The Day War Came

Description

A powerful and necessary picture book - the journey of a child forced to become a refugee when war destroys everything she has ever known. Imagine if, on an ordinary day, war came. Imagine it turned your town to rubble. Imagine going on a long and difficult journey - all alone. Imagine finding no welcome at the end of it. Then imagine a child who gives you something small but very, very precious... When the government refused to allow 3000 child refugees to enter this country in 2016, Nicola Davies was so angry she wrote a poem. It started a campaign for which artists contributed drawings of chairs, symbolising a seat in a classroom, education, kindness, the hope of a future. The poem has become this book, movingly illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, which should prove a powerful aid for explaining the ongoing refugee crisis to younger readers. GBP1 from every copy sold goes to the charity Help Refugees - find out more about their wonderful work at their website, helprefugees.org.

Nicola Davies is an award-winning author, whose many books for children include The Promise, King of the Sky, A First Book of Nature, A First Book of Animals, Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes, Lots: The Diversity of Life on Earth, Ice Bear, Big Blue Whale, Dolphin Baby, Bat Loves the Night, Just Ducks!, Animals Behaving Badly and the Heroes of the Wild series. Nicola graduated in zoology, studied whales and bats and then worked for the BBC Natural History Unit. She makes regular visits to schools and festivals, and is very active on social media - she lives in Crickhowell, Wales. Follow Nicola on Twitter under the handle @nicolakidsbooks, or visit her at her website: www.nicola-davies.com. Rebecca Cobb graduated from the Falmouth School of Art in 2004. She has collaborated with the Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson on picture books including The Paper Dolls, Orange Prize-winner Helen Dunmore on books including The Lonely Sea Dragon and popular film-maker Richard Curtis on Christmas titles including The Empty Stocking. Rebecca was the winner of the 2013 Waterstones Prize and has twice been shortlisted for the prestigious Kate Greenaway Award. Follow her on Twitter under the handle @rebecca_cobb, or at her website: www.rebeccacobb.co.uk.

"an incredibly powerful picture book [...]. Cobb's illustrations are both beautiful and devastating." * Bookseller * "A tale of humanity and compassion that is worth sharing." * South Wales Evening Post * "There are few modern children's books that make you cry. This is one of them." * The Times * "[...] both heart-breaking and delightful. [...] It's an intense read but offers a valuable lesson in kindness and, like so many of the best picture books, leaves you looking at the world through the hopeful eyes of a child." * The Observer * An important and beautiful book. * a & u books *