Coming in September from the author/illustrator Drowned city and The Great American Dust Bowl this is a powerful visual experience of the horrors that have caused the Syrian people to flee their country and those they face as refugees. The final pages of the book describe three refugee camps that Brown visited in researching this book and it is clear he has seen life that is hard and ugly and at times hopeless....but the people keep coming and his book helps us understand why. It can be read in one sitting but will long be remembered. Pair with Kate March's fiction book coming the same month, Nowhere Boy about a Syrian boy who hides in the home of an American family living in Belgium.

Edie's Top Shelf: Coming in Sept. 11 this is a wonderful multigenera...

Edie's Top Shelf: Coming in Sept. 11 this is a wonderful multigenera...: Coming in Sept. 11 this is a wonderful multigenerational story of a young girl much loved by her family, especially her grandfather, who i...

Coming in Sept. 11 this is a wonderful multigenerational story of a young girl much loved by her family, especially her grandfather, who is trying to find her place in her privileged school and in her family. Things don't always go her way, she can't join the soccer team because of family obligations and she is assigned to the role of sunshine buddy despite her hesitation but she is resilient and finds her way, slowly but surely. Spanish is interspersed throughout this book as it is in Merci's life. Her school situations ring true, the projects, group work, know it all, misunderstandings and mishaps. It all rings true and Merci is someone you are happy to share time with and root for.