Francesca Sanna

Top 100 pick because:

An imaginative and insightful story about the manifestation of fear, how it grows and changes, and how it can be "tamed". It is an empathy driven approach to a picture book discussing the realities of a life upheaved and the difficulties in adjusting to a new life and place. It's unabashedly tender but also allows itself to show raw emotions in a new way. The illustrations are recognizably by Francesca Sanna, stylized and powerful. I've only read 2 of her books (if she show more even has any more I don't know), but I think she's a new favorite author/illustrator. I'll have to keep an eye out for future ones by her. show less

"A timely, powerful picture book about refugees.

Although the setting’s time and place are unspecified, the story of a widowed mother fleeing a war-torn homeland with her two children reverberates with the real-world experiences of contemporary Syrian refugees and others crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe. The family members have black hair and pale skin, and the mother takes advice from a friend who wears the hijab, though her own hair is uncovered. They travel by car, by bicycle, show more hidden in the backs of trucks, and on foot until they reach a wall, where a border guard prevents them from crossing. Here, expressive, posterlike art renders the guard a monstrously tall, red-bearded man who towers over the wall and sends the family back into the forest. In a heart-rending spread, facing pages depict the mother cradling her children on the verso as the child narrator confides, “In the darkness the noises of the forest scare me,” while on the recto the child continues, “But my mother is with us and she is never scared”—with a picture of the family in the same huddled pose but with the children now asleep and tears streaming from the mothers’ eyes. After a dangerous sea crossing, the family moves with hope toward a safer place, though there is no certain happily-ever-after resolution.

A necessary, artful, and searing story. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-12)" A Kirkus Starred Review, www.kirkusreviews.com show less

Hi. My name is Gabrielle and I battle fear and anxiety.

Yes. This is me. And so when I discovered this book about fear...I knew I had to read to see what it was about. It's the story of a young immigrant girl who has always had fear. Yet when she moves to a new country, it escalates. It keeps her up at night. It keeps her from doing things she enjoys. It makes her want to stress eat. Fear tells her people don't like her because she is different.....and then she meets someone who not only sees show more past the girl's fear....but has their own as well. After all, we all do on some level.

Yes. You could argue this story is about refugees and society's not understanding them. But it's more than that. It's about living with fear, having healthy fear, and accepting others for their fears. We help each other conquer them. It's an empowering message. show less

The Journey is not only a good book, it's an important one. The Syrian refugee crisis makes this tale especially relevant right now, yet it is purposefully told to be universal, to be timeless. War takes so much -- family members, a sense of security, a place to call home. When people are forced to run away from not only their house, but from their country, life transitions to a state of uncertainty.

In the realm of picture books, it is rare for a story to be written and illustrated by the show more same person. Francesca Sanna shows skill with both elements of storytelling beyond what might be expected from a debut book. The language is simple and honest, told from the child's view. The illustrations are remarkable and so full of heart, and reveal a greater reality beyond the child's understanding. The menace of war is depicted through pitch-black shadows that bring darkness with them and enormous hands that reach out to destroy. Most pages are lush with color and texture, which adds emphasis to those pages stark in contrast. ("And one day the war took my father." Eight words paired with six individual objects on a solid black background.) Yet the journey is not without hope and those who help along the way (even if they need a bribe to entice their assistance).

Flying Eye Books spared no expense producing this beautiful book. Before opening it, the cover entices with a dramatic illustration enhanced with a spot varnish (oh, how I love spot varnish!) and simple printed imagery on the spine of book-cloth in a lovely shade of blue. The colors throughout are used to enhance the storytelling on each page, which is printed on rich paper that, while matte, almost has a subtle luminescence. I don't recognize the typeface, but it resembles a hand-drawn serif face which emphasises the personal tale of this family, who stand in for thousands of other migrant families around the world.

*Many thanks to the publisher for a free copy of this book. show less