Status
Coming Soon
Call number
Collection
Genres
Publication
Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2018.
Description
A powerful and necessary picture book - the journey of a child forced to become a refugee when war destroys everything she has ever known. Imagine if, on an ordinary day, war came. Imagine it turned your town to rubble. Imagine going on a long and difficult journey - all alone. Imagine finding no welcome at the end of it. Then imagine a child who gives you something small but very, very precious ... When the government refused to allow 3000 child refugees to enter this country in 2016, Nicola Davies was so angry she wrote a poem. It started a campaign for which artists contributed drawings of chairs, symbolising a seat in a classroom, education, kindness, the hope of a future. The poem has become this book, movingly illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, which should prove a powerful aid for explaining the ongoing refugee crisis to younger readers.… (more)
Media reviews
An absolutely beautiful story that penetrates the heart and seeds hope when there is little of it.
User reviews
LibraryThing member seidchen
We don't have any other picture books quite like this. The plight of children orphaned by war and being turned away as refugees is difficult stuff to tackle with young readers/pre-readers. This book is very helpful to parents trying to address the inequities of life soberly and empathetically with
Show More
their kids. The illustrations are childlike, and follow the protagonist, a young girl, from the sunny, smiling world of her unbroken home and her school routine that will be familiar to children in the U.S., before veering suddenly into the darkness and chaos of war. My five-year-old was quite concerned and stopped to ask questions to make sure she was understanding what was happening. The straightforward narrative serves the story well. What I find most impressive is that it is other children who show compassion and generosity when the adults around them won't — it's an easy transition to a conversation about how sometimes offering something small can make a big difference to someone else. Show Less
LibraryThing member jwyss
I received a free copy of The Day War Came by Nicola Davies in exchange for an honest review.
Beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a great resource for any teacher. And, I hope secondary teachers will use it too. The story starts off for a little girl like most little girls around the
This is a must have book for any school library to introduce students into the refugee issue.
War is a huge subject that teachers tackle and delve into each November, this book helps adults explain to children how devasting it is not just for the soldiers who try to end brutality but also the families who are impacted by the war.
Beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a great resource for any teacher. And, I hope secondary teachers will use it too. The story starts off for a little girl like most little girls around the
Show More
world, she has breakfast with her family then off to school. But, war comes and her life as daughter and student is over. She is now a refugee. The book is simply written but each word and picture is powerful - wrought with emotions of being devasted, lost, anxious, and excluded. There are also strong emotions of gaining some empathy and to having some hope. This is a must have book for any school library to introduce students into the refugee issue.
War is a huge subject that teachers tackle and delve into each November, this book helps adults explain to children how devasting it is not just for the soldiers who try to end brutality but also the families who are impacted by the war.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ztbesnah
The Day War Came by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb is published in association with Help Refugees. Nicola Davies is an award winning author based in Wales, UK. Help Refugees is an organization that aides refugees with funding food, shelter, and fills the gaps left by the governments.
This lyrical, emotional book is written from the perspective of a child refugee. It follows her from her daily life of school, and learning about volcanoes and tadpoles, “Then, just after lunch, war came”. The smoke, fire, and noise like thunder illustrated with her sitting at her school desk with her head down, hands over her eyes, chairs in the air and drawings she did blowing in the wind. “War took everything. War took everyone.”
The book follows the character’s journey alone walking, then riding on the back of trucks, to being on a boat that almost sank, to the new country she goes to for sanctuary. As I read, I wanted to scoop her up and hug her. She was alone, dirty, and walking through a town that didn’t want her. I was drawn in to her feelings of being out of place, looked upon unfavorably because she didn’t fit in where she was. She finds a school classroom, peeking through the window, she realizes they are learning the same things she did when war came. She opens the door but the teacher says there is no room, doesn’t have enough chairs for her, and sends her away. Heartbreakingly, she returns to her hut, alone, and climbs under a blanket. Suddenly, there is a knock and it’s a student from the school that gives her his chair so she can come to school.
This is a heartwarming book that tells the story of a plight that not many know the details of, from a child’s point of view. This is a book to inspire action to help the refugees fleeing war and persecution.
