By Lena Hartz | Issue 25
Nadia Devi Umadat (author) and Christine Wei (illustrator). 2023. The Most Beautiful Thing I Have Ever Seen. Toronto: Second Story Press.
ISBN: 9781772603149
This is the story of the unnamed protagonist (a little girl), her ‘bossy’ sister and her mother. The book begins with the happy depiction of the place where the girl has grown up. But then the situation changes and the family witnesses the destruction of their hometown. Without using violent language or illustrations, the book manages to convey the trauma that the sisters and their mother must be going through.
When they are being resettled in Canada, subtle comments such as when the teacher “smiled and spoke to the class in words I did not understand” or “so manyeyes stared at me, like I was the strangest thing they had ever seen” make the reader feel the protagonist’s unease. A lot of caring people make them feel at home but signs of post-traumatic stress disorder are still noticeable. In the protagonist’s words: “I think if you’ve been really afraid, a bit of fear stays with you even when you’re safe.”
Picture books are a great tool for young children to learn about the realities and experiences of other children. On the one hand, by reading, being read to or just watching the illustrations, children, even young ones, can develop empathy for other people’s experiences. It also gives them the possibility to understand phenomena like (forced) migration which are usually quite abstract concepts for children. On the other hand, it is also very important for children to see their own experiences reflected in picture books, especially if their experiences are different from those of most of their peers. Nadia Devi Umadat and Christine Wei’s book does all of that. With gentle words and beautiful images they have managed to craft a story that conveys the hardships many refugees go through from departure to arrival while also being a hopeful tale of family, friendship, love and care.
Author and illustrator both have personal experience with migration and are based in Canada. While Christine Wei draws inspiration from sentiment, life stories, nature and textile-patterns, Nadia Devi Umadat was inspired by her work as a youth mental health counsellor with Syrian children during their initial stages of Canadian relocation.
Lena Hartz grew up in Luxembourg. She completed an M.A. in International Relations and Literature in a World Context at the University of Aberdeen and spent a year at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
During her MSc in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford, her research focused on EU development and migration politics in West Africa and its colonial legacies. After working in Senegal for two years, she is now a socio-cultural facilitator specialising in intercultural community building in Luxembourg. In her free time, Lena loves to travel, read and volunteer with her local scout group.
What a beautifully poignant exploration of resilience and empathy! The way Nadia Devi Umadat and Christine Wei convey the complexities of forced migration through gentle storytelling and stunning illustrations is truly commendable. At British Book Publishers UK, we believe in the power of such narratives to foster understanding and connection, and we’re proud to support authors who tackle important themes like these through our professional publishing services.
Book reviews from a traditional book publisher in Dubai would hold more value than a blogger as they would go into technicalities and would give honest reviews if a book was good and worth a read or not.