One of the things I tell about Refugee is that unless you’re Native American or a descendant of slaves.
ALAN GRATZOne of the things I tell about Refugee is that unless you’re Native American or a descendant of slaves.
ALAN GRATZBaseball, more than any other sport, has a magical way of connecting fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, grandparents and grandchildren and ancestors back down the line. – From The Brooklyn Nine
ALAN GRATZI’m going to tell kids the way things really were.
ALAN GRATZThe thought of starting over like that in the way that many refugee families have to start all over again – that’s an incredible thing to think about.
ALAN GRATZWhat I don’t do – and this is the only thing I do differently in writing for kids – is that I don’t revel in the gory details.
ALAN GRATZI don’t know that I would have the courage to come over to a new country where the religion is different, the language is different, where I don’t have any money.
ALAN GRATZAnd then when they finally do get aboard, it’s the last place they want to be. It’s harrowing. That is the horrible irony of a refugee’s life.
ALAN GRATZI think kids are incredibly savvy readers.
ALAN GRATZPeople will ask me, “How do you approach writing books for young readers differently than for adults?” My answer is always: I don’t change anything about the story itself.
ALAN GRATZYour family immigrated to this country – whether they came over on the Mayflower or whether they came over on a raft last year.
ALAN GRATZIf they are, they can fill in the details even better than I could, just with their imaginations.
ALAN GRATZYou don’t want to be doing it. But you have to. You have to keep moving forward.
ALAN GRATZWaiting is a huge part of being a refugee. You’re waiting at borders to get across. You’re waiting for transportation.
ALAN GRATZThe waiting that people do in Turkey to get aboard one of these boats is incredible.
ALAN GRATZI allow readers to fill in the details as necessary. But I don’t force kids to have to digest something they’re not mature enough or ready for yet.
ALAN GRATZI think we should give them all the credit in the world. They want to know the truth.
ALAN GRATZ