The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi

This is the third time in a week I’m hearing about this thing called Partition. Torture. Massacre. Forced to move. Friends versus enemies. What on earth was this event and how come I’ve never heard of it before? We learn about the Holocaust in school, but not this. Never this. Now, suddenly, Partition seems to be the only thing everyone is talking about.

This is one of those stories where you do need to be very patient with the main character. I rightly predicted early on in the story that something dreadful had happened Dadi back when her family were forced to leave their home in India in 1947 but Maha just doesn't seem to ask the 'right' questions. This is also a very long book with over 410 pages. 

Here are some text quotes to give you the flavour of this book:

She’s way older than any grandmother I know, but that’s because she adopted Abba in her forties, and then Ammi and Abba waited a while to have kids after they got married. But I don’t think she wants to discuss her age. “You speak English,” I say as we enter the house through the mudroom. “I thought you—” She turns to look straight at me. “What? That I’m uneducated just because I’m from Pakistan?”

I perk up, because in the dumpster fire of my life, this year’s electives are a cool bucket of water. Bethune Middle offers changing electives every semester in seventh grade, and I’ve signed up for media studies this semester.

“You were forced out of your home? Why would anyone do that?” The story she’d told me just a couple of hours ago about her childhood in Ludhiana was so ...  Lovely, even. Her friends Rasheeda and Prisha. Her abba and ammi. Her school where they wrote on slates with chalk. It sounded like the best kind of dream. How could anything bad have happened there?

Millions of Muslims fled to Pakistan on foot and via trains, while a similar number of Hindus and Sikhs traveled to India in the same manner. Along the way, they faced bloodthirsty mobs, hunger, and disease. Historians estimate that more than 15 million people were displaced during the period of the Partition, and almost 2 million

We packed a few clothes, but that was it. Hakam and Jamal wanted to take all their toys, but Ammi didn’t let them. I wanted to take the journal that Abba had given me, but there was no room. It didn’t really matter at that point. Everything was so tense, I had a constant stomachache from all the fear of what was going to happen. 

What just happened? Did I lose my best friend, as well as my new friend? Did I just forget every rule about not losing my temper or saying mean things while fasting? I want to ditch school and go home, crawl under the covers and cry my heart

I haven't given this book any stars mainly because the 'voice' of Maha somewhat annoyed me especially the way she was so uncaring towards her best friend however Kirkus loved this book:

Powerful and timely. Kirkus Star review

Awards:

• South Asia Book Award 2025
• Kirkus Best Books of 2024
• Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2024
• Texas Lone Star Reading List 2024

Blurb from author webpage: When her grandmother comes off the airplane in Houston from Pakistan, Mahnoor knows that having Dadi move in is going to disrupt everything about her life. She doesn’t have time to be Dadi’s unofficial babysitter—her journalism teacher has announced that their big assignment will be to film a documentary, which feels more like storytelling than what Maha would call “journalism”. As Dadi starts to settle into life in Houston and Maha scrambles for a subject for her documentary, the two of them start talking. About Dadi’s childhood in northern India—and about the Partition that forced her to leave her home and relocate to the newly created Pakistan. As details of Dadi’s life are revealed, Dadi’s personal story feels a lot more like the breaking news that Maha loves so much. And before she knows it, she has the subject of her documentary.

Last year I visited Gleebooks at Dulwich Hill and I spied a middle grade novel about partition BUT I did not write down the title or take a photo so ever since I have been searching for it. This is not that book and so my search continues. (All I can remember is that there were a group of kids on the cover). 

The 1947 Partition of India led to one of the largest migrations in human history, radically changing Southeast Asia’s landscape. The area that was India under nearly 90 years of British rule was divided into two. The division that came with independence from Britain created a new Muslim-majority state of Pakistan and a Hindu-majority state in India. Muslims in India were forced to leave their homes for Pakistan (which was later divided into Pakistan and Bangladesh), while Hindus in Pakistan had to leave their homes for India. Approximately 15 million people were displaced, and an estimated one million died from violence or disease. School Library Journal

Companion books that explore partition:

Lion of the Sky

The Night Diary

And these are some recommended by Ms Yingling (and others)

Here is the book that Maha does not read that she was supposed to study with her friend for their English project and the one she does (yay for the Teacher-Librarian who recommended it):

Inside out and back again

I want to feel closer to Kim, and this book is the best thing I’ve got. I also want her to stop thinking that I’m obsessed with the Partition specifically, because other historical events are also 

suddenly making me sit up and take notice. ... “I chose this book for two reasons. First, the story was similar to what my grandmother experienced in Pakistan as a kid. Being a refugee. Being alone in a new country. Worrying about war and death and all sorts of things."  ...” The second reason is my best friend, Kim.” I look straight at her. She’s staring at me with a blank face. No smile, but no anger either. 

