Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Starred Review Based on interviews she conducted with families at an Italian refugee center, Sanna's debut picture book uses powerful yet fanciful imagery to tell the story of one family's flight from danger in an unnamed country. In a bright palette and playful visual style belying the serious subject matter, the story begins on a beach, where the family of four happily plays. War comes in the form of a pitch-black wave attacking the shore, knocking down sand castles and causing havoc. That oppressive black wave continues inland, taking their father and following them home. The now-smaller family then sets off in a series of vehicles, headed for a land with high mountains and friendly creatures. The landscapes, animals, and people they meet on their journey begin to resemble fairy tales large bearded man angrily leans over a wall, practically swallowing it with his huge body, to turn them away from a border ich helps soften some of the inherent danger. The straightforward text from the children's perspective contrasts compellingly with images of the mother, who cries when they're not looking. By the end, the family has still not reached safety, and a train on the endpapers emphasizes that their journey is ongoing. Simultaneously heartbreaking, scary, and brightly hopeful, this timely tale with simply captivating artwork will spur little ones to ask questions that lack easy answers.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

In a piercing first-person account, a child tells of a harrowing journey with a sibling and their mother. Sanna's stylized illustrations are both captivating and unsettling; specifics of the setting are never established (details suggest an Islamic-world origin and a Nordic destination), and that intentional lack of specificity adds disquiet. Still, the story is not without hope. An author's note invites real-world connections.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Storybook imagery-foreboding woods, looming giants, and creatures of forest and sea-collides with desperately real circumstances as a family seeks haven from encroaching war. As Sanna-s debut opens, a family of four builds a vast sand castle city at the beach as inky waters pour in ominously. Those waves transform into swiping, grabbing hands on the following page (-Every day bad things started happening around us-), and the children-s father is soon killed. After the family decides to leave for a faraway country, Sanna traces their long journey, devoting attention to the children-s reluctance to leave behind familiar surroundings and the sheer difficulty of their effort. -The further we go... the more we leave behind,- she writes as the family switches from vehicle to vehicle, sometimes hiding beneath fruit or clay jugs. Sanna-s crisp-edged, screenprintlike forms strike a careful balance between representing visceral dangers and offering tiny measures of hope. Given the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe and immigration debates in the U.S. and abroad, Sanna-s story is well poised to spark necessary conversations about the costs of war. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Gr 1-4 The crisp blend of realistic and fantastical illustrations in Sanna's debut picture book impart as much content and emotional depth as its carefully woven text narrated by an anonymous child. This title chronicles the unexpected, grueling migration of a family whose lives are forever changed by war. A contrasting palette with the startling use of black effectively depicts the father's death, the grasping hands of worry, and the fear, sadness, and exhaustion experienced during the arduous escape. Protagonists' pale faces and dark hair call to mind Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis , although the setting is not specific in terms of region or country. Readers follow the family with bated breath from the beginning end pages, which foreshadow the plot, and then as they travel by car, trucks, bicycle, foot, boat, and train. The narrator notes that "the farther we go&30;the more we leave behind." Simple words. Profound meaning. Books and storytelling provide a measure of emotional stamina for the family throughout their journey, and final end pages offer a small sense of hope for this unfinished tale. VERDICT Based on a compilation of immigrant interviews, this selection is timely and beautiful, appropriate for use with young children given the continuing situation of refugees around the world made particularly visible in recent years. Ruth Quiroa, National Louis University, IL