A Story of Immigration, Family, and Finding Home
January 1, 2022
In this fictionalized memoir, a child whose family experiences forced migration moves between two homes. Zahra loves where she came from, a land with traditions tied to the sea and a place where relatives are closely connected. Despite sharing a culture with those around them, people tell them they do not belong on that land. When her parents decide to leave for a better place, Zahra does not understand why. She is bored and lonely in her new country and feels different from everyone there. Eventually, she comes to love her new home, a land with traditions that are magical in their own ways and a place where she can stay in touch with her family abroad. The names of locations, the reasons behind the events, and stories linked to some of the illustrations are detailed in the backmatter. The author's two homes were New Mexico and Kuwait, from which her family moved due to being "stateless" and discriminated against (despite having lived in Kuwait for generations). While some readers may feel that revealing the details only in the backmatter moves the plot toward the universal, others may regret that the information there was not integrated into the story itself. The affectionate text is accompanied by traditionally created watercolor illustrations, the palette conveying the feel and beauty of the places featured in the book. A valuable insight into the world of immigration and displacement. (author's note, illustration note) (Picture-book autobiography. 8-10)
COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from February 1, 2022
K-Gr 4-In this moving debut, Marwan pares immigration to its elements-family, loss, and acceptance-conveying it in delicate but lively watercolor and line. The true story of her stateless childhood displacement from Kuwait to New Mexico is fully retold in the back matter, which also explains the bull motif (connecting Kuwait to ancient Greece). The narrator (appearing to be about seven) doesn't understand why they must leave the aunties, the home, and culture they know; only the illustrations suggest the menace of people who "say we don't belong." In the new place, the family finds connections: music, the desert, balloons as colorful as the lost butterflies. Zahra is "different," but belongs. Much of the profound appeal of this book comes from the art. Thin expressive lines define spaces of cool color, with touches of plum and black, against gentle washes floating free (clouds, sea, Zahra's puffy hair). Every page includes tiny imaginative details to enchant attentive readers: flowers, birds, fish, prayer beads, oud, guitarr�n, and much more. VERDICT This sensitive and beautifully depicted story should touch all young readers, regardless of family background or origin.-Patricia D. Lothrop
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 15, 2022
Grades K-2 Judge this book by its gorgeous cover, note the promise held in its title, and stay through the end for its hopeful message. In this dreamlike memoir, Marwan recounts her family's immigration from Kuwait to New Mexico in sparse prose and whimsical, vibrant watercolor illustrations. Like many stories of the topic, this begins with romantic nostalgia for the people and place left behind and from there transitions to the isolation that accompanies such cross-continental moves. Marwan's artistic style is reminiscent of Quentin Blake's, with pointy, outlined figures amid lush surroundings, capturing the distinct features of the seafront culture of Kuwait and the landlocked aridity of New Mexico. While the interplay of spare text and evocative illustrations works well to represent the emotional resonance of Marwan's story, some readers may find the story too ethereal. For them, the back matter will fill in the gaps and provide historical, geographical, and cultural context. Can be paired thematically with Jos� Pelaez and Lynn McGee's Starting Over in Sunset Park (2021).
COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
June 27, 2022
Based, per an author’s note, on Marwan’s childhood experience migrating from Kuwait to New Mexico, this dreamlike picture book traces a family’s similar arc. Young Zahra, the story’s narrator, loves her home, “where one hundred butterflies are always in the sky” and “where my ancestors live and are always watching.” But “people say we don’t belong here,” and Zahra’s family must inexplicably travel to live someplace far away (“I say my goodbyes without knowing why”), a journey rendered as a physical tumult for the tan-skinned household, which flies through the air across a spread to a desertscape. There, Zahra initially feels out of place but soon finds a sense of community and home, missing family but spotting “one hundred balloons” in the sky. With loose, thin-lined illustrations that reflect the child’s feelings of being unmoored, this spare picture book thoughtfully explores the difficulties of limited childhood perspective and settling in a new place. Back matter includes contextualizing notes. Ages 4–8.
March 1, 2022
Sometimes the concept of home is complicated. The author presents her own story of emigrating from Kuwait as a child and making a new life in a new country. Marwan's Kuwait is a beautiful place "where one hundred butterflies are always in the sky," her ancestors (represented as a school of fish and two bulls with horns) watch over her, and "my aunties hold me close." However, because her father lacks Kuwaiti citizenship, the entire family is considered stateless, and "people say we don't belong here." They end up migrating from one desert to another -- from Kuwait to New Mexico -- and despite the sadness of missing family, customs, and a native language, Marwan finds new connections and forges a sense of belonging. New Mexico may not have one hundred butterflies, but it has "new people [who] show me I belong." Culturally symbolic watercolor and ink illustrations are detailed and playful and combine realism with fantasy, creating a delightful landscape of home that is rooted in the specificity of place and Marwan's surreal imagination. A lengthy author's note provides crucial context on the problem of statelessness in Kuwait. A nuanced representation of belonging and citizenship that will ring true for many whose sense of home has never been absolute. Julie Hakim Azzam
(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2022
Sometimes the concept of home is complicated. The author presents her own story of emigrating from Kuwait as a child and making a new life in a new country. Marwan's Kuwait is a beautiful place "where one hundred butterflies are always in the sky," her ancestors (represented as a school of fish and two bulls with horns) watch over her, and "my aunties hold me close." However, because her father lacks Kuwaiti citizenship, the entire family is considered stateless, and "people say we don't belong here." They end up migrating from one desert to another -- from Kuwait to New Mexico -- and despite the sadness of missing family, customs, and a native language, Marwan finds new connections and forges a sense of belonging. New Mexico may not have one hundred butterflies, but it has "new people �who] show me I belong." Culturally symbolic watercolor and ink illustrations are detailed and playful and combine realism with fantasy, creating a delightful landscape of home that is rooted in the specificity of place and Marwan's surreal imagination. A lengthy author's note provides crucial context on the problem of statelessness in Kuwait. A nuanced representation of belonging and citizenship that will ring true for many whose sense of home has never been absolute.
(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)