Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey [Hardcover]

In this dual-language picture book (English and Arabic), a young girl and her family are forced to flee their once-peaceful village to escape the civil war and make their way toward safety in Europe.A refugee family’s flight to freedom, uniquely illustrated.This unique picture book was inspired by the stone artwork of Syrian artist Nizar Ali Badr, discovered by chance by Canadian children’s writer Margriet Ruurs. The author was immediately impressed by the strong narrative quality of Mr. Badr’s work, and, using many of Mr. Badr’s already-created pieces, she set out to create a story about the Syrian refugee crisis. Stepping Stonestells the story of Rama and her family, who are forced to flee their once-peaceful village to escape the ravages of the civil war raging ever closer to their home. With only what they can carry on their backs, Rama and her mother, father, grandfather and brother, Sami, set out to walk to freedom in Europe. Nizar Ali Badr’s stunning stone images illustrate the story.

Orca Book Publishers is pleased to offer this book as a dual-language (English and Arabic) edition. Brilliant and beautiful and inspiring. A book that should be read with every child in the world! An instant classic as solid as the stones on which it is based! Ruurs writes purely and warmly, with the text set in both English and Raheem's Arabic translation...She deftly conveys the happiness of peaceful childhood, then the confusion and the fears born of war and migration, and the relief and curiosity of arriving at a new home...Each illustration is masterful, with Badr's placement of stones as careful as brush strokes, creating figures positioned to tell the whole story without the benefit of facial expressions...An astonishing book that allows the humanity of refugees to speak louder than politics and introduces readers to one of Syria's incredible artists. It's exquisite! One can only pray that its message will spread al£Ý