Show More
This lyrical, emotional book is written from the perspective of a child refugee. It follows her from her daily life of school, and learning about volcanoes and tadpoles, “Then, just after lunch, war came”. The smoke, fire, and noise like thunder illustrated with her sitting at her school desk with her head down, hands over her eyes, chairs in the air and drawings she did blowing in the wind. “War took everything. War took everyone.”
The book follows the character’s journey alone walking, then riding on the back of trucks, to being on a boat that almost sank, to the new country she goes to for sanctuary. As I read, I wanted to scoop her up and hug her. She was alone, dirty, and walking through a town that didn’t want her. I was drawn in to her feelings of being out of place, looked upon unfavorably because she didn’t fit in where she was. She finds a school classroom, peeking through the window, she realizes they are learning the same things she did when war came. She opens the door but the teacher says there is no room, doesn’t have enough chairs for her, and sends her away. Heartbreakingly, she returns to her hut, alone, and climbs under a blanket. Suddenly, there is a knock and it’s a student from the school that gives her his chair so she can come to school.
This is a heartwarming book that tells the story of a plight that not many know the details of, from a child’s point of view. This is a book to inspire action to help the refugees fleeing war and persecution.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sriq
I won this from the LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer giveaway.
This is a hard book to review. For an adult it easily induced grief and was appropriately distressing for the topic it's covering--displacement of children during times of war, the difficulties of finding acceptance as a refugee child.
I
Overall, I find the book successful, and it would be an excellent one to spark a conversation with children on acceptance and empathy.
This is a hard book to review. For an adult it easily induced grief and was appropriately distressing for the topic it's covering--displacement of children during times of war, the difficulties of finding acceptance as a refugee child.
I
Show More
can't be sure how it would hold up to a child, though--the loss of the family seemed to be an important point to me. But for the child-narrator of the story, she couldn't even give words to the feelings. The story moves quickly--there is no stop for mourning. It's a stark account--the illustrations show smoke-filled settings and blockish but emotive human figures.Overall, I find the book successful, and it would be an excellent one to spark a conversation with children on acceptance and empathy.
Show Less
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
British children's author and poet Nicola Davies turns to the difficult subjects of war and refugees in this powerful picture-book, which takes as its text the poem on the subject that Davies first published in The Guardian. Describing the life of a young girl, and how it is interrupted by war, the
Davies is a poet indeed, and having greatly enjoyed her recent (at least, recently published here in the states) King of the Sky, I went into The Day the War Came with high expectations. I was not disappointed, as the narrative here is intensely moving, and thought-provoking as well. Davies has the occasional turn of phrase - "I can't say the words that tell you / about the blackened hole / that had been my home" or "But war had followed me. / It was underneath my skin, / behind my eyes, / and in my dreams" - that pierces the heart. The accompanying artwork by illustrator Rebecca Cobb, done in pencil, colored pencil and watercolor, is powerful as well, capturing the peaceful calm of the girl's life, and then the utter destruction and desolation that war and flight brought to her.
This is a moving book, and I think that for children who might have questions about some of the news they may have seen on television, or heard discussed, it might make a good title to launch discussions about war and refugees. I am mindful that it might not be developmentally appropriate for very young children, a concern raised in my friend Hilary's excellent review, but for those already aware of these issues, and seeking answers, this might be a useful story. Paired with the aforementioned King of the Sky, which is about an immigrant, rather than a refugee, it might make a good starting place for a discussion of the complexities (and yes, despite the simplicity of this moving story, it is a complex issue) of human migration issues. A paragraph on the rear dust-jacket, as well as the author's brief afterword, alerts us to the fact that this poem was written in response to the refugee issue in Europe, that in fact, the author and her friends have established an organization, Help Refugees, to aid people fleeing war. This book, the front cover informs us, was published in association with Help Refugees.
Recommended to those looking to discuss the issues of war and refugees with children, with the proviso that adults should read the book first, and consider its fitness for their specific child reader/listener.
