Mishka

Gr 4 Up–Sweetly youthful-voiced Ramahi becomes nine-year-old Roya, the youngest in a family of Afghan refugees living in the Netherlands. Ramahi is also an affecting cipher for the additional characters, distinguishing each of Roya’s three older brothers, an elderly would-be leporine thief, even the (racist) “dumb boys from class.” Roya announces, “Every house ought to have a pet,” now that they have their own abode. And so, Mishka the white dwarf rabbit joins the family, becoming the keeper of stories, including the perilous journey to escape their native Afghanistan. When Mishka goes missing, recovering him becomes an all-sibling search that ends in finally feeling at home. Coauthors van de Vendel and Elman found friendship 15 years ago when Elman first arrived in the Netherlands; their joint title draws on Elman’s own family’s experiences.