I’ll take it. “Her family is from Vietnam, and I wanted to learn more about their

Here are some other books by Saadia Faruqi:

Author note: I hope after reading Maha’s dadi’s story you will think deeply about how history affects the present and even the future. And then, I hope you talk to your elders and ask them to tell their stories to you, so you can learn about your own heritage and what your place is in family’s history. 

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

The night Ganwar lost his hand was the night I lost my father and brother, the night of men in the sky with guns, the night the earth opened up like a black pit and swallowed my old life whole.

Why am I here, when so many others are not? Why should I have a desk and a pair of fine jeans and a soft place for my head to rest? Why should I have the freedom to hope while my brother and father sleep in bloodied earth?

Kek arrives in America on a freezing cold winters day. He has come by airplane from Sudan. He has watched as his father and brother have been killed and he has had to leave his mother behind after their refugee camp was attacked. Kek is picked up by a social worker named Dave. Kek does have an aunt and cousin in America so he will be able to live with people from his family. On the way to their apartment Kek sees a lonely cow standing in the snow. He has asked Dave to stop the car so he can get close - Kek cared for his father's cattle back in Sudan. And so this story begins ...

You can have your dogs and cats, your gerbils and hamsters and sleek sparkling fish. But you will have lived just half a life if you never love a cow.

This is an early verse novel from Katherine Applegate - here are some text quotes that really show her skill with this form and her brilliant word choices and placement:

I am a tall boy, like all my people. My arms stick out of the coat like lonely trees.

I try some English, but my mouth just wants to chew the words and spit them on the ground.

Six long scars line his forehead, the marks of manhood I watched Ganwar and my brother receive in our village ceremony. How jealous I had been that day, too young for such an honor.

He had many cattle, my father, and the respect of our village, but it was his voice that made him a rich man among men. His voice was deep, like a storm coming, but gentle, like the rain ending.

It’s a strange pain to be with those you belong to and feel you don’t belong.

I have my father’s will, my brother’s eyes, and my mother’s light. She is like newborn sun, fresh with promise, the just-beginning moments before the day fills like a bucket with good and bad, sweat and longing. Even her laughter has sun in it. Always when I think of her I see a cloudless day blooming full, I feel warmth on my shoulders, I know hope’s embrace.

I don’t have the cattle for such a fine desk as this. Oh, she says, you don’t have to pay for this desk, Kek. School’s free here. You just bring your mind and your smile every day, OK?

Bookseller blurb: Kek comes from Africa. In America, he sees snow for the first time and feels its sting. He's never walked on ice, and he falls. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter--cold and unkind. In Africa, Kek lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived, and now she's missing. Kek is on his own. Slowly, he makes friends: a girl who is in foster care, an old woman who owns a rundown farm, and a cow whose name means "family" in his native language. As Kek awaits word of his mother's fate, he weathers the tough Minnesota winter by finding warmth in his new friendships, strength in his memories, and belief in his new country.

Home of the Brave was published in 2008. I read an ebook version as, I expected this book would now be out of print, - but luckily it is not so can I suggest you add this book to your library shopping list or make a request to your local public library to add this book to their shelves. 

If you are book talking Home of the Brave I would use the 'chapter' entitled "How not to wash dishes". I was reading this part, and I just had to stop because I knew a huge disaster was coming. 

The free verse writing makes it a quick read, although I found myself pausing to reflect on the story or just admire Applegate's word choice. YA Books Central

Each week I travel on a bus and train to volunteer in a hospital library. This gives me plenty of time for reading. Today I started and completed Home of the Brave. As I stepped off the bus the lady sitting beside me commented on the form of this book. She had never seen a verse novel before. I was so happy to talk about this format and how books told as verse novels usually contain very emotional stories and that this book - Home of the Brave was no exception. 

