Refugees

[close] This is your chance to read from a new perspective. Follow the well worn lines of walking in someone else's shoes. Maybe even go on an adventure with a protagonist who is nothing like you. The goal of the Big Picture Book Club is to learn about those more vulnerable in our society, and see how it might change your own perspective. This is not meant to be a political group, though 2016 taught us to look more closely at how politics are shaping our own perspective.

[close] During the month of February, we will encourage an ongoing, online discussion of "Outcasts United" by Warren St. John - the 2018 selection for Salem Reads, organized by the Salem Public Library Foundation as a One Community, One Book project.

[close] Welcome! In 2016, discussions about the refugee crisis among a group of friends and acquaintances gave wings to the creation of Hearts and Homes for Refugees (www.heartsandhomesforrefugees.org). With an unprecedented number of refugee stories populating bookshelves these days, there are so many more opportunities to learn, to understand the crisis and come to know these stories of need and hope. We can all contribute to these discussions and perhaps in some small way, our dialogue will flow outside our group chats and into our circle of friends and communities. Who knows where these seeds will land grow? We would like to believe that the more informed we are, the more discussions we have, the greater chance of our becoming part of the solution to the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time. In 2019, we read one book each month on the topic of refugees, and enjoyed talking about them here with you. We have added many more suggestions to our group "bookshelf" since then, and hope you will enjoy our recommendations.

[close] A class of amazing Year 9 students from Hobsonville Point Secondary School in New Zealand. Reading and inquiring about displaced young people from around the world due to conflict, today and throughout history.