The Little Refugee by Anh Do & Suzanne Do

The Little Refugee tells the uplifting and inspiring childhood story of one of Australia’s favourite personalities Anh Do – he’s autobiography The Happiest Refugee tells the exact same story but in more detailed. The children’s book written by himself and his wife Suzanne, retells Anh and his family’s journey fleeing from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat just to get to Australia. Although the children’s book does not describe some of the events in greater detail such as facing murderous pirates and terrifying storms, the illustrations Brue Whatley illustrates in the book says it all. The story goes on about life in suburban Australia was hard for him as a little boy who spoke no English, but as he grew up he learnt to see the bright side of life no matter what the difficulty.

I came across this great children’s book The Little Refugee after reading Anh’s autobiography The Happiest Refugee. Both books tells the exact same story of his journey but are targeted at a different audience. I found these a great read as it tells the story of a real-life event of a famous Australia. It mentions a lot of things that children and also adults can relate to such as family struggles and the transition of moving to new places and adjusting to a new environment. It gives a great insight and teaches children that no matter how hard life is, everything is going to be okay – always look on the bright side of life.