The Journey

Cybils nominee for Best Fiction Picture Book 2o16. More later.

I've actually read a few books by this author/illustrator and have liked them...but this is my favorite.

The subject is heavy and dark, but taken with such seriousness and charm that it is perfect for really any age. This story is about a journey across to a safer home. It shows a happy family and when war arrives in their homeland it brings darkness into their lives. They must pack and find a new place, little by little they lose their things and they lose their father. Mostly everything is gone from them and the children continue their journey with their mom.

This has some darker themes but is capture by what the child understands in a complex situation adds an element of unknown and fantasy. The war is darkness or when they arrive at a border it is seen as a giant looking down on them from over the wall. It does a lot of show, no tell, so it really counts on your perception of emotions to tell the situations.

There is a scene when the children fall asleep with the mom. When they are awake the mom is strong for them, but when they sleep they don't see their mother cry. This was the most heartbreaking portion of the book for me because it reminds me a lot of my own mom.

This book especially hits hard now because of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan and I thought about those people, women, and children while I read this story.