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Salih
Age range 6+ Like a turtle, Salih carries his home on his back. He must cross a raging sea in search of a safe home. Salih paints his happiest memories and sends them as messages in bottles. Will someone find them and understand? Will Salih find a new home?
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2021
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 24, 2021
Such a heartbreaking and important story told through powerful illustrations. The story of Salih explores the harrowing lives of refugees who lose their homes in war torn countries and are forced to escape in search for a better life. Whilst Salih will make you cry, it is also a story of love and hope which raises awareness and sends a strong message. Highly recommended! *love - hearts*
July 22, 2022
This is an example of a picture book that should not be categorized as being only for children. The passages of short simple text and the expansive illustrations that pull the reader in, combine to set a powerfully moving tone that holds you in it's grips until the final page. The names and hijab clad women could make this book a refugee tale with #muslimsintheillustrations, but because the author is Muslim, and the book so beautiful, I wanted to do a full review. Some of the vocabulary is a bit advanced for younger children, so I think the best application of this book is not to hand it to a small child to read independently, but rather to read it to a child and let the words tickle their hearts while they immerse themselves in the pictures. I look forward to sharing this book at story time to kindergarten through third grade. I think the imagery, concepts, and emotion will resonate and open minds and hearts.
Salih is like a turtle, he carries his home on his back. He and others are heading to the sea. He tries to remember when things were better, and forget the bad times.
An old man shows him how to paint. Salih shares this creativity with others. Then he slips all the paintings into bottles and when he is on the rough sea, the bottles float away.
The storm rages, but then it calms, and land is seen, and hopes and dreams return.
We, collectively, have become numb, apathetic even, to the plight of refugees. I have been trying for a while to get this book from Australia, and even though I am over a year late since its publication, it is still timely. It will always be timely.
We cannot be so arrogant to dismiss the plights and challenges faced by those in our world. That is why I say, yes it is a children's book, but people of all ages, need to be reminded. It isn't the worst of the worst incidents that need to only be shared, or the over the top happy stories. We need to not let our hearts grow so hard. And this gentle book, with a sweet boy and turtle shell imagery has a lot of potential to remind us of the human element of global conflict.
Salih is like a turtle, he carries his home on his back. He and others are heading to the sea. He tries to remember when things were better, and forget the bad times.
An old man shows him how to paint. Salih shares this creativity with others. Then he slips all the paintings into bottles and when he is on the rough sea, the bottles float away.
The storm rages, but then it calms, and land is seen, and hopes and dreams return.
We, collectively, have become numb, apathetic even, to the plight of refugees. I have been trying for a while to get this book from Australia, and even though I am over a year late since its publication, it is still timely. It will always be timely.
We cannot be so arrogant to dismiss the plights and challenges faced by those in our world. That is why I say, yes it is a children's book, but people of all ages, need to be reminded. It isn't the worst of the worst incidents that need to only be shared, or the over the top happy stories. We need to not let our hearts grow so hard. And this gentle book, with a sweet boy and turtle shell imagery has a lot of potential to remind us of the human element of global conflict.
November 4, 2022
This story immediately tugs at our hearts. We feel Salih’s pain and his need, his hope upon hope that someone will understand and that he will find a new safe home.
When there are so many displaced people in our world, our communities and our classrooms, this book provides us all with an opportunity to feel with and for another, to feel compassion, empathy and understanding. It is sometimes too easy to view refugees as ‘other’. Salih ensures we identify what connects us when he shares his memories, so similar to ours, and wishes he could forget the bad times. He shows us the importance of the simple things that bring us all joy. This picture book empowers readers of all ages to understand life from another’s point of view.
Inda Ahmad Zahri’s beautiful and perfectly chosen words combine with Anne Ryan’s haunting illustrations to bring Salih to life for us and urge us to not abandon him but to wrap him with love and kindness. Every smallest detail, from Salih’s symbolic turtle backpack to heart-shaped waves and skies that brighten with hope, helps to create Salih’s changing world.
Salih is a picture book for every home and classroom. It is one whose story you will not easily forget.
When there are so many displaced people in our world, our communities and our classrooms, this book provides us all with an opportunity to feel with and for another, to feel compassion, empathy and understanding. It is sometimes too easy to view refugees as ‘other’. Salih ensures we identify what connects us when he shares his memories, so similar to ours, and wishes he could forget the bad times. He shows us the importance of the simple things that bring us all joy. This picture book empowers readers of all ages to understand life from another’s point of view.
Inda Ahmad Zahri’s beautiful and perfectly chosen words combine with Anne Ryan’s haunting illustrations to bring Salih to life for us and urge us to not abandon him but to wrap him with love and kindness. Every smallest detail, from Salih’s symbolic turtle backpack to heart-shaped waves and skies that brighten with hope, helps to create Salih’s changing world.
Salih is a picture book for every home and classroom. It is one whose story you will not easily forget.
September 22, 2023
This is such a wonderful book about refugees. It is perfectly pitched for a young audience, because they will relate to the story of the young boy Salih, who travels with a backpack on his back, like a tortoise carrying its home on its back. Within the backpack are all the boy's worldly possessions. Like all good children's books, this one ends on a note of hope.
It is also the beautiful pastel illustrations by Anne Ryan that elevate this book above other refugee books I have seen. The pinks and blues and greens are less bleak and more visually appealing for young children. I have heard people say we don't need anymore refugee books, but I strongly disagree. Until we live in a peaceful society where people are not driven out of their homelands to seek asylum from generous neighbours near and far, we need books for children that explore this issue.
It is also the beautiful pastel illustrations by Anne Ryan that elevate this book above other refugee books I have seen. The pinks and blues and greens are less bleak and more visually appealing for young children. I have heard people say we don't need anymore refugee books, but I strongly disagree. Until we live in a peaceful society where people are not driven out of their homelands to seek asylum from generous neighbours near and far, we need books for children that explore this issue.
April 23, 2021
'Salih' carries an important message about refugees and their journey, emotionally conveyed through lyrical words and beautiful illustrations. My favourite pages are the ones of the sea. Salih's story will generate much needed conversations with kids about refugees. This book needs to be in every school library.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews