Azzi In Between

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There are many children’s books that describe the stories of refugees and their desperate situation as they leave behind their whole existence and travel to where they hope there may be a better life. The selection of reading ideas included here encompasses some of the issues confronting those trying to escape terror. They may be useful for teachers who are working with children from families who have made such journeys. Additionally, having some kind of understanding of what these families and children have experienced may also help children to develop an informed and balanced approach to building friendships and welcoming immigrants and asylum seekers into their own communities.

After many adventures the family arrive in new country (perhaps New Zealand or Australia) where they face hardships of a different kind. Will they be allowed to stay? Will father and mother be allowed to work? Azzi yearns for her Grandma but meanwhile she must settle into her new school and learn to speak English. How relieved the reader feels that she is welcomed and helped! And eventually Grandma also manages to escape and join her family.

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The story follows the journey of Azzi, a young girl, forced to leave her home and country due to the dangers of war. We experience her struggles to adapt to her new life and how she copes with missing what she had to leave behind.

Life is tough for Riley when her best friend moves away. Things begin to look up when the three mysterious Angelo sisters move in next door.

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A story of love, friendship, and growing up, set in Norway. Chapters can be read rather like short stories, but readers will get hooked and want to read the whole thing. Gives a wonderful picture of life and customs in another land. Simon Mason writes about everyday things, people, and events and shows just how interesting and funny they can be. The book contains four stories about the Quigleys: Mum, Dad, Will, and Lucy. The characters are really well developed, and if your child is eager to read more, look out for The Quigleys at Large. At her new school, Azzi is welcomed by her new teacher, and although the teacher is a warm-hearted person, Azzi is still very shy, because she doesn’t really understand what the teacher says. Putting themselves in Azzi’s shoes was not too difficult for the learners, since their command of the foreign language was equally limited. Based on a passage from the book, they practised short dialogues. The learners worked in pairs – one playing the teacher while the other played herself – pretending to be new in the class. The dialogue was first prepared as a gap-filling activity (see Figure 5), then read out, or, depending on the self-confidence of the children, acted out in front of the class.

I would honestly recommend this book to all teachers, adults and children over a certain age/maturity. The book is very emotive and even made me cry, therefore, I'm not sure it would be suitable for younger children. Perhaps upper KS2, but you would need to consider any sensitive issues that may be in your class. It is entirely possible to have a refugee in your class and they may wish to share their journey like Azzi but they also may find it too much to talk about. I don't think teachers should shy away from exploring these sensitive themes. It is so important for each child to be accepting of everyone else and to understand the different journeys each person may have been through to get where they are today. Though given a British setting, this sensitive tale of a young war refugee slowly adapting to a new life will strike chords of sympathy and recognition almost anywhere. The story had become personally relevant to the learners, and depending on their developmental stage and their knowledge of the world, different aspects were important. All of them appeared to have gained insights into the topic and seemed to have developed empathy with refugees. From the point of view of the learners, the target language was a medium of storytelling rather than an object of learning.

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An attractively produced book that succeeds in explaining some of the difficulties faced by an immigrant child adjusting to the culture of a host country. A distinctive element to Garland’s style with Azzi are the bold colours used. The sheets above show Garland’s notes for colours – not only for characterisation, but also for the sofa, the floor, the leaves and bed edges. This indicates the attention to detail and meticulous thinking in Garland’s process. One particularly brilliant colour sheet shows the possible pinks and reds for Azzi’s distinctive coat.

Children have to leave their country because… ‘it’s dangerous’, ‘they are scared’, ‘their houses are destroyed because of war’. been overlooked or misrepresented in the language classroom. Similarly, linguistic diversity has mostly been viewed through the monolingual lens. As classrooms around the world have become increasingly diverse, both culturally and linguistically, it is important for teachers to engage with these multiple languages and identities, not as separate entities in faraway lands, but also through an exploration of local indigenous diversities. The dual language picturebook provides a textual-visual space to engage Azzi’s life changes dramatically when her father receives a warning they have to leave their home. In a hurry, Azzi grabs her teddy bear, the only toy she can take with her on the journey, and much to Azzi’s distress, her grandmother stays at home to look after the house. She knows she will badly miss her Grandma. While reading this part, the learners seemed to sympathise with Azzi. They were asked what they would take with them if they had to choose one single item for such a journey. Most of the children wanted to give an opinion, although it was a hard decision as well as a difficult task from a linguistic perspective. To encourage as many children as possible to speak, one- or two-word utterances like ‘mummy’ or ‘my dog’ were accepted. This poignant story captures the hope and despair of a boy who finds himself alone with strangers in a rubber dingy, floating helplessly on the sea. The language used is evocative of the life he has left behind and the unknown that faces him. It speaks for the thousands that have made dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean in recent years. See archival material for Sarah Garland’s Azzi in Betweenat our Archive or pop along to our current exhibition, Comics: Explore and Create Comic Art at Seven Stories.We endorse picture books for young children, such as Azzi in Between, which is about a refugee child… We need to move beyond the status quo." The item on the left depicts a Kurdish refugee who was the original inspiration for the character of Azzi