Sunflowers in the Sand: Stories from Children of War [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Leah Curtin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2000

In this fascinating look into the heart of war, Croatian children tell their stories in their own words and through their own art.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...the children's strong, resilient voices emerge between the dark lines; they look toward the future's bright light. -- The New York Times Book Review, Dulcie Leimbach

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Madison Books (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156833141X
• ISBN-13: 978-1568331416
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,144,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart breaking account of the impact of war on children, February 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sunflowers in the Sand: Stories from Children of War (Hardcover)

In her heart breaking account of the impact of the Balkan war on children, author Leah Curtin quotes Darija - a thirteen year old survivor living outside the town of Biograd:

"War is nothing like I thought it would be...Tell the children of America that I hope for them, they never learn what war is. It is to be so afraid that you cannot sleep even when there are no bombs. It is to see everything, everything destroyed. I cannot speak of those who are dead ...my heart is still in bandages."

Ms. Curtin - with the help of Patricija Padelin, child psychologist at the hospital in Zadar - chronicles the almost unspeakable violence the children suffered during the course of the war, along with their fears, hopes, dreams and enormous capacity for survival.

In the face of complicated mourning - in one of the stories a boy recounts how he had to choose between betraying his father or grandfather - the children are encouraged to speak about their experiences and to draw and paint images based on how they feel. Some of the illustrations were drawn in refugee camps during and after the war; others during interviews with the children to help them express their experiences.

The result is a moving and illuminating chronicle of the inner lives of children who have been victims of war.

Just as war is the enemy of art, so art is the antidote for war. As the poet Jane Kenyon has said, "We cannot afford to ignore our inner lives, our imaginations, for when we do, we become capable of extreme cruelty and destruction. Tenderness toward existence is what we lose when we lose art."

Ms. Curtin, with the assistance of Ms. Padelin, has taken us into the inferno of war and found, miraculously, war's primary victims taking off the bandages and making narrative and visual art. Ms. Curtin's narrative is interwoven with the children's voices and with their remarkable drawings. Upon being asked to tell his story, a boy named Davor declares "I am as normal as anyone else. It's the world that's crazy, not me." What artist has not felt a similar need to declare him or herself sane!

The most haunting images are perhaps the ones of hearts. In one heart colored orange, there are teeth within the heart and a world outside it where a child is raising her arms to a sky without bombs. In another picture, there is a mouth with a twisted smile that appears to have stitches for lips. Under two dancing hearts the caption reads: "Usually when a child draws hearts, the larger the heart, the more he is in need of love."

My favorite painting is reproduced on the cover of the book: a beautiful blue dove, its wings outstretched, an olive branch in its beak. The bird is flying through the war torn countryside where there are still sunflowers lifting their yellow heads to the sky. But if the viewer looks closely, there is a skull with an open mouth, and just above that image of death there are the instruments of war. This painting was a large mural made collaboratively by fifteen Croatian children who wrote peace messages on the back.

I thought of Picasso's GUERNICA, of course, and along with it the temptation to despair, which any honest depiction of the madness of modern war brings us.

The final and most important achievement of SUNFLOWERS IN THE SAND is Leah Curtin's refusal to embrace hopelessness. By letting the children speak, by empowering them to show through art their own inner lives and resilient spirits, she has in her own unforgettable words instructed us to follow them "and there will be hope for the world."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Emotional Rollercoaster Ride!, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sunflowers in the Sand: Stories from Children of War (Hardcover)

Sunflowers in the Sand highlights the triumph of the human spirit over adversity when tested by the harshest circumstances. The twelve chapters are really short stories skillfully woven together into a primer on the evils of war. The voices of children from all sides of the war speak through Leah Curtin, trying to explain what happened to them and how they survived with their spirits intact despite the dark brutality of war. Mixing tragedy and triumph, hope and despair, Curtin draws the reader into each child's world. The confusion of sudden flight, panic of separation, terror of capture and the horror of slaughter intermingle with the sweet, exhausting relief of survival throughout this too brief novel. The best part about this book is that one is left with the genuine hope that with luck and perseverance, these wounded spirits might again THRIVE.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant, heart-wrenching, eye-witness stories., April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sunflowers in the Sand: Stories from Children of War (Hardcover)

Sunflowers In The Sand: Stories From Children Of War is the story of war in present day Europe and its poignant and heart-wrenching effects and influences on children caught in the horror of conflict. Illustrated by the artwork of Croatian children, Leah Curtin's informative, engaging, powerful text is a vivid expression of the experience of children in the Balkan conflict telling with a compelling candor what it is like for a child to be trapped in an incomprehensible world of adult hatred, conflict, and horror. Ultimately, Sunflowers In The Sand is a testament to the endurance and resilience of these children who survived the loss of home, family, and their own childhood -- all sacrificed on the altar of war created by political and military leaders in the name philosophies, ideologies, and ethnic hatreds. Highly recommended.