BOOK NOOK
Marking International Migrants Day
To mark International Migrants Day, we place focus on the lives and experiences of migrants, refugees and travellers via a range of empathetic, informative books
In recent months, there’s been bubbling tension related to migrants and refugees in the UK, fuelled by false reports and factually-incorrect information. Much of the ire surrounding these groups is perpetuated by deliberately misleading narratives that aim to deny the humanity of those seeking a life elsewhere.
In such a climate, it’s easy for young children to pick up on negative language and attitudes from the world around them – which is why it’s essential to cultivate a narrative that promotes empathy, understanding and cultural curiosity.
Though the words ‘migrant’ and ‘refugee’ are often used interchangeably, they represent different groups of people – migrants are people who move between places to seek out better conditions and/or work, while refugees are forced to leave their homes due to war, persecution or natural disaster. However, the important thing to remember is that, in both cases, the person is experiencing enough difficulty that they feel they have no choice but to seek safety – physical, economic or otherwise – in another country.
Leaving the land to which you’re generationally connected is a painful experience for many, yet much of the discourse presents the idea that migrants and refugees are travelling elsewhere for negative reasons; this completely erases the profound difficulties of having to leave your home country.
In the following books, the experiences of different children and their families – whether migrants or refugees – are explored in a sensitive way that helps open our eyes to their lives, difficulties, hopes and dreams.
Help cultivate a generation with empathy, not apathy.
Being a refugee
Colours of Home by Miriam Latimer
My Name is Not Refugee by Kate Milner
Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour and Daniel Egneus
Where Are You From by Yamile Saied Méndez and Jaime Kim
Coming to England by Floella Benjamin
A Different Pond by Bao Phi and Thi Bui
(Age 4+)
Calling the Water Drum by LaTisha Redding and Aaron Boyd
The Treasure Box by Margaret Wild and Freya Blackwood
Refugees and Migrants by Ceri Roberts and Hanane Kai
My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo
Granny Came Here on the Empire Windrush by Patrice Lawrence and Camille Sucre
Family in different countries
Esma Farouk, Lost in the Souk by Lisa Boersen, Hasna Elbaamran and Annelies Vandenbosch
Before the Ships: The Birth of Black Excellence by Maisha Oso and Candice Bradley
Our Story Starts in Africa by Patrice Lawrence and Jeanetta Gonzales
Being part of the traveller community
The Can Caravan by Richard O’Neill and Cindy Kang
Ossiri and the Bala Mengro by Richard O’Neill, Katharine Quarmby and Hannah Tolson
Yokki and the Parno Gry by Richard O’Neill, Katharine Quarmby and Marieke Nelissen
Under 5 magazine
The magazine of the Early Years Alliance