GREAT READS HOMES, Abu Bakr

Abu Bakr Al Rabeeah with Winnie Yeung
 
I was given this book a few days ago, I have already read it. That speaks for itself. And when I put it down I felt a sadness, let into the life of this Child and his family, I did not want to leave them.
 
I must also say , as I was nearing the end of the book, I became frightful, I was panicked, and saying to myself, please, let them make it, let this not be a sad story.

I will post some exerpts from other sites, but needless to say this book was one of the most heart warming books I have read in a long time. If only we looked through the eyes of a child, how different this world would be.
 
The book is a refugee story through the eyes of a child, and about the war torn region of Syria. First and foremost I am happy that he and his family have made it to Canada, and proud that in this instance Canada acted so well bringing in so many from Syria. It is something close to my heart having been to the region and also never being able to grasp such horrors that children are made to suffer.
 
The book was written in English by Winnie Yeung, and you can feel right away she has captured the essence and spirit of Abu Bakr and his family, and had a very good understanding of the background of the stories told. I smiled at the end of the book to note what great research she did. Need I say, the compassion and her kindness shines through out here too.

Now, we all come from different places, different cultures, different religions, and we can chose to be divided or find a common human bond. When I read beautiful stories like this I will tell you, I find a common thread in all stories of war, divisions and terror. It crosses all the divides.
 
It is very simple.  When one can retain a smile or laughter,  one is reminded that its not for our own humanity that we do it, but to remain kind to all.Through this book, one will note the smiles and laughter have become part of the story. What a joy to read of Abu Bakr's father, who focused on love and smile's and laughter and less preaching, more the guidance of love. All of this through the horror of war.
 
To Abu Bakr's father and all the elder people who surrounded the children with love and protection, You are all Heroes! Every single one of you!
 
For anyone at all, this book is a gem, a must read!

Abu Bakr al Rabeeah: "When people heard that I was moving from Syria to Canada, they said, 'Don't forget about us and how life is here.' When I met my ESL teacher Ms. Yeung, I got the lucky chance to share my life story with her. We had nice conversations at lunchtime and after school. We spent three months talking about my life. We used Google Translator a lot, looked at a lot of pictures and researched a lot of stuff. I felt happy sharing my life because I feel like I'm helping people back home and I'm helping newcomers here in Canada."

Abu Bakr al Rabeeah: "I hope readers [walk away] knowing how similar we are, how we have the same things, even though we are from countries far apart. When I first came to school [in Canada], some of my friends asked me, 'Do you guys have chairs back in Syria? Do you have schools?' These kinds of question led me to telling my story. The other thing [I hope people learn from the book] is that, yes we went through a lot of bad stuff, a lot of problems. But we still had a good life there. There are still people who are happy living in Syria.
"Once, after a speech, people came to talk to me. They said, 'We have some new Syrian refugees in the school and now I understand how to connect with them.' That's one of the things that I love."

                        - from CBC Canada