Last week we published Refuge, written by Anne Booth and illustrated by Sam Usher, in aid of War Child (who receive £5 from each copy sold). The book took just seven weeks to bring to market – it’s absolutely incredible to see it in shops.
And we’ve been completely overwhelmed by the response to the book already – it has been hugely heart-warming to see so many people support Refuge – by sharing and tweeting pictures of the book, displaying it in bookshops, buying a copy (or sometimes several!), blogging about it, telling others about it, reading it in schools and libraries, and more.
Refuge was named Children’s Book of the Week in The Times on Saturday – Alex O’Connell called it “an excellent way to help children make sense of what they are seeing on news bulletins every day … a simple but important story about the kindness of strangers that refuses to preach”.
And the book received a wonderful review in TheBookBag: “It’s difficult to explain what’s happening to these children in words which our children can understand and this gentle, beautiful book helps to put the situation into context. The words are simple, elegant and completely appropriate and Sam Usher’s illustrations bring them to life perfectly. It’s one of the most moving retellings of the nativity story which I’ve read, particularly as it ends with so much hope.”
If you’ve bought a copy of Refuge: thank you. And if you’d like to, you can order it online from Waterstones here, The Hive here, or directly from Nosy Crow here.
Here’s a look inside the book:
You can read our publication day blogpost here – and here’s the story behind book.
