Refugees
Author: Brian Bilston
Illustrator: José Sanabria
Publisher: Palazzo Editions
Print Length: 32 pages
Genre: Poetry, Children’s Book
Topic: Asylum & Asylum Seekers, Refugees & Forced Migration, War, Persecution, Emotions & Feelings, Challenges & Opportunities, Host Community, Lived Experience, Hostility, Hospitality, Poetics, Poetry
Refugees is a book of two voices. The first one sees the people fleeing from war and persecution and asks, “Why here? Why my country?” It is a feeling many people share. It is one of fear and suspicion. But when you read the text the opposite way, a new voice emerges. It says, “Why not make them welcome? Why not share the things we have?” The world is undergoing a period of mass human migration. Whether this is caused by war, persecution or economics, the people we see on the news in those camps are waiting—waiting to live their lives.
There are two sides to every debate. There are two sides to a wall. This story shows both sides of the issue with skill and the illustrations depict the issue in a magic realism style, powerful but never frightening, and will promote a deeper discussion on this topic with an older child.
Brian Bilston is often described as the “Poet Laureate of Twitter.” He is a secretive figure. His true identity is hidden behind his twitter account. From fragments of information pulled together from various social media feeds, National Poetry Day noted that he likes cycling, Vimto and dislikes Jeremy Clarkson. Brian is a published writer in anthologies.
Source: https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/poem/refugees-2/
More from Brian Bilston in this library, click here.
José Sanabria is a Colombian illustrator based in Argentina. He studied graphic design at the National University of Colombia in the early 1990s. His work has been published by Editorial Norma, Santillana, Long Seller and publishers in Spain and Argentina. Since 2003, he works with Marcelo Sosa and Juan Bobillo at the Sóteno Blanco School in Argentina. He has published more than twenty books as a writer or illustrator. He has a school where he teaches how to make picture books called Color Café in Buenos Aires.
Source: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/sanabria_jose.htm# & https://www.ekare.com/english/autor/jose-sanabria/
More from José Sanabria in this library, click here.