"When Mevan was a little girl she lived in a land where figs fell from the trees and the air smelled like honeysuckle."
Mevan lived in Kurdistan in the north of Iraq.
"But the ruler of Iraq had always made the people in Kurdistan feel like they didn't belong. ... Then he sent soldiers to force them out of their homes."
Mevan and her family have to leave. Mevan tries to stay small and invisible. After trying to find a home in many different countries and after two years of dangerous travel the family arrive in the Netherlands. Looking out of the window Mevan sees kids and grown-up riding their bikes with big smiles. What she doesn't know is that someone has been watching her. It is Egbert, the building maintenance man.
"He bought blankets to one family, a lamp to another, a coat to one family, a flowerpot to another."
Have you guessed his gift for Mevan? You will be in tears when you read the epilogue to this story. As an adult Mevan is able to go back to the Netherlands and through social media she finds Egbert.
The author asks you to think - "in a world where there are many people running from war, from hunger, from hatred ... what's one kind thing I can do?"
As an adult reader, when you pick up this book, do not skip past the author's note on the first page. Kirkus say this too: An important, stirring tale—just be sure to read the backmatter.
"Millions of children all over the world are refugees like I was. As I write, there are more than 43 million children who have had to leave their homes because it isn't safe for them to stay there. ... Our family went from Kurdistan to Türkiye, Azerbaijan to Russia, the Netherlands and finally the United Kingdom. Over the course of four years we travelled by car, by boat, by foot, by ferry, by plane and by train. In Russia we were robbed by people who pretended to help us and left us stranded, we told the police but instead of helping us, they ripped up our refugee papers. Being a refugee will always be a part of who I am ...But it's also taught me about the miraculous power of kindness." Mevan Babakar
Read more about this true story here. And the author talks to the UNHCR in the UK.
My friend alerted me to this book which she discovered because she keeps an eye on titles listed for the Read with Empathy Collection. If you work in a school or public library these lists contain a wealth of fantastic books. The other bonus is that exploring these lists you might discover publishers that produce other great books. The publisher of The Bicycle is Farshore (imprint of Harper Collins).
Welcome to Farshore! We are dedicated to our mission of making every child a proud reader, with books that will delight children of all ages – from early years to primary, secondary, and beyond. Whether they are a seasoned bookworm, reluctant reader, or somewhere in the middle, we’ve got titles that will inspire, challenge, and make them laugh out loud.
With our Australian children it would be good to pair this book with The Wobbly Bike - and then have a discussion with your older students about the different life experiences of the two children in these books - a refugee child and a child living in rural Australia.
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