From Far Away

A seven-year-old girl flees war in Lebanon and must adjust to a strange new life in Canada, struggling with a language she doesn't understand and everyday moments that suddenly feel frightening.

For the kid navigating something new and scary — a first day of school, a new country, a new language — this story says: what you're feeling has a name, and it makes sense.

• Big idea: Starting over somewhere new means the smallest things — a classroom, a bathroom request, a Hallowe'en decoration — can feel enormous, and that fear deserves to be taken seriously.
• Vibes: Tender, honest, quietly brave

• are working on understanding what it's like to move somewhere unfamiliar
• respond well to stories told from a child's real point of view
• are curious about what it feels like not to understand the language around you
• benefit from seeing big feelings like fear and frustration named out loud

• Real-life connection: Have you ever been somewhere new where you didn't understand what people were saying, like Saoussan at school?
• Feelings & empathy: How do you think Saoussan felt when she couldn't tell her teacher she needed the bathroom?
• Story & problem-solving: What are some ways you could help a new kid who just moved to your class?
• Imagination: If you moved to a country where everyone spoke a different language, what's the first word you'd want to learn?
• Real-life connection: Saoussan was scared of a Hallowe'en skeleton because it was new to her — what's something that seemed scary at first but wasn't once you understood it?