TITLE: Sea Prayer
AUTHOR: Khaled Hosseini
PUBLISHER: Riverhead Books
PUB. YEAR: 2018
SETTING: Syria/Turkey
FORMAT: - print
FORMAT: - print
RATING: 3.5/5 stars
"Inspired by the story of Alan Kurdi , a 3 year old Syrian refugee, who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach safety in Europe in 2015. In the year after Alan's death 4,176 others died or went missing attempting the same journey."
This was a very short story but powerful story. It's a message from a father to his young son on the eve before the two will attempt to free Syria's war zone for the hope of a better life.
This book is targeted for ages 7 and up. The vivid watercolor images, the message emphasizing the refugee crisis are well done but, I thought the story may be difficult for some younger children to fully understand. The proceeds from the sale of this book will go to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
I dislike a book for children that would be hard for them to understand. Of course, I also dislike any such book that talks down to them. It is probably a hard balance to strike. I guess that is where an adult is needed to read along with the child and explain. Or where the illustrations come in to help with comprehension.
ReplyDeleteI know it's meant to serve a purpose, the cover is very nice.
ReplyDeleteWow, a children's book by Khaled Hosseini? I bet it's wonderful. I've read several great books for kids/teens lately about the refugee crisis - one of the best was Refugee by Alan Gratz, a YA novel - very powerful.
ReplyDeleteSue
Book By Book
I didn't realize this was a children's book. It has a beautiful cover and so happy to see that proceeds will go towards such a good cause.
ReplyDeleteChildren's book but a sad one. I'm on the fence on this one.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very poignant picture book.
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