Show More
narrative follows its subject as she flees across land and sea, eventually coming to an unwelcoming place. Will she ever find a home again - will she ever live somewhere that war doesn't permeate life itself...?Davies is a poet indeed, and having greatly enjoyed her recent (at least, recently published here in the states) King of the Sky, I went into The Day the War Came with high expectations. I was not disappointed, as the narrative here is intensely moving, and thought-provoking as well. Davies has the occasional turn of phrase - "I can't say the words that tell you / about the blackened hole / that had been my home" or "But war had followed me. / It was underneath my skin, / behind my eyes, / and in my dreams" - that pierces the heart. The accompanying artwork by illustrator Rebecca Cobb, done in pencil, colored pencil and watercolor, is powerful as well, capturing the peaceful calm of the girl's life, and then the utter destruction and desolation that war and flight brought to her.
This is a moving book, and I think that for children who might have questions about some of the news they may have seen on television, or heard discussed, it might make a good title to launch discussions about war and refugees. I am mindful that it might not be developmentally appropriate for very young children, a concern raised in my friend Hilary's excellent review, but for those already aware of these issues, and seeking answers, this might be a useful story. Paired with the aforementioned King of the Sky, which is about an immigrant, rather than a refugee, it might make a good starting place for a discussion of the complexities (and yes, despite the simplicity of this moving story, it is a complex issue) of human migration issues. A paragraph on the rear dust-jacket, as well as the author's brief afterword, alerts us to the fact that this poem was written in response to the refugee issue in Europe, that in fact, the author and her friends have established an organization, Help Refugees, to aid people fleeing war. This book, the front cover informs us, was published in association with Help Refugees.
Recommended to those looking to discuss the issues of war and refugees with children, with the proviso that adults should read the book first, and consider its fitness for their specific child reader/listener.
Show Less
LibraryThing member debnance
Bravo, Nicola Davies, for taking on a difficult subject and making it accessible to children. Here in America we are far from war, but it is not so in many places in other parts of the world. What must it be like to go to school, studying tadpoles and drawing birds, and suddenly find yourself alone
Show More
amid the rubble that was once your home? That's the story Davies shares, and it's a worthy story, gently told despite its horrifying subject matter, a story that needs to be shared with our insulated children. Show Less
LibraryThing member acrowder
A powerful book that takes a difficult subject and brings it to the children’s level. Nicola Davies’ message of the plight of refugees and the potential of kindness and hope is one that should be shared with every child.
LibraryThing member lindamamak
Picture Book about displaced children who have lost their homes duing war, and how we can help
LibraryThing member CTW
This is a beautiful book that packs a powerful punch. I'm not quite sure what age group I'd feel comfortable sharing it with - it's a pretty heavy message, but not overly graphic (no blood and gore, just lots of smoke and flames). There is implied death of the child's parents and baby brother;
Show More
although it's not explicitly stated, the child's aloneness in the world after the attack is made apparent. However, the book ends on a hopeful note and shows the power that we all have to share welcome and kindness. Definitely a book that will open children's eyes to the realities lived by kids in other parts of the world. Show Less
LibraryThing member Asbjorn.Academy
This is well written with beautiful illustrations. Though it covers such a serious subject, it ends in a way that helps resolve things a little and foster a conversation with children about war, refugees and how to treat refugees and help anyone in such a difficult situation. I'm glad to have it in
Show More
my library to share with my children and help them become compassionate adults. Show Less
LibraryThing member Galiana.Carranza
This book is sensitive book. I think this book should be read to older grades. Children younger than 6 will not comprehend the true meaning of this story. Yet if read to children younger than 6 I think the lesson should be acceptance. No matter where they come from and who they are they should be
Show More
accepted Show Less
LibraryThing member lflareads
The Day War Came is an excellent book to discuss so many different areas. My class and I explored the sensory details and poetic style. Empathy and understanding for those displaced by war and finding those with a kind heart who celebrate our differences.
LibraryThing member Chris177
A sad book written to help children understand war and being a war refugee. The art goes well with the story, painting an image of the horror and sorrow of war, without being too frightening or gory.
Subjects
Awards
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration (Nominee — 2019)
Comstock Read Aloud Book Award (Honor — 2019)
Jane Addams Children's Book Award (Honor Book — 2019)
Hampshire Book Awards (Shortlist — 2020)
Social Justice Literature Award (Winner — 2019)
Charlotte Huck Award (Honor — 2019)
Picture This Recommendation List (Fiction — 2019)
Read for Empathy Collections (2019)
Language
Original publication date
2018
Physical description
29 cm
ISBN
9781536201734