When Stars are Scattered is a graphic novel about the life of two young boys who are living in a refugee camp, Dadaab, in Kenya. This book is targeted for upper elementary to middle school age students. The book starts with the main character, Omar, and his brother Hassan, living in a tent with a foster mother since they are under the age of 10. Hassan has a disability, and from the description in the book, it is likely Autism Spectrum Disorder, or similar in nature. Omar and his brother face many challenges in their camp. Omar has to choose to go to school or take care of his brother, they battle with hunger and the traumas that caused them to be placed in the camp, and struggle with not knowing if they will get to be relocated to another country or spend the rest of their life in Dadaab. As Omar and Hassan grow up together they learn how to process their emotions, trust one another, and have hope that everything will be okay.
This book depicts the refugee camp as a run down and difficult place to live, but still shows how the community of people make it their home. The camp is depicted truthfully, but not in a way that makes the readers only feel pity. Community is a large theme of this book. In a camp like Dadaab, the people living there must look out for one another and come together to endure. Hassan is a huge part of Omar’s life and while some people in the story look down on him for his disability, he is largely accepted by his community and given the opportunity to not only be a person who must be looked after, but an active and helpful member in his own right. I appreciated that Jamieson & Mohamed (2020) showed the internal struggle Omar goes through in understanding and accepting that his brother, who he loves dearly, can be just as capable and helpful as other individuals without disabilities. His community accepts Hassan and gives him jobs and opportunities to be fulfilled with his own life. When Stars are Scattered touches on so many valuable lessons and subjects, such as the impact of colonization, the struggles refugees are subjected to, the power of education, disability rights, and feminism in a touching story about family and community.
This book serves as a mirror for people who have been displaced from their homes due to circumstances outside of their control. While some immigrants may relate to some of the experiences Omar and his brother had, this book focuses specifically on what it is like to be a refugee and have no choice in their displacement. Students in our classrooms who had to leave their homes due to internal fighting in their country, or violence caused by other countries, may see themselves in Omar and Hassan’s story. When Stars are Scattered is a window for people who have comfortably lived in their home for most of their life, or have moved of their own free will. Many people have moved in their lifetimes to find better opportunities or jobs, but there is a distinct difference in moving, and fleeing. This book shows the realities of owning little but the clothes on your own back, and not having any opportunity to have more, until external forces such as other nations governments, decide to give it to you. This is a perspective many upper, middle, and working class Americans are not familiar with and would be a window into a new experience.
When Stars are Scattered could be used in an upper elementary or middle school class in a unit on colonization or refugees. The novel takes place in Kenya, but ends with Omar and Hassan moving to America. We get to see the life of a refugee in a refugee camp, but not once they have been moved to a new location. This would provide a great opportunity for students to research how refugees live in America, what resources are or are not provided to them, and what new opportunities or struggles refugees may face. Students could then write and draw a chapter to add to the end of the novel, depicting what Omar and Hassan do in the United States. This novel could also be implemented in a classroom to discuss disability. Hassan may be nonverbal and need support in many areas, but he is still a valuable part of Omar’s life and an active member of his community. Students could accompany this book with research on day programs, similar to the one Hassan attends when they move to America, and study what opportunities are and are not available in their own community for individuals with disabilities.
This book depicts the refugee camp as a run down and difficult place to live, but still shows how the community of people make it their home. The camp is depicted truthfully, but not in a way that makes the readers only feel pity. Community is a large theme of this book. In a camp like Dadaab, the people living there must look out for one another and come together to endure. Hassan is a huge part of Omar’s life and while some people in the story look down on him for his disability, he is largely accepted by his community and given the opportunity to not only be a person who must be looked after, but an active and helpful member in his own right. I appreciated that Jamieson & Mohamed (2020) showed the internal struggle Omar goes through in understanding and accepting that his brother, who he loves dearly, can be just as capable and helpful as other individuals without disabilities. His community accepts Hassan and gives him jobs and opportunities to be fulfilled with his own life. When Stars are Scattered touches on so many valuable lessons and subjects, such as the impact of colonization, the struggles refugees are subjected to, the power of education, disability rights, and feminism in a touching story about family and community.
This book serves as a mirror for people who have been displaced from their homes due to circumstances outside of their control. While some immigrants may relate to some of the experiences Omar and his brother had, this book focuses specifically on what it is like to be a refugee and have no choice in their displacement. Students in our classrooms who had to leave their homes due to internal fighting in their country, or violence caused by other countries, may see themselves in Omar and Hassan’s story. When Stars are Scattered is a window for people who have comfortably lived in their home for most of their life, or have moved of their own free will. Many people have moved in their lifetimes to find better opportunities or jobs, but there is a distinct difference in moving, and fleeing. This book shows the realities of owning little but the clothes on your own back, and not having any opportunity to have more, until external forces such as other nations governments, decide to give it to you. This is a perspective many upper, middle, and working class Americans are not familiar with and would be a window into a new experience.
When Stars are Scattered could be used in an upper elementary or middle school class in a unit on colonization or refugees. The novel takes place in Kenya, but ends with Omar and Hassan moving to America. We get to see the life of a refugee in a refugee camp, but not once they have been moved to a new location. This would provide a great opportunity for students to research how refugees live in America, what resources are or are not provided to them, and what new opportunities or struggles refugees may face. Students could then write and draw a chapter to add to the end of the novel, depicting what Omar and Hassan do in the United States. This novel could also be implemented in a classroom to discuss disability. Hassan may be nonverbal and need support in many areas, but he is still a valuable part of Omar’s life and an active member of his community. Students could accompany this book with research on day programs, similar to the one Hassan attends when they move to America, and study what opportunities are and are not available in their own community for individuals with disabilities.