Azzi In Between

Product Information

It has been written in such a way, that children could read it and understand it alone, and the illustrations can also be used to help children understand the story. I was really impressed with this book--it showed just enough of the child's view on war and on being a refugee to make the reader anxious and afraid, but not so much that it would overwhelm or trigger a kid. Azzi lives in a un-named country where her father 'worked as a doctor', her mother 'made beautiful clothes' and her grandma 'wove warm blankets. This picture book, written and illustrated in frames, as a graphic novel would be, tells the story of Azzi, a refugee from an unspecified* middle-eastern country to a western country. Telling the story of real-life issues that many young people go through all over the world- living through war, having to flee, moving to a country where they do not speak the language.

A story that follows a child named Azzi, who is forced to seek safety by fleeing her home within a war-torn country, and yet remains unstable and uncertain. The daughter of a publisher and illustrator, she trained as a typographer at the London College of Printing. A smashing, Amnesty-endorsed, story of a family's escape from war and their journey to a strange new country (probably the UK). So she works hard and plants surprise beans for her father, all the while wishing that her grandmother was there.It’s aimed at children so I can see why some of the more horrific aspects of life as a refugee are left out, but this meant it didn’t have the punch-in-the-gut impact I was hoping for. My children loved the story, found it exciting and interesting and have a much better understanding now of the experience of refugees. I thought the layout of the book in a 'comic book' manner was a unique element which really complimented the book. The text is so rich and would be brilliant to use in KS2 classrooms where it could be explored and enjoyed to its full potential. With only her teddy bear and a blanket they flee, across a dark sea with many others in a small boat.

I love how Garland has structured this story, it is set out in a comic strip-like style and I think this makes it really attractive to children. It is so important for each child to be accepting of everyone else and to understand the different journeys each person may have been through to get where they are today. War is in their country, the children often see loud helicopter gunships flying by and soldiers marching on their street.Told through comic strips, this is a really accessible story for children to dissect, and an important one at that. This book would help American children understand the perspective of some refugee children coming to our schools and might help those refugees feel that they're not alone.