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I read and highly recommend the original middle grade chapter book Refugee by Alan Gratz frequently. This graphic novel version still brings a lot of the emotion but with using panels & speech bubbles paired with illustrations instead of descriptive paragraphs of text.

Gratz has a talent for writing the truth of difficult situations. He weaves several plots together, making the reader care about each. It makes me want to host a refugee family. The audiobook was a great road trip listen.

Refugee, created by Alan Gratz, follows 3 refugees from specific timeframes who are trying to leave from warfare and oppression. Isabel, a Cuban girl in 1994 who herself and her family are seeking safety from political rebellion as they flee to United States; Josef, a Jewish boy in the 1930's embarks on a journey to escape Nazi Germany, also known as the Holocaust; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 who struggles to outlive the Syrian War and

“Whether you were visible or invisible, it was all about how other people reacted to you.“

This book is past on true events that happened in three different time periods with three fictional characters. All three characters are 13 years old and all the stories are told from their perspectives. These would be important times in history to tell students about. Some of the descriptions may be graphic for younger students but can be summarized to meet each grade.

This book is a good book for advanced readers or older children. This book would be too intense of a reading level for younger readers. This book has a unique perspective on true stories based on fictional characters.

“Head down, hoodie up, eyes on the ground. Be unimportant. Blend in. Disappear. That was how you avoided the bullies.”

This book would be good to read to upper elementary grades and help them understand the importance of sticking up for people who may be being bullied or excluded. Although this book shows more extreme versions of this, it allows students to have different perspectives of children who faced hardships.

Refugee by Alan Gratz published in 2017 is a book following three different children and their families during different historical periods. It is an intense book that allows children to see into other children's lives from far and recent history and make connections or comparisons to their own lives. The story is told from the perspective of each of these three children which allows the readers to feel more connected to them.

“If no one saw them, no one could help them. And maybe the world needed to see what was really happening here.”

This story would be good for older elementary or middle school students. The children in the stories are 11 and 12 so children will be able to relate their wants and interests but see how their environment makes their lives very different from what the students in the classroom look like. I think this story would be something we read as a class and would have a lot of talking points about different historical events.

Refugee is a historical fiction book published in 2017 that follows the stories of three children and what themselves and their families endure during three prominent times in history. The three eras are Nazi Germany, Cuba in 1990, and modern day Syria and what it looks like trying to reach safety. The details in this book give you true insights on what life is like for these children and the cruel truth about what they go through.

This was a quick read. YA, it features three tales of families seeking safety in three different timelines, from three different countries: Nazi Germany, Communist Cuba, and the war in Syria. Immigration is a hot topic, with violent, white supremacist right wing fantasies. We all have a right to live a life free from oppression and violence. This book asks us to see the humanity and worth in our fellow human beings.

Dialogue and story are okay but I‘m more invested than I thought I‘d be in finding out how these seemingly unconnected storylines come together.

#Refugees ❤️ #NewYearNewBooks 🎆🥳📖

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

Three stories of 3 different refugees in 3 different times: 1930s, 1994, and 2015. But they all have connections that tie the stories together…I like how all his book covers have dramatic red-white-black theme

#Refugees

#NewYearNewBooks

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Not a book I‘d read on my own, but my middle schoolers are going to love it. Plot driven and action packed, this book follows three young teen refugees, each one during different fight for survival (Holocaust, Cuban Refugee Crisis, Syrian Refugee Crisis). Gratz is a super popular author if you have a young readers in your life.

A timely story of three young refugees: Josef, Germany, 1939; Isabel, Cuba, 1994; and Mahmoud, Syria, 2015. Each story describes vastly different people in vastly different situations with shocking similarities.

Unpopular opinion: I loathe this book. It‘s beloved by middle graders and teachers especially, and I don‘t get it. The author has turned real world struggles faced by refugee children into a page turning thriller. Also, shouldn‘t this story have been written by multiple authors to do the unique cultures justice?

