Agum Maluach is a storyteller. She met with the young people and their parents who are the creators of this book. They wanted to share their views about ‘home’. This they did in online workshops with their older siblings during the COVID-19 lockdown. Agum interviewed the children together with their parents which enabled these stories to include how the parents used to play and what home meant to them.
Each of the eight double page spreads showcases several different interpretations of the topic. For example, ‘Here is my home’ for one child: ‘I like my home because we have law that protects us all. I feel safe’. On each double page, Agum includes her brief text contrasting her home in Sudan. The young writers used coloured pens and papers, scissors, glue sticks and other arts and crafts to create their different aspects of home, such as, ‘Home is my backyard, where I play games’. There are scenes of families together and comments such as ‘home makes me feel alive and almost at peace.’ There is a savoury page too. ‘In the evening, we eat Mum’s great dishes’, illustrates favourite foods with mouth-watering descriptions. Home is also where the children use laptops, watch Netflix and play computer games. On the final page are their future wishes, where children reveal what they want to be when they grow up plus wishes for their family and home. Photographs of the 11 children who participated in the creation of this book are included at the back of the book. This book’s special strength is the insights in others’ lives and their hopes and dreams for the future.
NCACL Cultural Diversity Database
