Charlotte Zolotow Award winner

 

We just found out that this book is the winner of the Charlotte Zolotow award. Congratulations!
A Vietnamese son goes fishing in the early morning hours with his father. This is before his father has to go to work. The intimacy of fishing together allows the father to tell his son about his home country, Vietnam. This book, in a loving way, captures the refugee experience and the immigrant experience. And even if readers cannot relate to either of those, they will be able to relate to the struggles of getting through the day and getting food on the table. No matter the circumstances, the overreaching universal theme of survival is what we all know and understand. We all share this at differing levels. We can applaud the people who take care of their families and push through exhaustion especially after having escaped a war. We never know people's stories until we ask...and listen.