Homes: A Refugee Story

Homes: A Refugee Story takes us into the experience of Abu Bakr al Rabeeah, a young man who had to flee Syria as violence became an everyday occurrence. Written with his English language arts teacher, Winnie Yeung, this book tells of Abu Bakr’s childhood streets becoming devastated by war and the challenging emotions that refugees can face. Abu Bakr explains the challenges of adjusting to a new language and culture, and overcoming the fear from his past. The narrative also tackles the difficult combination of gratitude and guilt that many refugees experience. Although the subject matter may be difficult for some readers, Abu Bakr provides unique and important insight into life as a refugee. This book could be used to discuss international conflicts, refugee experiences, or as an example of a powerful biographical narrative.

Awards:
Winner, 2019 OverDrive Big Library Read
Winner, 2019 Wilfred Eggleston Award for Non-Fiction, Alberta Literary Awards
Winner, Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year, 2019 Alberta Book Publishing Awards
Finalist, 2019 CBC Canada Reads
Finalist, 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction
Finalist, 2018 Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing, Writers’ Trust of Canada

Supplementary Resources:
Teacher’s guide
Guided study and discussion questions for junior high book clubs
Unit outline
Lesson presentation in PowerPoint and PDF format