My Name is not Refugee by Kate Milner
| My Name is not Refugee by Kate Milner | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A gentle explanation of the current refugee crisis. Younger children will understand what the boy is told of the journey they are going to make: older children will understand the reality. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: May 2017 |
| Publisher: The Bucket List | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1911370062 | |
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A child's mother tells her child that they will have to leave this town: it's not safe for them any longer. She explains what will happen. The child can pack his own bag, but he has to remember that he must only take what he can carry. Initially it will be exciting and they can't live in a place where there's no water in the taps and the rubbish just piles up in the streets. It's going to be an adventure, but sometimes they're going to be on their own and it will get a bit boring, but sometimes they'll be with other people and he must remember to hold on to an adult's hand. They'll see lots of cars and lorries and sleep in some strange places. They'll hear people speaking in strange languages and taste new foods. Eventually they'll get to somewhere where they are safe and can unpack. The strange words will start to make sense.
He'll be called Refugee, but he has to remember that Refugee is not his name.
The story is cleverly told. The younger child will hear what the child is told, about the positive things which he has to do: the older, more thoughtful child will understand what we are not told. We're not told about what has to be left behind - or the fact that this includes the pet cat. 'Saying goodbye' is goodbye to people, possibly a grandparent they're unlikely ever to see again, but who's probably not fit enough to undertake an arduous journey. The words tell one story: the pictures show the reality of what this mother and her child will have to go through just to get to somewhere where they are safe.
It's impossible to ascribe any particular religion or ethnicity to the mother and her child: they are simply people, like all of us, but these people are in dreadful, heart-rending circumstances. The story is utterly approachable for every nationality, religion and age: at many times the target age group I'd didn't feel in the least bit patronised. At a time when even world leaders fail to apply logic to the problems which refugees face but prefer to appeal to superficial emotion it's more important than ever that children appreciate that the child they call Refugee is just a child like them.
I wept, unashamedly, not just for the boy and his mother, but for all the people involved, for man's inhumanity to man.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
We can also recommend Refuge by Anne Booth and Sam Usher.
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You can read more book reviews or buy My Name is not Refugee by Kate Milner at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy My Name is not Refugee by Kate Milner at Amazon.com.
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