Too Far From Home

February 15, 2020
A biracial girl encounters racism when she and her family move to a new city in Israel. Meskerem and her little sisters were all born in Israel. She has always been proud of her loving, interracial Jewish family and of her mixed Ethiopian American heritage. But on the first day at her new school her classmates taunt her because of her color and their assumption that she is a newly arrived Ethiopian immigrant--so she claims to be American. There are further bullying incidents, and Meskerem is miserable, confused, and angry. She withdraws from her parents, but her grandmother gives her a better understanding of the danger-filled struggles of Ethiopian Jews to reach asylum in Israel, with her parents filling in additional details. When she shares this information in a school project, there's a hopeful, if facile, outcome. Despite these expository opportunities, this Israeli import lacks context for North American readers unfamiliar with Operation Solomon and the concept of making aliyah, and there is no backmatter supplement. Meskerem narrates her own story, never exceeding her child's understanding of events. While Shmuel provides a hopeful vision of acceptance and friendship, the author bio reveals that the story is based in part on the experiences of her own biracial (Ethiopian/Israeli) children. Katz's softly drawn illustrations add depth and detail. Readers will respond to this portrait of a proud, loving family in a difficult situation. (Fiction. 9-12)

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March 6, 2020

Gr 3-7-Shmuel's middle grade tale offers readers a realistic depiction of a biracial child's encounter with bias and discrimination. Maskerem, who was born to an Ethiopian mother and a Hebrew American father, must leave her birthplace and grandmother in Kazerin in the Golan Heights of Israel. When her mother, an educational counselor for the Ministry of Education, receives a promotion, her family moves to the town of Herzliya near Tel Aviv after Operation Solomon, where several thousand Ethiopian refugees were brought to Israel. On her first day of school, Maskerem realizes she is the only person of color in the fifth grade. She encounters ignorance and prejudice from her Hebrew classmates. With a little help from her Ethiopian grandmother, Maskerem embraces her unique identity and teaches her peers about her heritage through a family tree assignment. Readers will find Maskerem brave for battling against bigotry. Her grandmother adds an additional emotional impact to Maskerem's journey. Pair with Neesha Meminger's Shine, Coconut Moon; Alan Gratz's Refugee and Alma Flor Ada's My Name Is Mar�a Isabel. VERDICT A strong addition to any collection seeking titles that focus on celebrating the self and combating bias and injustice-Angelina Bair, Lakewood Public Library, OH

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