Little Amal Visits recommended reads

When seven-year-old Bana Alabed took to Twitter to describe the horrors she and her family were experiencing in war-torn Syria, her heartrending messages touched the world and gave a voice to millions of innocent children…
Facing death as bombs relentlessly fell around them, one of which completely destroyed their home, Bana and her family embarked on a perilous escape to Turkey. In Bana's own words, 'Dear World' is a gripping account of a family endangered by war

Boy, Everywhere chronicles the harrowing journey taken by Sami and his family from privilege to poverty, across countries and continents, from a comfortable life in Damascus, via a smuggler's den in Turkey, to a prison in Manchester

A young boy discusses the journey he is about to make with his mother. They will leave their town, she explains, and it will be sad but also a little bit exciting. They will have to say goodbye to friends and loved ones, and that will be difficult. They will have to walk and walk and walk, and although they will see many new and interesting things, it will be difficult at times too. This powerful and moving story draws young readers into each stage of the journey, inviting the chance to imagine the decisions he or she would make.

Brumby Plains is an isolated place, and the outside world doesn't intrude much here. But when Sam and George discover a refugee child washed up on the shores of their buffalo station, the rest of the world is brought a lot closer. An accident has taken Mac and Sarah far away, and Uncle Mungo has strong views about refugees, so the two brothers hide the child while they work out what to do. Sam discovers that it's a lot harder to stand up for what you believe in than to follow the crowd.

Devon has played basketball his whole life, and he's great at it, so great, in fact, that his dad, team and community can't imagine him doing anything else. And while Devon loves his team, he's not so happy about the rigid structure his success in the sport and his father's expectations has created. So when he sees Jamal, a Yemeni refugee and new kid at school, doing BMX tricks on his bike one day he's intrigued. Can Devon keep his newfound love of BMX under wraps? Or will he be busted when his BMX secret comes out?

There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now a new boy called Ahmet is sitting in it. He's nine years old (just like me), but he's very strange. He never talks and never smiles and doesn't like sweets - not even lemon sherbets, which are my favourite! But the truth is, Ahmet really isn't very strange at all. He's a refugee who's run away from a war. A real one. With bombs and fires and bullies that hurt people. And the more I find out about him, the more I want to be his friend. That's where my best friends Josie, Michael and Tom come in. Because you see, together we've come up with a plan.

Ruby finds school challenging. No one there understands what it's like to have a brother with special needs. Her parents and older sister have little time for her, and life is a bit lonely. Safa has recently arrived from war-torn Syria. Her last school was bombed, causing her mother to seek refuge in Ireland after a difficult and dangerous journey across Europe. Safa is lonely too. Her mother is finding it difficult to cope, her father is missing, and she has no friends is this strange new country. This is a book about kindness and compassion and learning that despite our differences we all need good friends.

Shif is just an ordinary schoolboy who loves chess and playing with his best friend. But, one day, he is forced to leave home to avoid conscription into the army. He embarks on an epic journey, in which he encounters dangers and cruelties - and great acts of human kindness - as he bravely makes his way to a future he can only imagine.

With haunting echoes of current affairs, this beautifully illustrated book explores the unimaginable decisions made as a family leave their home and everything they know to escape the turmoil and tragedy brought by war.

'Playful, obstinate and courageously humorous ... hilarious and later heartbreaking' Guardian 'Sweet, funny, highly inventive' Yorkshire Post The personal, funny and poignant tale of a young refugee, from acclaimed storyteller Benjamin Zephaniah Acclaimed performance poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah's honest, wry and poignant story of a young refugee left in London is of even more power and pertinence today than when it was first published. Life is not safe for Alem. His father is Ethopian, his mother Eritrean. Their countries are at war, and Alem is welcome in neither place. So Alem is excited to spend a holiday in London with his father

Lubna's best friend is a pebble. Lubna tells Pebble everything. About home. About the war. Pebble always listens to her stories and smiles when she feels afraid. But one day, when a little boy arrives, alone in a world of tents, Lubna poignantly understands that he needs Pebble even more than she does… Author Wendy Meddour joins forces with illustrator Daniel Egneus to create an important story about the power of friendship.

September 11, 2001 Two teenagers on opposite sides of the globe flee everything they know. In a world turned upside down by tragedy, they are refugees. Sixteen-year-old Dawn runs away from her unhappy foster home in California and travels to New York City. Johar, an Afghani teenager, sees his world crumble before him. He flees his war-ravaged village and the Taliban, and makes a dangerous trek to a refugee camp in Pakistan…. Through e-mails and phone calls, Dawn and Johar begin to share and protect each other’s secrets, fears, and dreams, and a remarkable bond forms that gives each of them hope and the courage to find a path home.