Publishers Weekly
03/02/2020
Debut author Copp, who has worked in refugee resettlement, creates a hero whose life in an Ethiopian refugee camp is the only one she’s ever known. “I am Queen Abia of the Shimelba Camp,” she announces. Artist Mohammed, making his picture book debut, paints the brown-skinned girl in a vibrant blue dress that stands out against the camp’s dry red dust. She contributes to daily life with panache: “Even though I’m a queen, I still have to pump water. I just sing louder than everyone else.” Mohammed’s documentary-style paintings sweep across the landscape and close in on interior scenes with equal care. His portraits of Abia and her family have classic, sculptural dimensions. At the time of the full moon, Mama retells the story of their escape: “Mama says gunfire crackled all night, but I just cooed at the moon.” Papa looks to the future, saying that they’ll find a new home, a forever home. Queen Abia is wary; in the end, though, Mohammed shows her sitting in an airplane, flying away from the rows of tents with a story of her own to tell—a story of resilience and strength. Ages 6–9. Author’s agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Lara Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary. (Apr.)
Booklist
This story captures the unequivocal joy of childhood even in the midst of refugee status and resettlement. Acrylic paint illustrations eloquently capture the warm earth tones of East Africa with great attention paid to defining features of the people.
Booklist
This story captures the unequivocal joy of childhood even in the midst of refugee status and resettlement. Acrylic paint illustrations eloquently capture the warm earth tones of East Africa with great attention paid to defining features of the people.
Kirkus Reviews
2019-12-18
A child describes her life in an Ethiopian refugee camp.
As Abia moves through Shimelba Camp, she is full of pride and hides neither her skills nor her vibrant imagination. She plays pretend with her friends on the fields, sings while pumping water from the well, and soothes her baby cousin to sleep. Abia shares her story as a self-described queen in the camp, bearing a crown fashioned from acacia twigs by her father. Beautiful, realistic paintings portray the challenging everyday lives of refugees in the northern Ethiopian camp and, notably, show refugee children and adults working, playing, sharing, and making the best out of what they have. Their life is difficult but not pitiable, and although Abia's father longs to move on, Abia is dubious about leaving the only life she's known. Queen Abia listens to her mother narrating how they ran away from their village when she was a baby, escaping fighters and then lions and hyenas. She is proud of her story and takes it with her as her family gets resettled in a developed country and adjusts to life there after over seven years of living as a refugee. She is Queen Abia wherever she goes. The book is enriched with an informative note by the author about refugees and lists of additional children's books about the topic.
A fine addition to children's literature about refugees, resettlement, and resilience. (Picture book. 6-9)
