Migrants
Written by
Illustrated by Issa Watanabe
Published by Gecko Press
A heartstoppingly beautiful wordless picture book about migration and empathy.
The migrants must leave the forest. Borders are crossed, sacrifices made, loved ones are lost. It takes such courage to reach the end. At last the journey is over and the migrants arrive. This is the new place.
Through extraordinarily powerful images, Migrants narrates the journey of a group of animals that leaves behind a leafless forest. With forceful simplicity, Migrants shows us the courage, loss and underlying hope migration takes. And that arriving in a new land may mean burying a portion of the past.
Children will empathize quickly with the elegantly illustrated animal characters, each of whom have their own identity with details like clothing, color choices and expressions. The dark pages add weight to the silence of their journey and the individual animals help make the story a universal one.
A perfect book to help teach children about refugees and migration, with humanity, inclusivity and empathy. Readers can’t fail to be moved by this deeply emotional and thought-provoking tale.
Primary ISBN: 9781776573134
Publication Date: October 2020
Available As: Hardcover
Picture Book, Age 05 or older
Community Represented: Animals/Allegory, Unspecified
Themes: Accolades & Awards, Accolades & Awards: Starred Review, Allegory, Animals, Family Separation: On Journey, Format: Wordless, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Trauma & Healing, Trauma & Healing: Death of Family or Friend
Setting: Unspecified
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: On Journey, Immigrant
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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Engagement Materials:
Source: Gecko Press
USBBY Outstanding International Book 2021