Publisher and Book Aid International Partner on A BOOK FOR A BOOK campaign
For every copy of refugee story The Bone Sparrow sold in the UK, a book will be donated to a refugee child
In 2016 the ‘500 words’ competition run by BBC Radio 2 and Oxford University Press found that the usage of the word refugee in children’s literature had tripled since 2015.
Orion Children’s Books have teamed up with Book Aid International to create the A BOOK FOR A BOOK campaign. For every copy of The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon sold, Orion Children’s Books will donate a book to a refugee child via Book Aid International.
The Bone Sparrow is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas for refugees. It tells the story of Subhi, a 10-year-old boy who has spent his entire life living in a refugee detention centre after his mother and sister fled the violence of their homeland.
Orion Children’s Books are offering bundles of reading copies to schools, to enable the school to set-up reading groups. Through these reading groups they aim to find out what the word ‘refugee’ means to children in 2016 as it is the most prominent word in children’s literature.
The Bone Sparrow, though it may be a fiction story, gives voice to millions of refugees. To tie-in with Refugee Week (20-26th June 2016) Orion’s Children’s Books also teamed up with Amnesty International and various schools across London to reach students and ask them what the word refugee means to them.
““A refugee is a person or a group of people who flee their country/home to seek safety. They usually leave because of war or natural disaster. They also leave to find better jobs so they can provide for their family to have better lives. They usually sail across the ocean in rubber dingy or small boats in large groups.” ”
““We are proud to be partnering with Orion Children’s Books, one of our long-term publisher supporters on this important campaign. We have supported libraries in refugee camps in Kenya for many years and for many of the camps’ inhabitants, these libraries represent the only chance to read, to learn and to progress in education. We are delighted that Orion Children’s Books will donate a book to us for these refugee camp libraries for every copy of The Bone Sparrow sold.””
““The Bone Sparrow was written so we remember the people behind the statistics. Those 65 million stories waiting to be told, those 33 million children wondering if their futures will ever be realised. It was written so we can find the courage to stand for humanity, and the wisdom to imagine a different world. It was written so we may all live in hope.””
A BOOK FOR A BOOK will run from 14th July till the end of 2016. Hachette UK will donate a range of children’s books every three months and the first shipment will go to The Windle Trust, Book Aid International’s partner working in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya.
