wishes

Posted on 08/15/2021

Orchard Books | 978-1338305890

 

According to the UN Refugee Agency, at the end of 2020, “82.4 million people around the world were forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order. Among them are nearly 26.4 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18.”

It’s hard for most of us to imagine what it would mean to have to steal away in the middle of the night, not knowing with certainty if we would survive the journey, but knowing that staying would mean harm, or worse, death.

wishes, by Mựợn Thi Văn is about such a journey. Shortly after the author was born in 1980 in southern Vietnam, her immediate and extended family began making plans to leave the country. Her father had served in the Navy of the losing side of Vietnam’s long civil war and the family had already been in hiding for several years.

With short poetic lines expressing the wishes of twelve significant elements from the journey (The night wished it was quieter”, “The clock wished it was slower.”, “The boat wished it was bigger.”, etc.), this powerful collaboration of text and visuals brilliantly illustrated by Victo Ngai is a moving story of resilience and the courage it takes to leave all that is familiar behind in hopes of finding a future and the beginning of a new life in a foreign land.

CLICK TO ENLARGE Illustrations © Vito Ngai
  • Learn more about Mựợn Thi Văn and WISHES HERE.

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Pair WISHES with THE PAPER BOAT: A Refugee Story by Thao Lam (Owlkids Books | 978-1771473637)

From the publisher:

At her home in Vietnam, a girl rescues ants from the sugar water set out to trap them. Later, when the girl’s family flees war-torn Vietnam, ants lead them through the moonlit jungle to the boat that will take them to safety. Before boarding, the girl folds a paper boat from a bun wrapper and drops it into the water, and the ants climb on. Their perilous journey, besieged by punishing weather, predatory birds, and dehydration, before reaching a new beginning, mirrors the family’s own. Impressionistic collages and a moving, Own Voices narrative make this a one-of-a-kind tale of courage, resilience, and hope.

CLICK TO ENLARGE © by Thao Lam