Gay's latest picture book opens with a vast landscape peopled with tiny figures who carry bundles and board a small boat to a city in the distance. Nonspecific references to old and new countries identify Mustafa and his family as immigrants, and his dreams and drawings suggest that they left because of war. Small details provide contrast between the two places. Mustafa enjoys the green space of a park, where he is amazed to see an old woman scatter crumbs for birds: there was no food to spare before. Mustafa finds comfort in noticing the moon, ants, caterpillars, and bees look the same in both places. With people, though, Mustafa feels invisible. One day a girl in the park offers him a welcome, and over time the two learn to communicate with their drawings. A variety of media, including watercolor, ink, colored pencil, and crayon, are used to produce nuanced illustrations depicting changing seasons and shifting perspectives. Perfectly pitched to help young children explore empathy in a thoughtful, nonthreatening manner.

Refugee Mustafa, who has traveled "a very, very long way" to live in a new country, shows signs of trauma: dreams of "smoke and fire and loud noises" wake him; he hides when he meets someone new. Finally, Mustafa meets a kindred spirit when a girl invites him to feed fish in a koi pond. The touching book ends with a satisfying feeling, reinforced by exuberant mixed-media illustrations.