All the stars! You will cry tears of sorrow and joy along with 3 children as they journey with their families from Germany to Cuba (1939), Cuba to the US (1994), and Syria to Germany (2015) seeking refuge. This belongs in every middle grade and young adult classroom.

Next up for my #audiocommute

I really struggled with this and had to put it down, read something light and come back. On the one hand, I want to read for perspective. I want to know what my students are reading. The big take away for me that I believe I already carry is, I don't want to ever hear myself say, "I was just doing my job." I have 12 social justice goals that I need to revisit. Not TOMORROW. today

#Readathon #NutsInMay update
I'm about to finish refugee and I can't stand the cliff hangers, especially all the potential for drowning (my biggest fear). I need a feel good palette cleaner. #whatshouldireadnext?

#NutsInMay update.I am going to need something funny after this.

This book absolutely broke my heart. Josef is a Jewish boy living in 1930 Nazi Germany. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. All go on a harrowing journey in search of a refuge. Listening to their journey made me realize that families have to live through this just to found a safe place to live. I loved how even thou all these stories happened during different time periods they were all tied together.

Masterfully blends fictional characters around true and tragic events to illustrate the plight of refugees through recent history. Written for children but enjoyable as an adult with an interest in history, politics or current affairs. Helps the reader realise how lucky they are not to live through such events but how those who have are often just like them but living in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Heartbreaking

#popsugarchallenge

Book 5: A book set in multiple countries

I‘m gonna admit that I‘m a conservative and that I‘m not always on board with open boarders. But reading this book opened my eyes and made me really think about how there are times when we must abandon that and be willing to help out. 3 different stories. All with the same goal. I loved this book and it was such an easy read. Again. For book club. Older middle schoolers would fit this book a little better just so they can understand.

Joining in to share 12 great reads from this year. I‘m not sure exactly which 12 I‘ll end up picking, but this was a clear favorite this spring. Gratz writes great historical fiction and this book weaves together the story of three refugee families from different points in history.

#12BooksOf2020 #MiddleGrade #YA

I feel that Josef's story was rushed near the end. It slowly built up while they waited to see if they would be allowed in Cuba, but then it went in fast forward. They went from an attempt to take over the ship to being in France then told Germany invaded in 1 chapter. It frustrates me & I am an adult who knows about WWII so I can imagine how confusing this could be to a 13 year old. It almost went over my kids head...I had to stop and explain.

" Don't you see? Lito said. "The Jewish people on the ship or seeking asylum, just like us. They needed a place to hide from Hitler. From the Nazis. Mañana, we told them. We'll let you in mañana. But we never did." Little was crying now distraught.
"We sent him back to Europe and Hitler and the Holocaust. Back to their deaths. How many of them died because we turned them away? Because I was just doing my job?"

(Pg. 182 cont.) Isabel has been most lucky of the three in that she has both parents and a grandfather to take care of her but she has made some smart and mature decisions. It must have been a huge let down getting to land and realizing they were in the Bahamas and couldn't stay but she was smart enough to ask people for medication for her mother.

(Pg. 182) I am glad Mahmoud's mother was able to get a life vest on since she was at the point of giving up on life. Josef is also being put in the role of adult and caretaker being left alone to take her of his poor father who is losing his mind and his little sister.

I started this book with my son who is in 8th grade. He hates reading so I literally have to sit and make him read. After reading the first 33 pages, he started to say it didn't suck. I am glad he liked it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Would be a fantastic classroom read or parent/child read because it would offer endless discussion. The subject matter was well handled and it was an engaging read. Written for middle grade or tween but can be read by all ages. ❤️

This turned into a better reading month than I expected, but it is very heavy on audio. My clear favorite this month was Refugee by Alan Gratz, but I also really appreciated Rage Becomes Her and a reread of The Screwtape Letters on audio.

#ReadingStats #MonthlyStats

Powerful and eye-opening. I love the way the refugees‘ stories connect through multiple generations. ❤️ Highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #oregonbattleofthebooks