Friday, March 19, 2021

Fact Friday: Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration by George Butler

Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration written and illustrated by George Butler. 56 p. Candlewick Studio/ Candlewick Press, March 16, 2021. 9781536217759. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Friday! We made it through another week and this weekend marks the beginning of spring! The vernal equinox will take place tomorrow, March 20 at 5:37 EDT. Our daylight/ night hours will be roughly equal and each day after, we will have just a bit more daylight on our march to the summer solstice on June 20. As someone who is definitely affected by dwindling daylight, my spirits are lifting. 

Fact Friday features Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration written and illustrated by George Butler. Mr. Butler is a journalist and artist who, from 2011 to 2018, traveled to twelve locations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East to sketch and interview people who were forced by a variety of circumstance to leave their home. 

One man migrated to Russia in order to work and send money home to his family, others were forced to leave because their homes were destroyed by bombs or no longer safe to live in. Unlike photojournalists, who can snap a photograph from a distance without ever interacting with a subject, Mr. Butler spent time with his, interviewing each subject while he sketched. The result is this hefty, beautifully designed portfolio/ journal. 

Arranged chronologically beginning in 2011, readers take an international journey and learn about why there are refugees and the plight they face finding new homes, often enduring discrimination and racial or ethnic hatred.

The text is spare, compelling and emotionally resonant, as are the pen, ink and watercolor illustrations. Each invites lingering.  Drawn Across Borders is a work of art that needs to be shared widely. This book erases the monolithic "them" and places human faces front and center. The past few years has seen the publication of a variety of books depicting the refugee experience for young readers such as, When Stars are Scattered or The Unwanted. among others. Drawn Across Borders is a superb addition to that collection.

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