Making It Home [Paperback]

Kate Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2004

This is a poignant and inspiring collection of stories by refugee children from all over the world. Told through their eyes, it promises to be a compelling insight into the plight of the world's refugees. The youngest contributor, six-year-old Wachen Bohlen left war-torn Liberia, but wants to return because 'it is my country. It is my home.' The oldest is fifteen-year-old Merci Ngubi from the Congo who spent two weeks trekking in the jungle with his family after fleeing from their home. Publication will coincide with International Refugee Week.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up–These brief narratives by young people escaping their war-torn lands and lives are significant because while only 20 voices are presented here, Beverley Naidoos introduction states that more than 20 million children and their families have been forced to leave their homes to escape from the effects of war in recent years. Narrators from Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, Liberia, Sudan, and Burundi reveal the injustices of their lives, forced by fate to have anything but normal childhoods. A short introduction precedes each narrative or set of narratives and gives the history of the countrys conflict, providing much-needed background information. The selections were written by children as young as 6, with most of them by teenagers, up to 17. The pain of their experiences is raw; losing a parent or siblings changes their view of the world, and yet, despite it all, the universal feeling is one of hope for the future. The contributors have little to fear, having survived the worst. A centerfold features full-color photos of several of the young people.–Alexa Sandmann, Kent State University, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. "We took flight from the war a long time ago. . . . Nobody tells me why. . . .We saw lots of people dying and houses burning down." Displaced by war, children from Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, Liberia, Sudan, and Burundi talk about the horror left behind, the family separation, and the struggle to adjust to a new place, whether as a refugee in a camp or as an asylum seeker in the U.S. Their first-person accounts, many with full-color photos, have been collected by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which runs programs to aid war-traumatized children, and anonymous writers supply short introductions to each war zone. Many of the kids' voices sound the same, and there's too much politics for one small book. But the aching personal details will grab readers, as will the global connections. As Beverly Naidoo points out in her foreword, these stories challenge the racism against today's asylum seekers. For another contemporary story, see Helen Howard's Living as a Refugee in America: Mohammed's Story, on p.42. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Puffin Books (June 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141318678
• ISBN-13: 978-0141318677
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,104,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book Providing An Overview of Refugee Experiences in An Age-Appropiate Manner, April 14, 2010

By 

K.W. (Not specified) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Making It Home: Real-Life Stories from Children Forced to Flee (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for children. Like the other reviewer, I am an adult interested in refugees, the situations that lead to people becoming refugees, and how refugees adjust to their new locations.

This book does a good job of describing the refugee experiences of children from many different places. It provides a great balance of information. The situations are presented, but in a way, that will not be too scary for the target audience (of children). The book does discuss direct hardship, such as kids explaining that their uncle died in a bombing, discussion of landmines, or a child explaining that most of her family was killed & there are current threats that other family would be killed if they return, but it presents it without gruesome details.

This is an excellent book for opening up discussions with kids, so that you can determine if you wish to provide further information about conflicts and other issues around the world.

I like that the book provides some data and discusses the history/politics involved to show the bigger picture, but these are provided as an overview rather than bogging the book with too many details which might not keep a younger child's attention. Each chapter begins with a brief (2-3 pages) description of the issues within the particular region or country, such as Bosnia, and then follows with the children's stories of leaving that area, where they live now, their feelings about having to leave, etc.

All of the stories are presented where the refugee kids are asked about their dreams for the future, for their cultures or themselves, such as the desire to someday be able to return to their native land. In this sense, the book remains generally quite positive, showing the resiliency of these children.

Areas covered: Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, Liberia, Sudan, and Burundi. The children's stories are generally about 1 full page to 4 pages with older kids obviously sharing more. The book also includes a centerfold with 8 pages of colored photos of the kids. Maps are also included for the areas, and at least some if not all of the regions of focus include stories from more than one child.

Could also be an excellent book to supplement other discussions, such as classroom readings involving people from those countries, culture, or people overcoming diversity while retaining some hope for the future.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for kids, December 30, 2009

By 

Paul Genesse "fantasy author" (Salt Lake City, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Making It Home: Real-Life Stories from Children Forced to Flee (Paperback)

I was doing research for a novel about refugee children and decided to read this short book. I was quite disappointed with it because of the lack of depth of most of the children's accounts--then I realized this was written for children--they were the audience--not me. Many of the child refugees weren't even born in the country they were exiled/made refugees from. The stories of the African children were the best and the saddest. The first few stories were pretty tame.

It's a good book for children, but for adults wanting to learn what being a refugee is really like, this is not what your looking for. It will give you a good idea about what it's like to be a refugee, but if you're looking for depth, this is not the book. As a learning tool for middle grade children, it's perfect.

Paul Genesse

Author of The Golden Cord

www.paulgenesse.com