Review by Booklist Review
The big impact that a small gift of kindness makes on a child refugee is highlighted in this affecting picture-book memoir. Growing up in Kurdistan, "a land where figs fell from the trees and the air smelled like honeysuckle," Mevan is surrounded by extended family and a close-knit community. Secure and well loved, the little girl thrives and feels "ten feet tall." Her world changes when Iraqi soldiers force Kurds to flee their home. Seeking safety, the scared child and her family travel through many countries. Mevan copes with every difficult displacement by making herself "very small." When children in Russia exclude and make fun of her because of the color of her skin, she wishes she were invisible. Moving to a welcoming refugee camp in the Netherlands, Mevan is given a shiny red bicycle by a humanitarian handyman, making her feel "a hundred feet tall." The redolent text cuts to the heart and quietly speaks volumes about the need to be seen: "She'd gotten so good at making herself small she thought no one would notice her." Imamura's detailed watercolor illustrations contrast the child's confinement and isolation when hiding inside tiny apartments with her joyful freedom of movement and feeling of belonging when riding her bike. An epilogue details coauthor Babakar's reunion with her benefactor years later and provides an inspirational push to pedal kindness forward.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Collaborating with McCormick (Sergeant Reckless), Kurdistan-born debut author Babakar tells a story based on her own experience as a child refugee. During young Mevan's early life, "figs fell from the trees and the air smelled like honeysuckle" in Kurdistan, "a lush and hilly corner in the north of Iraq." Though she is the littlest girl in her extended family, "the love all around her made her feel ten feet tall." Then the ruler of Iraq sends soldiers and helicopters to force the people in Kurdistan away and into the mountains. Escaping in a van to Turkey, then by plane to Azerbaijan and by train to Russia, Mevan makes herself successively smaller and even wishes to become invisible. Only in the Netherlands, where the family moves two years later, does she feel welcomed, but she still makes herself small--until she's given the titular object in an act that makes her feel "a hundred feet tall." Gouache, watercolor, and crayon illustrations from Imamura (Love in the Library) capture the dappled light of Mevan's pastoral family home in Kurdistan against other landscapes' stark geometry and the feeling of possibility represented by the bicycle in this hopeful personal telling. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An epilogue and author's note conclude. Ages 4--8. (May)
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Review by Horn Book Review
When her family must flee their beloved home in Kurdistan, young Mevan's status as a refugee makes her feel smaller and smaller until she makes herself invisible. The family travels from Azerbaijan to Russia to the Netherlands, where a kind man sees her, despite her ability to hide herself, and gives her the perfect gift -- a red bicycle -- making her feel "a hundred feet tall." This true story, gently told in the third person and coauthored by Babakar herself, is brought to life through evocative mixed-media illustrations, which capture the deep loneliness of leaving a home full of friends and family. The illustrations shift from the lush greenery of Kurdistan to the stark concrete of Soviet Bloc apartments to a colorful and joyous double-page spread when Mevan first rides her bicycle. An epilogue and author's note describe more of Babakar's experience as a young refugee and tell her story of returning to the Netherlands as an adult and reuniting with the kind apartment manager who gave her the bike. A reflective story about the isolation of life as a child refugee and about the enduring effects of an act of kindness. Laura KoenigMay/June 2024 p.159 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Co-author and former child refugee Babakar remembers a special joy from her harrowing journey. Young Mevan adores "lush and hilly" Kurdistan, where her family has lived for generations. Surrounded by loving relatives and community members, the budding poet feels "ten feet tall." That all changes when Iraqi soldiers push her family out of their home. Depicting the soldiers with uniforms but no guns, the art works with the text to soften the desperation of the situation without glossing over it--a tricky yet essential needle to thread. As Mevan and her parents make an arduous voyage from Kurdistan to Turkey to Azerbaijan to Russia, she feels increasingly small. The art's muted, earthy palette adeptly captures their alienation while also highlighting the nature (or lack thereof) in their surroundings. After two years in Russia, the family goes to the "green and bright" Netherlands, where a kind handyman named Egbert gives Mevan a bicycle. A wordless spread shows Mevan riding playfully around the neighborhood while her parents and Egbert look on--enjoying a carefree experience at last. Eventually the family finds a permanent home in another country, but they aren't able to say goodbye to Egbert. Mevan never forgets his kindness, but it's a bittersweet ending. Relegated to the backmatter is an astonishing revelation: a photo of Babakar and Egbert, along with an epilogue and author's note stating that they reunited years later. An important, stirring tale--just be sure to read the backmatter. (Picture-book memoir. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