I only have one tiny quibble which is why I gave Home of the Brave (perfect for readers aged 10+) four and not five stars. When Kek meets the owner of the cow Lou, he tells her he comes from Africa - but Africa is not a country. I hoped he would say the name of his country - Sudan. 

There are four parts in this book and each begins with an African proverb:

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.

You only make a bridge where there is a river.

One doesn’t forego sleeping because of the possibility of nightmares.

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.

Companion books:

Moo

The Colour of Home 

(This is a picture book which I often share with Grade 6 students)

Taking Flight by Kashmira Sheth illustrated by Nicolo Carozzi

Opening sentence: "You might have come from a highland home, where clouds dance with snowy peaks, and shed tears as you hugged your grandmother, gathering her warmth in your fists."

This is the child with the red scarf on the book cover. 

We follow three difference families - from Tibet, Syria and Ukraine - as they pack their bags and leave behind all that they have known in search of safety and a place to call home. 

"Maybe you left your beloved city with sparkling, domed-roof churches. And when you grabbed your doll and fled, it was to the loud BOOMs of war, and a flock of pigeons taking flight."

The three children don't immediately reach their new home. The arrive hungry, exhausted and worn-out and even though they are safe a tent in a Refugee Camp is not a home. But what of the new land? It is so hard there too. The language is strange, and the sights and sounds and smells are all so strange. And then the three kids head to their first day at a new school?

I would use the illustration on the final page of worn-out shoes as a to introduce this book to your group of library students in grades 4 to 6. I have a Pinterest collection entitled The Refugee Experience through Picture Books.

Thinking about shoes - try to find this book:

Grandma's Treasured Shoes

Here was my dilemma - in Canada we visited several fabulous book shops (there's list in this previous blog post) but I cannot carry a heavy bag so I could only buy one or two picture books and one or two novels.

I wanted to find fairly new book, perhaps by a Canadian author or illustrator, with (in the case of a picture book) fabulous illustrations and also a book that I couldn't very easily find in Australia.  My friend and I had around ten titles on our wish list but then I spied Taking Fight. It is not by a Canadian author or illustrator but it covers an important topic in a gentle and heartfelt way with especially beautiful illustrations. I didn't hesitate to buy this book.

Writing in second person, directly addressing the displaced children, Sheth compassionately acknowledges the heartbreak they’ve endured and underscores their resilience. Carozzi’s soft and detailed digitally enhanced graphite illustrations evoke the tenderness of Sheth’s text. Shifting perspectives through wide shots and close-ups reinforce an idea of shared and personal experiences. The final spread of a child swinging against a blue sky (with the help of another, as shown on the previous page) emphasizes the hope and community support that are so crucial as young refugees build new lives. Kirkus

As a story standing on its own, this is powerful and engaging, deeply moving and hopeful. As an example of universal experiences and needs, it is priceless.  Unpacking the Power of Picture Books

This book is written, as I said, in prose, but the precision of the emotion and pace makes it feel like a poem. This is the human side of the refugee experience. It aches and evokes. It's a Picture Book World

Here in Australia this book costs around AUS$45. My copy was CAN$25. Kashmira Sheth was born in India and came to the US when she was seventeen to attend Iowa State University, where she received a BS in microbiology. She is the author of several award-winning picture books, middle grade, and young adult novels.  Here are some other books by Kashmira Sheth:

You can see more art by Nicolo Carozzi here.

Welcome: a book about friendship by Alison Green illustrated by Axel Scheffler

I know it is the end of the school year in many parts of the world and here in Australia it is Winter and we are about halfway through our school year but I'd like to suggest you pop the title or cover of this book onto your list as a perfect one to read at the start of the school year.

I worked in many different schools but one thing I really loved to see or meet in my library were class groups where it was so obvious the teacher took time to create a community with her group - kids who listened to one another, kids who were kind and respectful of each other, classes where every kid felt equally important - no social isolates or queen bees. 

