To the Other Side

Gr 2-4–This gorgeously rendered migrant story is awash in contrasts: light and dark, white space and ghostly shadows, bright colors and stark fences, peril and hope. A brother and sister play what begins as a game with three overarching rules: “Avoid the monsters. Don’t get caught. And keep moving.” The young narrator and his older sibling don pink, orange, and yellow masks to keep them safe and impart a sense of play as they wait, catch rides, walk, walk some more, and wait again in an attempt to “win” by crossing the finish line. Inevitably, the journey feels less like a game (“too long. Too tiring. Too hard. I did NOT want to play anymore.”), but the two soldier on through open space, recurrent fences, and menacing watercolor shadows, “sometimes with help. Sometimes alone. But always together.” Experiencing the migrant’s journey through the eyes of the very young lends emotional resonance and a satisfying balance between fear, bravery, and most of all, hope.