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To celebrate Book Week in Australia, I am sharing a week’s worth of posts about #OwnVoices books, which is a concept coined in 2015 by Corrine Duyvis “to recommend kidlit about diverse characters written by authors from that same diverse group.”
Other posts in this series:
Anh Do is an Australian national treasure. Do not try to convince me otherwise. His autobiography, The Happiest Refugee, is one of the most memorable stories I have ever read, a testament to the power of the human spirit. And, in my opinion, also a testament to what refugees can contribute to this country.
When I learned that there is a picture book based on The Happiest Refugee, I knew it was one I wanted for our library. Aside from it being a wonderful story, my Miss 7 also knows of Anh Do from reading several of his book series (best-selling children’s author of multiple beloved series being just one of his many career paths!), so I knew she’d connect even more closely with his story.
The Little Refugee, written by Anh and Suzanne Do, and illustrated by Bruce Whatley, tells the story of Do’s childhood. He was born in Vietnam, and had a happy early childhood until his family began losing loved ones to the Vietnam War. His family and members of their community bought an old fishing boat, in an attempt to sail to safety.
The journey was fraught, including a run-in with pirates (nearly fatal to his baby brother), which left the refugees with almost nothing. Eventually, they were rescued by a German cargo ship and brought to Australia, where they were welcomed (there is a very funny bit about them being given girl’s clothes by a charity).
“What a great country!” his parents said. It was this attitude that propelled them forward, making a meager living sewing clothes, despite setbacks. Do didn’t have the right school uniform or the same food as other kids, but he was able to make friends, learn English, and eventually become a school captain. One of the nicest anecdotes is about him making friends with a new boy who was very lonely. “I remembered how lonely I used to be, so I went over and asked him if he wanted to play handball.” I love that he used the small bit of confidence and status that he had achieved to lift up someone else – a wonderful example for kids to see.
Beyond his early primary days he, of course, goes on to many more interesting and inspiring adventures in his late childhood and adult life, but The Little Refugee is speaking to children, and concludes with the school captain accomplishment. He says,
In spite of all the dangers and hardships they faced, Mum and Dad always told me to have hope, and to believe that everything would turn out OK in the end. And they were right. It did.
The Little Refugee hits just the right note for children, showing one example of a reason that someone might need to leave their home and how difficult that choice is. For children, like mine, who have been fortunate enough in their circumstances to never have to contemplate such a thing, this story is an excellent conversation starter about refugees, Australia’s refugee policy, and gratitude for what we have.
100% of Anh and Suzanne Do’s profits from the sale of The Little Refugee go to the Loreto Vietnam Australia Program, which “looks after extremely poor and disabled children in Vietnam.”
The Little Refugee is published by Allen & Unwin.
This review is self-funded.