By Miriam Latimer (author) , Miriam Latimer (illustrator)
"A touching and powerful picture book that beautifully articulates kindness and empathy."
Paperback In Stock £7.99 £7.19
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November 2024 Debut of the Month
Narrated by a young girl in gently rhyming and thoughtful text, she tells us that a refugee girl is coming to her home and is told that ‘she won’t understand ‘ when they try to speak to her. But our narrator is undeterred, despite being puzzled by her visitor’s sadness and unresponsiveness.
She comes up with an inspired idea to help them communicate. She draws pictures of her life and friends and when her visitor, Ana, starts to draw her life, Olive understands just why she is so sad.
This is a powerful tool for explaining to young children just what it would be like to be driven from home by ‘soldiers and missiles and tanks in a line’. Using colour very skilfully we see the gradual transformation that small acts of kindness and empathy can bring. The girls become friends, learning words from each other’s home language and Olive organises a video chat with Ana’s family, so she starts to feel better and her colours are restored.
We see the power of paying forward kindness too, because Ana is the first to welcome and greet a new boy at school who arrives as grey and sad as she had been. ‘So she knows what to do, how to help him feel safe’ Another subtle and affecting touch is Olive’s realisation of what the experience of sharing her home with Ana has brought to her.
‘She was just a stranger, and now she’s a friend. I’m thankful she’s here, for the joy that she brings me’ An absolute must for any empathy collections.
Award-winning illustrator Miriam Latimer has written and illustrated her debut picture book as an author about the struggles of a refugee child settling into their new home, inspired by her experiences of supporting Syrian refugees and helping their transition into a new life.
Read the full description
This powerful, poetic story shows Ana and her family having left everything they know and love to escape the turmoil of war. Ana struggles to settle into her new home with Olive and her family, and Olive has some adjustment struggles of her own, but when the girls draw together, Olive realises what Ana has had to sacrifice for the simple right to be safe. Little by little, Olive’s kindness and love help bring colour back into Ana’s world.
Combining Miriam’s thought-provoking text with detailed and carefully planned illustrations which display visually how Ana adapts to her new life, Colours of Home is a perfect way to spark important conversations about migration, understanding and acceptance with even the youngest children.
Miriam Latimer is an award-winning illustrator, author and potter living on the North Devon coast with her husband and two sons. She studied Illustration at UWE in Bristol and has since illustrated over 25 books and worked with publishers including Hodder Children’s Books, Barefoot Books and Little Tiger Press. She has also worked with Bookstart, Devon Life and Saga Magazine, among others. Miriam creates bright, joyful, characterful, nature-inspired illustrations and previously won a Children’s Book Gold Award with the Association of Illustrators.
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Award-winning illustrator Miriam Latimer has written and illustrated her debut picture book as an author about the struggles of a refugee child settling into their new home, inspired by her experiences of supporting Syrian refugees and helping their transition into a new life. This powerful, poetic story shows Ana and her family having left everything they know and love to escape the turmoil of war.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Colours of Home and determined it is suitable for children aged 5-8 years old
Colours of Home features in the following genres: Featured Books for 5+ readers, Featured Books for 7+ readers, Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Stories about Family and Friends, School Stories, PSHE: Multiculturalism, Diversity and Inclusion, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Books to Motivate Reluctant Readers age 5+, Picture storybooks, Children’s / Teenage social topics: Migration / refugees, Children’s: picture books, activity books, early learning concepts, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s picture books, Children’s / Teenage: Social issues / topics
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
Colours of Home was written by Miriam Latimer and published by Graffeg Limited
Colours of Home has 36 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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