Nayeri, Dina. Waiting Place, The: When Home Is Lost and a New One Not Yet Found. Non-fiction. Anna Bosch Miralpeix, Illus. Candlewick, 05/2022. [64]pp. $18.99. 978-1-5362-1362-1. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 4-7.
Nayeri takes readers into the Katsikas refugee camp outside Ioannina, Greece. Through photographs and peacefully flowing narrative, readers experience a brief glimpse into the lives of ten children stuck in the camp for an unknowable amount of time—waiting, playing, maybe able to go to school—but never knowing what is next and definitely not having the type of childhood they should. The haunting text provides a hint of what life is like for refugees stuck in limbo after fleeing (or still in fear of) violence and possible death in their homeland. Though short on facts, and focused on only these ten kids of this one camp, everyone should read titles like this to increase awareness and provide better help to those in need around the world.
Joshua Rees, Daly City Public Library