Two weeks ago, our Librarian Victoria Heisler recommended three books on the narrative on human rights.
Narratives have the power to evoke emotions and create a deep, personal connection with the audience. Human rights issues can sometimes seem abstract or overwhelming, but personal narratives make them relatable on a human level, fostering empathy and understanding. Sharing personal experiences allows survivors and advocates to reclaim their narratives, highlighting resilience and strength in the face of adversity.
This week, we are starting off the first week of 2024 with three additional narrative books on human rights. Enjoy the reading!
Voices of Future Generations International Children’s Book Series/ Various Authors
UNESCO
From the publisher: A wonderful anthology of eight stories addressing children’s rights and sustainable development, written by child authors from all around the world and produced in conjunction with UNESCO’s Voices of Future Generations initiative.
UNESCO’s Voices of Future Generations initiative works to empower children all around the world. The stories in this book are written by children aged between 8 and 12 from every corner of the globe: Canada, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, South Africa, Taiwan, Uruguay and United Arab Emirates. With beautiful, full colour illustrations throughout by four talented illustrators, Jhonny Nunez, Giovana Medeiros, Marco Guadalupi and Mona Meslier Menaua, this book is the perfect way to engage children with the issues facing the planet and the lives of children in other countries.
We Are Displaced / Malala Yousafzai
65:3 YOU
From the publisher: In this powerful and emotional New York Times bestseller, Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist Malala Yousafzai shares various stories of displacement, including her own. Part memoir, part communal storytelling, We Are Displaced introduces readers to some of the incredible girls Malala has met on her many journeys and lets each tell her story – girls who have lost their community, relatives and often the only world they’ve ever known, but have not lost hope.
Longing for home and fear of an uncertain future binds all of these young women, but each is unique. In a time of immigration crises, war and border conflicts, We Are Displaced is an important reminder that every single one of the 79.5 million currently displaced is a person – often a young person – with dreams for a better, safer world.
Pay No Heed to the Rockets
47:3 DIC
“With humility, respect, and great sensitivity, he seeks out writers, people skilled at telling stories, and asks them to narrate their own situations. The result is a document that captures not only the manifold sorrows and injustices of Palestinian life but something of its beauty, its joys, and its yearning.” —Ben Ehrenreich, author of The Way to the Spring
Taking the long route through the West Bank, into Jerusalem, across Israel, and finally into Gaza, Marcello Di Cintio meets with Palestinian poets, authors, librarians, and booksellers to learn about Palestine through their eyes. Pay No Heed to the Rockets offers a look at life in contemporary Palestine through the lens of its literary culture, one that begins with art rather than with war.
Find the first part of narrative books on human rights here: