The Moon from Dehradun

A sweet story of Partition from a young girl’s perspective, using the symbolism of forgetting a favorite doll to show children the trauma of this event.

Genre: Adv. Picture Book

Age: 6-9

Author: Shirin Shamsi

Illustrator: Tarun Lak

Publisher: Simon Kids

Azra is a young girl living in Dehradun. She is playing with her doll when her brother cries, needing her attention. But when she drops her doll to carry her Chotu, an emergency happens. Abba bursts in and says they must leave immediately!

On the rush out the door, Azra forgets her doll.

On the journey, Azra struggles. But her Chotu seems to struggle more. And when she takes care of him, she learns to look for the same moon that shines on Dehradun.

And in her new home of Lahore, Azra finds a surprise waiting for her, a surprise that might help her heal the broken feeling inside her.

Wow.

This story is powerful and moving.

I reread it a few times and had to sit and contemplate the beauty and yet heartbreak of the pictures to fully feel everything. So much heart wrenching details, and so much to think about and explore.

I love how the author used symbolism in her story to show how hard it is to leave behind your home. The pictures are truly worth a million words and show how incredibly hard it must have been to live through. And the lyrical words and story tug at the heartstrings.

The twist at the end was def meaningful and shows the similarities of families across the borders, humanity no matter the religion.

Esp now, books like this are very relevant, and a must to encourage kids to see the humanity in each other and promote tolerance.

Def a historical fiction book that is a must on every shelf!

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