Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Refugee by Alan Gratz


JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . .

ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . .

MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . .

All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.

 
Book Club Questions:
How do themes of invisibility and visibility run throughout all the stories?
  • Hiding your religion/ culture
  • Didn’t talk to people on street or call attention to each other
What does the word tomorrow mean to different people? In what ways does it carry hope and despair?
    • All got the manana
    In what ways do each of the children take on adult roles?
    • Mahmoud saves his baby sister Hanna
    • Josef saves his mother from having to make a “Sophie’s choice”
    What are the characters afraid of about their future homes?
    • Losing their culture
    • Job
    • Friends
    • Language
    Who are the helpful people in each of the character’s journeys? Do you know anyone like that? Do you know of any places in your community that extend a helpful hand to refugees?
    • Some local towns have a network and others don’t.
    What do you know about the real historical moments, places, and people in the book:
    People:
    Fidel Castro
    Adolph Hitler
    Bashar al-Assad
     

    Places
    Aleppo
    Dachau
    Havana
    Mecca
    Miami (specifically the Cuban American history and culture)
     

    Moments
    Kristallnacht
    The St. Louis (ship)
    bar mitzvah