Pistes d'exploration

From the illustrations, deduce the age of the main character. Create a Venn diagram comparing his life, living conditions and responsibilities with your own. Name at least one quality that you have in common (e.g. hope for the future, love for family).

The book begins and ends with a recurring dream. What can you infer about the boy’s life, hopes and fears from these illustrations? How do the illustrations help you empathize with the main character?

Learn more about refugee camps as well as about Canada’s position regarding refugees. 

Before reading the back cover, write a book review about the story. Share it with the class. Brainstorm other titles for this book. 

From the illustrations, deduce the age of the main character. Create a Venn diagram to compare his life, living conditions, activities and responsibilities with your own. 

Research and discuss reasons why people might be living in a refugee camp. Where can you find some of these camps currently? Why are the people living there?

Find media articles about refugees/camps. Compare the information with that in the book. Do the journalists and the author have a similar perspective on refugee life? Share and discuss your findings. 

Research children’s rights in books or on the Internet. What rights are being enforced or violated in this book?

Compare the first and last pages of the book. Discuss the messages conveyed. 

Complete an alpha box with words associated with war. Turn to a partner to compare and complete your boxes.

Stop reading the story when Maha is hit by a truck. Predict what happens next in a short paragraph. Read your predictions aloud before reading the rest of the story.

Share something about yourself by designing your own carpet. Explain the significance of your design and colours.

I Have the Right to Be a Child, Goal!, A Good Trade, We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures, TheLittle Yellow Bottle, Malala, a Brave Girl From Pakistan; Iqbal, a Brave Boy From Pakistan

Mots-clés

Picture book , Afghanistan , brothers and sisters , first-person narration , hope , refugees , resilience , rugs , war

Commentaire descriptif

A young refugee boy from Afghanistan lives with his mother and sister in a mud hut. At night, his dreams are filled with screaming jets and fear of dying. By day, he finds his simple life oppressive: “I hate school – a room full of restless boys … we sit on rough mats that rub my ankles raw.” The one thing that keeps the nightmares away is weaving carpets. As he weaves, he remembers his father, a farmer who died ploughing the fields when the bombs came. Difficult as things are, he begins to dream of freedom and possibility. This heart-wrenching story of war and resilience is told in a distinctive first person voice. Descriptive language is almost dreamy, though the subject matter keeps the story grounded, gritty and real. Watercolour and pencil illustrations in a murky palette give a sense of heaviness to the scenes depicted. When the boy’s sister is hit by a truck and suffers two broken legs, we truly feel the family’s despair. This difficult story, sensitively told, allows the reader deep inside the feelings of a refugee boy as he struggles to transcend incredible challenges and find hope in a dark world.