My Beautiful Birds
Written by Suzanne Del Rizzo
Published by Pajama Press
Behind Sami, the Syrian skyline is full of smoke. The boy follows his family and all his neighbors in a long line, as they trudge through the sands and hills to escape the bombs that have destroyed their homes. But all Sami can think of is his pet pigeons will they escape too? When they reach a refugee camp and are safe at last, everyone settles into the tent city. But though the children start to play and go to school again, Sami can’t join in. When he is given paper and paint, all he can do is smear his painting with black. He can’t forget his birds and what his family has left behind. One day a canary, a dove, and a rose finch fly into the camp. They flutter around Sami and settle on his outstretched arms. For Sami it is one step in a long healing process at last. A gentle yet moving story of refugees of the Syrian civil war, My Beautiful Birds illuminates the ongoing crisis as it affects its children. It shows the reality of the refugee camps, where people attempt to pick up their lives and carry on. And it reveals the hope of generations of people as they struggle to redefine home.

Primary ISBN: 9781772780109
Available As: Hardcover
Picture Book, Age 06 or older
Community Represented: Syrian/Syrian American
Themes: Educator Resource, Loss of Childhood, Refugee Camp, Refugee Journey, Refugee: War/Conflict, The Arts, Welcoming Library: Core Picture Books (Current)
Setting: Syria
Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: Refugee
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Story Map Multi-Level Lesson
Source: Teaching books
Reading Guide (PDF)
Source: Publisher Website- Pajama Press
This book is part of the Welcoming Library. The Welcoming Library is a traveling collection of picture books set in our New Arrival and
New American communities. From small towns to big cities, these immigration stories are helping readers
(of all ages) Welcome and Belong. WelcomingLibrary.org