All-ages graphic novels are hotter than ever. With so much great content out there and more arriving every week, sifting through it all can be a daunting task. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, teacher, librarian or young reader, Multiversity’s Bookshelf Basics is here to help. By highlighting a combination of newly released and classic all-ages books, we’ll help you build your collection, even as your tastes and interests change. In today’s installment, we’ll take a look at “When Stars Are Scattered,” by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed.
Written by Victoria JamiesonCover by Victoria Jamieson
and Iman Geddy
and Omar Mohamed
Illustrated by Victoria Jamieson
Colored by Iman Geddy
Okay, Let’s Start with the Basics
“When Stars Are Scattered” is written by Newbery Honor winner Victoria Jamieson and the book’s real-life protagonist, Omar Mohamed. Mohamed was in the midst of writing a memoir about growing up in a U.N. refugee camp when he happened to meet Jamieson. The more Jamieson learned about Mohamed and his journey from Somalia to the U.S., the more she wanted to help tell his story to the widest audience possible. Jamieson also illustrated the book, which is colored by newcomer Iman Geddy, who has familial ties to Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
What’s It All About?
Prior to becoming a U.S. citizen, co-author Omar Mohamed and his brother, Hassan, spent 15 years at a U.N. refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. At its peak, Dadaab was the largest refugee camp in the world, with over 330,000 residents. It’s a staggering, nearly incomprehensible number. By detailing the experience of two orphaned young boys, “When Stars Are Scattered” humanizes the refugee experience to help us better understand it.
When their rural Somalian village was overrun by soldiers, Omar and Hassan were forced to flee. In the ensuing chaos, the boys were separated from their mother and never saw her again. They followed the massive crowd across the border to Dadaab, which is now their home.
As the older brother, Omar is soon pressed into the caretaker role. He spends nearly all of his time looking after his nonverbal younger brother.
At the heart of the story is Omar’s continuing struggle to get an education at the camp’s understaffed, overcrowded school. When Omar is in class, he feels guilty and anxious about leaving his younger sibling with the neighbor, Fatuma – who has lost her own children. If he stays home to care for his brother, Omar is bored, misses his friends and worries he won’t keep up with his classmates. There’s really no good answer and it eats at Omar constantly.
What Makes It Essential?
The book’s art is bold, bright, colorful and immediately accessible. Jamieson’s panels and page layouts are uncluttered and intuitive. The book’s sequences flow seamlessly with very clear blocks of narration and speech bubbles.
Jamieson’s inks are pretty straightforward, reminiscent of comic creators like Raina Talegmeir and any number of others whose books fly off the shelves of school book fairs all over the county. The difference maker is Geddy’s colors. Her purple night skies are gorgeous and her liberal use of plain yellow backgrounds accents the blues beautifully. It also creates a nice bridge to all the dusky orange sand and rich chocolate skin tones.
Narratively, Jamieson’s pace feels spot-on. The plot moves forward nicely, but there’s also ample room for us to see daily life at the camp. There’s a palpable sense of displacement, even sadness that hangs in the air, but there’s also plenty of humor and a strong sense of community. There’s comfort in the fact Omar and his friends play tag, brag about their grades, stay out too late and laugh. It’s a powerful and poignant, close-up view of a world many of us will never know. Jamieson and Mohamed do an incredible job of making that world highly relatable and vivid.
How Can You Read It?
You can find “Where Stars Are Scattered” wherever books are sold, including your local comic shop. You can also get it online, via your favorite online bookseller, and in digital format for your tablet or e-reader.
In Conclusion
In powerful and highly personal terms, “When Stars Are Scattered” gives younger readers a close-up look at the refugee experience. It’s a hopeful, humorous, heart wrenching book that can provide a platform for discussing the complex topics of displacement and human migration.
