From Far Away

Renée B. Meloche is an instructional consultant with the Halton Board
of Education.

Saoussan and her family came to Canada from far away. Her war-torn
country of origin no longer provided them with a safe and satisfying
home. Yet, as she explained in her letter to a reading buddy, life in
this new country held other challenges. Saoussan neither spoke nor
understood English. How then could she understand the teacher or the
other kids at school? How could she even get permission to use the
washroom? And when she innocently encountered a Halloween paper skeleton
at school, connections to past terrors surfaced. Hugs from her
kindergarten teacher provided some consolation, but with no previous
experience with this particular celebration, Saoussan had only to
conclude that the whole place was crazy. Now in Grade 2/3, she has
decided that Canada is a nice place. She reads and writes lots of
stories, and even trick or treats with her sister without being shot at.

This is a thoughtful collaboration between Munsch, Martchenko, and
Saoussan Askar upon whose experiences the story is based. The letter
format provides a real-life context for the first-person narrative and
accurately represents the language patterns of ESL students. A good
source for exploring the concepts of empathy and acceptance.
Recommended.