Nam-Huong a Vietnamese refugee grieves the loss of her family and home. Unable to talk about her losses to the kids at school in Australia, she writes her real feelings in letters to her animal friends in Vietnam. Through a friendship with her kind teacher her grief finally finds expression, and her capacity for happiness again begins to unfold. This book is written in the yearning language of a child who has experienced great loss. Though Onion Tears is a refugee story rather than TCK, the grief of loss and moving is very relatable to TCKs and that’s why it is included on this site.
Reading level: age 8-12 years