Customer Reviews

Four Feet, Two Sandals

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4 star:		(2)
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Based on co-author Khadra Mohammed's experiences with refugees in Peshawar, a city on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Four Feet, Two Sandals is a children's picturebook about ten-year-old Lina and her young friend who each discover one of a wonderful pair of sandals. Together they must solve the problem of how to share one pair of sandles between four feet! As they wait and hope for their names to appear on a list for a new home, the sandals become a symbol of their fast friendship - a bond that will endure even when one of them finally has the opportunity to escape the hard conditions and live in a new land. The broad brush strokes of illustrator Doug Chayka draw the reader in to the harsh and barren world of the refugees, where positive human relationships are an particular treasure amid the daily difficulty of survival. A thoughtful yet serious picturebook, highly recommended for children's public library and personal collections.

Lina and Feroza, two young girls from Afghanistan living in a refugee camp in Pakistan, first meet after a frenzied crowd has jostled for used clothing that relief workers threw off the back of a truck. What could have been a misfortune, with each girl retrieving one sandal from a matching pair, turns out to be a stroke of luck as the girls take turns with the sandals and become friends. This friendship helps them to endure the hardships of their daily routines collecting water, washing clothes in the river, mourning lost family members, and caring for younger siblings while boys in the camp attend school. The sandals later take on a symbolic role when one of the girls leaves camp for a new home.

This moving book provides an effective tool for teaching about what it means to be a refugee, how children in refugee camps spend their time, and how the experiences can differ for girls and boys. Although the topic may be weighty and difficult, the tone is relatively subtle and hopeful so as to appeal to young readers. Intertwined with the touching story are valuable economics lessons about scarcity, human resources, wants, and needs. The dramatic artwork and compelling text work well together to make reading this book a memorable experience.

Four Feet Two Sandals was written by the authors in response to a request from girls in a refugee camp for a story about girls like them. I suspect that there are only a few books for children that increase awareness of the plights of refugee children around the world. This book gives a glimpse of their lives to adult and young readers alike through colorful illustrations and language suitable for young readers. It teaches about scarcity of resources and sharing. It vividly illustrates a friendship based on sharing of one pair of sandals and the hardships experienced by two girls. In addition to being a book that parents would want to share with their children, it will enhance the collection of any community or faith-based library.

"Four Feet, Two Sandals" is a powerful book,
introducing readers to the experience of
refugee children in Pakistan. This is an
excellent teaching tool for having conversations
about sharing, donating and receiving clothes
and shoes, and developing friendships. Bravo!

A realistic, powerful and touching children's story that takes a lesson on sharing what we have on a deeper level than most children experience in the States.

This book deals with the concepts of friendship, hardship, sharing, and the reality of life for some children in the world. It is sad but heartwarming. The large number of children around the world being displaced because of war, famine, natural disasters and more make this book an important tool in helping to discuss this uncomfortable subject with your children.

We are a 1st grade class at Francis Wakeland Elemantary School of International Studies. Our class loved this book, "Four Feet, Two Sandals", because it teaches young children to share things. We learned that children in Pakistan do not have the same opportunities that American children have. We also started an action project called, "Shoes for Souls" to donate shoes to other people that do not have good shoes. The first reason why we liked this book, is we all felt like we could be a good friend to someone else. Another reason why we liked this book is because it helped us realize that even though we are only 6 and 7 years old we can help others around the world. Lastly, we liked this book because the author helped us have emotions for the characters in this book. We would strongly recommend this book to people of any age. This book has several lessons that can be taught!

This book would be a great conversation starter in the classroom. It is simplistic and sweet but would provide an invaluable tool for introducing South West Asia. What it means to be a refugee, how war impacts children and adults, are just some of the obvious themes that could be touched upon. I think if you teach world geography, language arts, or philosophy this would be a great lead in to rich discussion. The book doesn't do the hard work-the reader does.

I teach grade six and it makes a nice addition to my philosophy circle library.

The two main characters, Lina and Feroza, are two young girls from Afghanistan living in a refugee camp in Pakistan. They first meet after a crowd had gathered because relief workers throwing clothes off the back of a truck. Lina is excited when she finds a sandal that fits her foot perfectly. Then, she sees that another girl (Feroza) has the matching shoe. However, Lina and Feroza meet and decide that it is better to share the sandals than for each to wear only one. Their friendship helps them to endure the hardships of living at a refugee camp (collecting water, washing clothes in the river, mourning lost family members, and caring for younger siblings). One day Lina saw her name on the list of people who were to go to America, Feroza's name was not on the list. Feroza gave Lina the pair of sandals so she would not go barefoot to America. Before boarding the bus to America, Lina gave the sandals back to Feroza as she had a new pair for her journey. Then, Feroza gave one sandal back for Lina to remember her by and their friendship.

Readers will be able to empathize with the story as both girls are able to enjoy each other's friendship through sharing. They will also begin to understand and have an awareness of the plight of refugees who live in camps. The authors are both involved in working with refugees and have drawn on their experiences to help students empathize with children like Lina, who may arrive in their own communities.

Nice illustration.

This is a very simple and easy to read children's book that tells the moving story of two young girls living in the same refugee camp but forced to come to terms with a different fate. It is deeply touching.

I find that there are many lessons that can be drawn from this story that can encourage young children to understand values that are hard to teach in this current landscape of technology and abundance.