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From Far Away, illustrated by Michael Martchenko.

Presented in letter form, this picture-book from celebrated Canadian author Robert Munsch was created in conjunction with schoolgirl refugee Saoussan Askar, who wrote to him with her story. It follows its young letter-writing protagonist as she and her family move from war-torn Lebanon to Canada, and focuses on her confusion and culture-shock, once in her new country. One particularly memorable experience involves Saoussan seeing a paper skeleton intended as a Halloween decoration, and, thinking it some kind of evil sign or omen of impending conflict, finding it immensely frightening. Eventually though, she learns the language, becomes quite a reader and writer, and feels more at home, even participating in Halloween herself...

Originally published in 1995 with artwork by Michael Martchenko, an illustrator who has collaborated with Munsch on many of his picture-books, From Far Away was reprinted last year (2017) with new artwork by Rebecca Green. The version I read was the original one however, with artwork by Martchenko. I enjoyed the story, which is a bit of a departure from the usual Munsch/Martchenko madcap adventure tale, and thought it worked quite well, in highlighting some of the cultural misperceptions and barriers that might make a refugee's first days in a new country more difficult. I also greatly appreciated the fact that this was a collaborative project involving the young girl whose story it is, as it makes the narrative feel much more authentic. Finally, I appreciated the fact that Saoussan and her family embrace their new country, and don't feel that they can't participate in cultural festivals like Halloween, as I know that this is considered problematic by more fundamentalist adherents of Islam (as well as Christianity, as it happens). Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about the refugee experience.