Refugee Camp Experiences Brought to Life for Middle School/YA Readers

Even though I read Wild Poppies by Haya Saleh on Netgalley more than a month ago, I'm still thinking about it. It comes out this June, but in the meantime I can share ways to connect it to the larger story of refugees around the world.

One way to help young readers see experiences in a way that takes them beyond a single story (for example, believing that most refugee camps are the same) is to pair books. Sometimes, a trio of books is even better — in this case, the important middle-grade/YA novel Wild Poppies, powerful nonfiction selection The Waiting Place: When Home Is Lost and a New One Not Yet Found by Dina Nayeri, and memorable picture book From The Tops of Trees by Kao Kalia Yang.

The use of three exceptional books/stories allows readers greater opportunity to connect with characters and real children living in refugee camps. Bringing real-world, present-day refugee experiences to life through both fiction and nonfiction, and photographs and art, is a powerful way to build empathy and to bring more depth of understanding to the events that students see in the news.