Customer Reviews

One Boy from Kosovo

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2 star:		(1)
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From the Chicago Tribune, May 7, 2000 What's it like to be a refugee child? Trish Marx and Cindy Karp are not interested in a political study but a human one, and so, after brief headnotes about their work and the region's history, the story becomes specific and personal: "This is what happened to one boy from Kosovo in the spring of his twelfth year." We see Edi lining up for water, playing at the children's center, or searching a bulletin board for the names of relatives; w e hear of the friends he misses. More time is spent on camp life than on his family's fears in Kosovo or the hardships of fleeing. Though the book tells a specifie story, the empathy created between Edi and readers suggests a larger, global message: Refugees are not "others" but ourselves.

Ed is a twelve years old boy from Kosova and he is one of the
numbers out of nearly a million Kosovar refugees!
This book is his story!

The author and this book served their purpose but unfortunetaly
the historical facts are so hugely inaccurate.For example :
"...approximately 90 percent of the people living in Kosova
originally came from Albania and only 10 percent came from
Serbia"
"I know" this wasn't the author aim but the above statement is just like Milosevic (The Modern Hitler) would want it.
As a matter of fact, Kosovars and Albanians came from nowhere to where they are now! They've been there when lots of nations didn't have a name let alone something else. It was the Serbs who came from Russia and settled where they are now. Yes, even Serbia is not theirs let alone a part of Kosova as they wish to say.
If it wasn't for U.S.A. and United Kingdom they would have done
the same again as they did centuries ago but hey who falls for the same trick twice???

Ed's story will inspire your children and make them appreciate everything they have in their lives and the first fact that they have everything is that they are Non-Kosovar's to go through all that hell.

I cannot recommend, and commend, this book enough. We used it as part of our homeschool social sciences curriculum, but our 10-year old daughter chose the book on her own while browsing through the library. She thoroughly enjoyed the photos and well-written narrative and said she highly recommended it other girls and boys. The personal story of a 12-year old refugee boy and his family is presented in an accurate but still age-appropriate manner; many important aspects of the family's life before and after their refugee experience are presented. Our 10-year old is in 6th grade and has been reading since she was an early 4, and I struggle with the reading level designation as "4-8". Most 8-year olds would enjoy the book being read to them, but I feel would have trouble relating to the story or understanding the refugee issues presented. As a "read alone", I would recommend the book for highly interested 9-year old+ readers and think it is better as an upper middle school resource. TERRIFIC book with a STORY that NEEDED to be written! We'll be looking for more books by this author and photographer team.