.

A compassionate counting book that captures the power of a welcoming community and teaches children about refugees and how each kindness can help them find a new home. More than half of the world's refugees are children fleeing scary situations in search of a safe place to live. 

Hassan feels out of place in a new cold, grey country. At school, he paints a picture showing his colourful Somalian home, covered with the harsh colours of war from which his family has fled. He tells his teacher about their voyage from Mogadishu to Mombasa, then to the refugee camp and on to England. But gradually things change. 

When a young girl has to travel to a new country and start at a new school, her Fear tells her to be alone and afraid. How can she hope to make friends if she doesn't understand their language? 

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

 

Goal 10 Reduce inequalities within and among countries.

Across the world there is still a lot of inequality to be found. What does inequality look like? For example, even in the richest countries, there are children who cannot afford lunch at school and go hungry, women who don’t get paid as much as their male coworkers for the same job, or people who are being treated differently because of their religion, age or where they are from.

Select a book from here.

My students certainly understand equality from maths and from personal forays with what they consider to be unfair or unequal, but whether or not they can clearly verbalise or visualise inequality is a different matter. They come from very comfortable middle class homes in a prosperous city. Demonstrating inequality will need to be personal or connected in someway to their life to start with. They will have all read and understood equal shares from reading a book such as The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins, so I think I could read Four Feet Two Sandals to show that sharing and life for some children does not always work so equably.

 

Here's the blurb: 

When relief workers bring used clothing to the refugee camp, everyone scrambles to grab whatever they can. Ten-year-old Lina is thrilled when she finds a sandal that fits her foot perfectly, until she sees that another girl has the matching shoe. But soon Lina and Feroza meet and decide that it is better to share the sandals than for each to wear only one. 

Then maybe follow it up with something that talks about taking a stand, like Peter Reynold's Say Something!   

Here's the blurb:

The world needs your voice. If you have a brilliant idea... say something! If you see an injustice... say something! In this empowering picture book, author Peter H. Reynolds explores the many ways that a single voice can make a difference. Each of us, each and every day, have the chance to say something: with our actions, our words, and our voices. Perfect for kid activists everywhere, this timely story reminds readers of the undeniable importance and power of their voice especially when it comes to inequality.

This may also be the place to look at how disabled people, Indigenous people, people of other faiths are treated and whether it is equably.

These two books are suitable for very young readers and they will provide for lots of discussion post reading.

Two Mates  by Melanie and Maggie Prewett.    

Here's the blurb: 

Two Mates is the true story of the special mateship between two young boys who have grown up together in the coastal town of Broome in Australia's north-west. Jack is Indigenous and Raf is a non- Indigenous boy who has spina bifida. Jack and Raf take the reader on a journey of their daily life growing up in Broome. Together they search for hermit crabs, go hunting for barni, fish for salmon, explore the markets, eat satays and dress up as superheros. The fact that Raf is in a wheelchair is only revealed at the end of the story. 

Just Ask  by Sonia Sotomayor and Raphael Lopez

Here's the blurb:

Feeling different, especially as a kid, can be tough. But in the same way that different types of plants and flowers make a garden more beautiful and enjoyable, different types of people make our world more vibrant and wonderful. 

Just Ask,  celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges--and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. As the kids work together to build a community garden, asking questions of each other along the way, this book encourages readers to do the same- When we come across someone who is different from us but we're not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask.

Booklet tasks:

• We know what equal means from maths, so we can work out what equality means, but what does inequality mean?

 

• We read...

 

• This story made me want to change how...