Azzi In Between

Product Information

I love how Garland has structured this story, it is set out in a comic strip-like style and I think this makes it really attractive to children.

From the perspective of a little girl (age not determined but early primary school), it paints a picture of what it was like for one so innocent, just having fun as kids do but watching the soldiers and listening to helicopters and guns, then the escape. I thought the layout of the book in a 'comic book' manner was a unique element which really complimented the book. The tapestry of themes around inclusion, helping others, family love, starting anew in a foreign country are wonderfully depicted. Azzi In Between first came to my attention following it winning the inaugural Little Rebels Children’s Book Award . I picked this book up thinking it could be good to promote a multi-cultural classroom but it was so much more than that!Drawing on her own experience of working among refugee families, renowned author and illustrator Sarah Garland tells, with tenderness and humour, an exciting adventure story to be enjoyed by readers of all ages. The comic book style offers lots of pictures, allowing us to explore the details of this child’s experience. It would help other children to understand what refugees go through which links to citizenship and could help them to develop empathy. Told through comic strips, this is a really accessible story for children to dissect, and an important one at that. This is a fantastic picture book which is set out similarly to a comic strip which provides so much extra detail and tells the narrative in its own way.

With a kind helper at the school, Azzi begins to learn English and understand that she is not the only one who has had to flee her home.

I'd recommend this book to share with Y2 upwards, particularly in PHSE lessons, and it would be a good resource for Refugee Week. Azzi arrives in a new, unfamiliar country where she must learn a new language and live among strangers. The book is very emotive and even made me cry, therefore, I'm not sure it would be suitable for younger children. The story is a little more nuanced than some, with several moves, leaving a grandmother behind and then having her come join then. To leave your home, your grandma, your friends and everything you own without warning, what would that be like?

very touchy story and very expressive illustrations, a lot to tell and to explain to your kids behind its lines , about war, homeland meaning , the refugee's suffering, family and hope. But most of the story is focussing on her life in a new country, where everything is different but all she wants is for her family to be happy and together. Illustrated throughout, this heartfelt story contains so much: a family coping with bereavement, the alienation of moving somewhere new, and what it’s like when you can’t speak the language of the people around you. It also has strong themes of family which makes the book even more moving when Grandma is left behind before she comes to England. The warm, bright colors depict the destruction of war, as well as the warmth of welcome of a new country.A smashing, Amnesty-endorsed, story of a family's escape from war and their journey to a strange new country (probably the UK).