80 pages 2 hours read

Alan Gratz

Refugee

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017

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Paired Texts & Other Resources

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

St. Louis Blues Opera

  • An opera in Dutch based on the events of the St. Louis ship in 1939
  • A musical representation of Josef’s boat/sea journey

The Kite Runner Novel

  • A novel about a boy and his best friend growing up in Afghanistan in the midst of political instability
  • Relates to the themes of becoming an adult, home and loss of familial relations

Fiddler on the Roof Movie (1971)

  • A Jewish community is forced to leave their village by Russian soldiers in the late 19th century
  • Relates to the themes of home, loss of familial relations, becoming an adult and the promise of "tomorrow"  

Other Student Resources

Kristallnacht

  • Article from Britannica that gives more information about “The Night of Broken Glass”
  • Relates to Josef’s story, particularly on the theme of home

Guantanamo Bay

  • Article from Britannica that gives more information about U.S.-operated detention camp
  • Relates to Isabel’s story, particularly on the theme of loss of familial relations and invisibility

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