Books to Help your Child Understand Refugees

Refugees are people who have been forced to flee their home and country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disasters (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis). It is likely that your child will one day come across another child or adult who has had to leave their home country and we want them to feel confident in speaking to, and interacting with these people; so we came up with a list of books that feature refugees that we think your child will enjoy!

Sometimes getting your child to understand current events can be hard, along with the time and effort it may take to explain, the topics may be sensitive to talk about, or the child may not want to learn about it at all, but sometimes something simple, such as a book explaining things in simple terms can really help your child to understand the world and what's going on around them.

Here are our picks for the best books to help your child understand the world around them!

For All by Alejandra Domenzain

Flor and her Dad make the dangerous journey from their poor country to a land called For All/Para Todos. As Dad works long hours picking fruit in the fields for little pay, they soon learn that immigrants are not welcome. As Flor grows up, she learns that her story, like the story of so many migrants, needs to be told. She picks up her green pen and writes from the heart about her life, in this beautifully illustrated bilingual children's book, written in musical rhyme. A timely children's story about the hopes and dreams of immigrants and the harsh realities of life in a new country. 

Kiki and Jacques by Susan Ross

Can Kiki and Jacques be friends--or are they just too different?

Life could be better for twelve-year-old Jacques. His mother just died, his father is jobless, and his grandmother's bridal store is on the verge of closing. At least he can look forward to the soccer season--after all, he's a shoo-in for captain. But the arrival of Somali refugees shakes up nearly everything in his French-American Maine town, even soccer.

Jacques isn't the only star anymore--Mohamed is just as good as him, maybe better. School, church, sports . . . everything suddenly seems different. So Jacques is surprised to find himself becoming friends with Kiki, a smart, kind, and strong-minded Somali Muslim girl with a mysterious scar.

Can kids as seemingly different as Jacques and Kiki be friends? Kiki and Jacques offers a realistic and heartwarming portrait of a town learning to embrace its changing face.

Saving Hanno by Miriam Halahmy

What if you had to leave your dog behind when you fled? Nine-year-old Rudi has a chance to leave the dangers of Nazi Germany on a Kindertransport to England. However, he cannot bring Hanno, his wonderful dachshund. Luckily, his family finds a way to smuggle Hanno to London. But with England on the brink of war, Hanno is still not safe.

As a German invasion of England becomes imminent, many British people decide their pets will suffer as well as drain limited resources, and thousands of pets are euthanized. To save Hanno, Rudi joins a group of scrappy London children who hide their pets away in a vacant lot. Just as London's children are about to be evacuated to the countryside, the group finds a wealthy animal lover willing to care for the menagerie on her country estate. This fast-paced and accessible novel is full of courage and excitement.

When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson