We Are Here

Kate has kindly let me have a sneak read of “We Are Here” due to be published by Dune Books on the 19th of May 2023.

A mother plays games to make her child feel safe as they flee from their home to what the mother hopes is a safer place for them, each step of the journey shows a different ‘game’ but if you look closer there is danger for them both ever present on each leg. It shows the length a mother will go to to protect their child, both from what happened at home and what is happening on this arduous journey.

Beautifully and sympathetically illustrated throughout. Each illustration uses a palette to reflect the story being told in the frame, but none of the palettes used are garish, they are soft and even the cold blues have a warm feeling to them. I think this all shows. the love the mother has for their child, at least this is what it made me feel.

Another important text to help children explore what it is like to be the other and to have to flee, how this decision isn’t taken lightly and how families support each other in their travel, that though this could be seen as an adventure it is not, it is a decision to live.