Blackout

Rating: 10/10⠀ ⠀ Age recommendation: 8-12⠀ ⠀ Screening: very Islamically clean! I would just keep an eye out for sensitive emotional kids-this book includes a scene where Ahmed loses his dad on the refugee boat when they were traveling out of Syria. This might be scary for some kids-I still let my son read it to help him empathize with Syrian refugees, and he liked the book. However, my sensitive daughter would probably cry if she read it— so think about your own kids’ personalities.⠀ ⠀ Yusuf is so excited! Ahmed, his cousin, is on his way to Canada after being a Syrian refugee, and Yusuf makes sure everything is just perfect in the bedroom they will share together. Yusuf and his family head out to pick them up from the airport and Yusuf grumbles and complains about all the snow everywhere. ⠀ ⠀ Ahmed is not the same boy Yusuf remembers. Even his Aunt Amal is different. Ahmed appreciates things like electricity and water, which Yusuf doesn’t even think twice about. ⠀ ⠀ After a blizzard, the electricity is cut off and Ahmed wakes up from a nightmare. He tells Yusuf memories of being stuck under the collapsing building and all the pain in Syria. ⠀ Yusuf feels sad, but still focuses on how cold it gets without heat and how the only food they eat isn’t warm. He grumbles about it, but is taught by Ahmed how to find the positive in life and take care of those around him. ⠀ Yusuf starts to gain perspective about his life, and how he lives well and should be more thankful about it. He remembers his elderly neighbor is alone, and saves him from danger in the ice-storm, and then he comes up with an idea for all the meat they have in the freezer that is about to go bad.⠀ The family has a big barbecue and the whole neighborhood gathers. ⠀ ⠀ The next time Yusuf is asked how he’s doing by his neighbor, he replies more happily.⠀ ⠀ This book contains so many wonderful lessons for children: being patient, charity, looking for the positive, gratefulness, neighborliness, family love...etc⠀ ⠀ It also beautifully brings awareness to Syrian refugees.⠀ ⠀ This is a character building book, and I absolutely recommend it!⠀ ⠀ link: https://ruqayasbookshelf.com/collections/frontpage/products/blackout-chapter-book

price: 10 CAD

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