The words say inside this book but really it could say inside this classroom or even better, albeit an ambitious idea, inside this school:

"Inside this book we make everyone welcome. Whether you're big or small, jumpy or flappy, stompy and noisy, or a little big shy and quiet, all are welcome."

And I love the conversations you could have around this line:

"Our best friend might turn out to be someone who's very different from us."

But this book is also not saccharine. There might be times when someone does not want to share or when someone is cross or upset or gets into an argument. Of course there are ways to resolve this. 

Then "we cheer everyone on and congratulate everyone when they've tried really hard. If things haven't gone so well, we're always there with a hug or a kind word."

This book comes from Three Peas - they are a charity with gives practical help to people who had to flee their homes - refugees. We have a politician here in Australia at the moment who has no idea about the concept of welcome. I would love to gift her this book even though sadly she probably lacks the intelligence to understand the importance of the ideas in this special book. I guess this book would be way too obscure for her.

‘Now, imagine if the whole world was like this book – if everyone was kind and helpful and welcomed everyone else. Doesn’t that sound good?' Read reading hub

This book follows on from Kind:

Kind

This is the third book - it is a board book for very young children:

World Refugee Day

What is a Refugee?
A person forced to flee their country because of 
violence or persecution

World Refugee Day is an international observance established by the United Nations in December 2000, evolving from Africa Refugee Day, and first celebrated globally in 2001 to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. In 2026, the theme is “Solidarity with Refugees” emphasizing meaningful action to support refugees beyond awareness, ensuring they have dignity and opportunities to rebuild their lives. Read more about Refugee Week in Australia.

You might like to begin with this twenty-minute video made for IBBY Australia - The Refugee Experience Through Picture Books.

Now take a look at this post from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. Her post has links to two Pinterest collections (here is the other one for younger children) and several posts from previous years. You are sure to find lots of wonderful books to add to your school library or to hunt out in your local public library and share in your family.

Our National Centre for Australian Children's Literature is where you can find a wealth of fantastic materials: Refugee Week 2025; Refugees a select bibliography 2024 and their Cultural diversity Database.

First off, I do need to share this book which is our IBBY Australia 2026 Notable title. There will be a display of all the IBBY Notables at the International IBBY Congress in Ottawa in August this year. 

IBBY Honour Book 2026 - Then and Now

Here are some of the books from the video:

Welcome

Grandma's Treasured Shoes

Lubna and Pebble

Mustafa

The Colour of Home

My name is not refugee

Shelter

The Suitcase

Click the label on this post to find more books including Middle Grade Novels about the refugee experience. And here are a couple of newer books that were not included in the video:

Watercress

The Bicycle

A Map for Falasteen

Why not link the Soccer/Football world cup with this topic:

Meet the Canadian illustrator Thao Lam

Image source: House of Anansi 

About Thao Lam: Thao Lam fled from Vietnam to Canada with her family as a child. Learning English was difficult, and it was picture books that helped her understand this new world and ignited her passion for visual storytelling. She has an insatiable love for colored and textured papers, which she uses to create her exuberant collages. Source

Take a look here to read more about many of these titles.

The Paper Boat is part of the IBBY Silent Book collection and Everybelly was selected as a title for the 2026 USBBY Outstanding International Book list. 

Read the Kirkus Star review of The Paper boat. Here is a video of Thao talking about this book. 

Bookseller blurb for Thao (the book): A funny, eye-opening story about the challenges of growing up with an unfamiliar name and learning to be true to yourself, new from the critically acclaimed Thao Lam. Even though it's only four simple, familiar letters long, nobody can ever pronounce Thao's name. She's been called Theo, Tail, even Towel! But the teasing names - Tofu, Tiny, China Girl - are worse. Maybe it's time to be someone else? Thao decides to try on a different name, something easy, like Jennifer. It works, but only until she opens her lunchbox to find her mother's Vietnamese spring rolls, ... Thao's favorite! Now, it feels a lot more comfortable to be herself. Simple on the surface, this story inspired by Thao's own childhood is full of humour, heart, and important ideas of diversity, inclusion, and cultural pride. The story will be instantly relatable to readers who have ever felt different. Designed with a playful emphasis on typography, and Thao's own childhood photos added to her signature cut-paper collage, THAO champions being true to yourself and your background, and being empathetic towards others. It is a celebration of all that's in a name and the power of owning your identity.

