Welcome to Litsy!

A strange story of a boy growing up in late 1970s Somalia, and after being passed from his adopted mother to his wealthier aunt and uncle, must choose between the university and fighting in the insurgency against Ethiopia. His mother is originally from Ethiopia, making for some interesting dynamics where the person he is closest to is identified as 'the enemy'. Weirder still is how the close quarters of their housing affects their relationship 👇

nonfiction - published in 2020. This National Book Award Finalist shares the real-life experience of Omar Mohamed, a Somali refugee who lives with his younger brother in a camp in Kenya. When Omar gets the opportunity to attend school, he knows it‘s his chance to create a better life for them. This graphic novel gives readers a peek into a refugee‘s life, challenges, and hope.

This time a Somali chicken stew that was fabuloso! Husband asked for it to be put in regular rotation. #Mtcookbook

When looking for books for #FoodAndLit for Botswana this month, I came across this graphic novel. Once I started reading, I realized it has nothing to do with Botswana at all, but is a graphic novel about 2 Somalian boys who live in a refugee camp in Kenya. A happy mistake I guess because it‘s a true story about the struggles of growing up in a refugee camp & the longing to escape to a better life in another country. Heartbreaking & well done.5⭐️

Time spent reading yesterday: 7 hours = 70 points x‘s 7 for 6 readathons = 490 points.

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As with many of the books we‘ve read so far, I have really enjoyed the authors‘ portrayal of characters‘ lives and circumstances. For example, in this book, the illustrations and dialogue helped the reader infer that Jeri‘s father was abusive. This, along with many other books we‘ve read, can be really helpful when teaching and discussing inferences.

Throughout the book, we can see Omar‘s heart of empathy. His emotions are incredibly shown- anger, sadness, frustration, joy, and longing. Mohamed and Jamieson do a great job at portraying these emotions. Omar is probably one of my favorite characters I‘ve ever read about.

The description of Omar being what I would describe as depressed after his interview is very interesting. I think the authors do a great job of describing this feeling in a way that readers who haven't felt this way before would be able to relate to. I think they do a great job of using language that middle schoolers could absorb/understand.

I felt bad for Omar when he found out he was on the resettlement list. I cannot imagine the amount of pressure he was under. He is just a child, but he was the person having to complete the interview and care for his special needs brother. He also describes how he was becoming retraumatized trying to remember everything that happened in his hometown. That is just a lot of pressure for anyone, especially a child.

On page 37 Omar talks about how “...the star makes [him] feel safe, like [his] mom and dad are nearby“ which made me think about the title of the book and if the authors are foreshadowing. If the stars represent his family, I think the book will probably be about getting separated from his family.