Refugee Novels & Graphic Novels

In the last blog post about refugee literature, I talked about two picture books that I have used to introduce refugees to my class. In this blog post, I will share a few of the novels/graphic novels my students have connected with or found powerful on the same topic. Some are older, but most were published in the last few years. There are so many amazing books on this topic and I encourage you to talk to your teacher librarian. I hope this helps as a starting place.

Refugee by Alan Gratz

This powerful novel weaves three different stories about being a refugee together in a unique way. It is hard. It is tragic. It is beautiful. Alan Gratz has written so many amazing books and this is no exception. This book was one of the Surrey School Book of the Year Nominees a few years ago. Refugee is long, so it might be tough to do a class read aloud, but you could read the first few chapters an an introduction to get the kids hooked. Sometimes I do this with several books, which then leads to lists on the board of who will get the book next! My grade five kids really liked it and grade five is probably the youngest I would recommend this book for just because of the content, but maybe a grade four in the second half of the year could read it as well.

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

This graphic novel tells the compelling true story of Omar Mohamed living in a refugee camp with his little brother. This book is a 2021-2022 Surrey School Book of the Year Nominee and I know it will be popular with my students. This story takes place over a long time period, which allows it to really show what it was like for Omar to grow up in a refugee camp. It could provide a powerful window into a very different experience for students of all ages.

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

This book was a Surrey School Book of the Year Nominee 2020-2021. It is the story of a refugee family from Syria living in the United States. This story is told in free verse poetry. My students deeply connected with this book and found it easy to read (even though the topic was challenging). I know two of the grade six teachers at my school used this as a read aloud book and it worked very well. The free verse poetry creates space on the page, which is great for students trying to transition into novels or who have been told they are ‘reluctant readers’*. Space on the page is actually great for ALL of us as it gives space to think and wonder.

*Don’t even get me started on kids being told this…NEVER say this EVER!

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

This story is told in free verse poetry. It is the story of a young girl and her family escaping Vietnam and living in the United States. This book chronicles her first year living in a new country. This book is popular in my classroom for the content and unique storytelling style.

The Breadwinner ‘Trilogy’

by Deborah Ellis

Funny story, this is actually a four book series now…and a graphic novel series. It is older, but the graphic novel version is fairly new. These books paint a very strong picture of life in Afghanistan. The author interviewed people in refugee camps the help tell this story.

These are just a few of the MANY powerful books about the refugee experience. Please talk to your librarian for more ideas.