Kirkus Star review comments:

Every Belly: Through cut-paper collage illustrations, Lam spotlights a noteworthy diversity ... 

Wallpaper: Paper-collage illustrations lend texture and depth to this fantastical story, with individual elements providing layers so real readers will want to lift them up and peek underneath. Simple shapes (triangles for trees) and careful attention to detail make complex emotions visible and real for young readers. The hand-lettered title adds to the accessibility and childlike qualities of this book. A unique and visually stunning approach to the classic dilemma of making new friends.

The Line in the Sand: The artwork uses bold pops of color and geometric designs to tell an elegant, profound story.

Watercress by Andrea Wang illustrated by Jason Chin

Watercress isn’t loud. It doesn’t need to be.

The prose is spare and poetic. The watercolor illustrations are subtle, immersive, and rich with emotion. This book whispers truths: about shame and pride, about family and survival, and about the painful beauty of remembering. The Wardens of Magic

Understated, deep, and heart-rending -

bring tissues. Kirkus Star review

The big mystery of this Caldecott winning book is that it was not distributed here in Australia and yet this is a story that could easily translate to our context. AND this book won the 2022 Caldecott Medal. You can still buy this book but the hardcover edition of this book costs between AUS$35 and AUS$47 and so will be beyond the budget of most school libraries. Trove only list ten public and university libraries with this book. Luckily, I was able to re-read Watercress in a public library a couple of weeks ago - Green Square Library. I discovered it there a couple of years ago. You can see the whole book on this video. Here is an interview with Andrea Wang and Jason Chin.

Here is the synopsis from Wikipedia: A young girl is in the car with her brother and parents when they come across wild watercress growing on the side of the road. Her parents excitedly pull over and instruct the children to help them gather the watercress. The girl feels embarrassed to be seen by passing cars and disgusted by the mud and snails that are on the plants. The watercress is prepared for dinner that night, but the girl initially refuses to eat it because she is ashamed of their "dinner from a ditch". Her mother brings out a picture from her childhood and, for the first time, talks about the famine that her family suffered. Feeling guilty, the girl takes a bite of the watercress. She discovers that she likes the taste and reflects on the new memory she and her family have created.

My former school had a unit of study with the Grade 6 classes about our multicultural country here in Australia - Watercress is a book I would have loved to share as a part of this class topic alongside other books about The Refugee Experience Through Picture Books. 

You should also look for this book which is based on the years in China of the great famine.

Sparrow Girl

Author note from Andrea Wang: This story is about the power of memory. Not just the beautiful memories, like the ones my mother and father had about eating watercress in China, but also the difficult ones, the memories that are sometimes too painful to share. It starts with my own distressing memory of being made to pick watercress that was growing wild by the side of the road. As the child of Chinese immigrants, growing up in a small, mostly white town in Ohio, I was very aware of how different my family and I were from everyone else. It's hard to feel like you don't belong, and collecting food from a muddy roadside ditch just made that bad feeling more intense for me -- something my very practical parents didn't understand. When I was young, my parents didn't talk about their memories of China, of growing up poor, losing siblings, and surviving war. I don't blame them -- these are difficult topics to discuss with children. But it's important, too, for children to understand their family history. Perhaps if I had known about the hardships they had faced, I would have been more compassionate as a child. Maybe I would have felt more empathy and less anger. More pride in my heritage and less shame. Memories have the power to inform, to inspire, and to heal. This story is both an apology and a love letter to my parents. It's also an encouragement to all children who feel different and to families with difficult pasts -- share your memories. Tell your stories.

Prizes for Watercress:

• Caldecott Medal Winner
• Newbery Honor Award
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
• Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award 2022
• New England Book Award Winner
• 2021 Boston Globe – Horn Book Honor Book
• 2021 Cybils Award 

See more here. 

I previously talked about these books by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin:

Luli and the Language of Tea

Life after whale

The Bicycle by Patricia McCormick and Mevan Babakar illustrated by Yas Imamura

"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. 

The Wobbly Bike

You might also have this book in your library:

I previously shared these books illustrated by Yas Imamura who lives in the US.

Love in the Library

Do Something for Someone else

This is a book you really should add to your library collection.