LoveReading4Kids Says
Brian Bilston’s poem talks about refugees opening with the lines, ‘They have no need of our help/So do not tell me/ These haggard faces could belong to you or me.’ But at the lines, ‘Do not be so stupid to think that/The world can be looked at another way’, we read the poem again, this time from bottom back to the top, and an opposite meaning appears, ‘These haggard faces could belong to you or me/ So do not tell me/ They have no need of our help.’
Bilston uses the palindrome or reverse poem to make readers and listeners question the cruel, fearful discourse around refugees – heard too often – and to emphasise the kinder view.
José Sanabria’s striking painterly illustrations are very powerful too. In the first half, scenes around the refugees are nightmarish with threatening, scary shapes and figures on all sides. In the second half, the palette is much brighter, here people are depicted welcoming refugees with flowers, food, toys for the children. The illustrations make clear the choice the poem is offering, and which option is the happier for us all.
Andrea Reece
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Refugees Synopsis
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.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781786750723 |
| Publication date: |
3rd October 2019 |
| Author: |
Brian Bilston |
| Illustrator: |
Jose Sanabria |
| Publisher: |
Palazzo |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
32 pages |
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About Brian Bilston
Brian Bilston writes poems full of humour, energy and heart and has become much loved on social media. His published poetry collections include, You Took the Last Bus Home, Alexa, what is there to know about love?, Let Sleeping Cats Lie, 50 Ways to Score a Goal, And So This is Christmas and Days Like These.
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