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A beautiful story of hope, Ziba Came on a Boat touches on the thoughts of a small girl leaving her home and sailing to a new land.
Most people in the United States and Canada cannot imagine what it would be like to be forced to leave ones home country and sail off to a new place. The fear and anxiety of reaching a new land would be overwhelming and the memories of the life left behind would be haunting. The ChildZiba Came on a Boat, written by Liz Lofthouse and illustrated by Robert Ingpen (Kane / Miller Book Publishers, ISBN 978-1-933605-52-4), gives children a glimpse of what it is like for a young girl to leave her home and head off to a new country. As the child, Ziba, sits with her mother on an old, noisy boat, she remembers her home. She once again hears the children laughing and playing, and she sees the sheep grazing on the hillside. She feels the mountain air on her skin and she remembers running down the hill with her cousins to collect water. She can smell the food her mother would prepare and she remembers the taste of goat’s milk yogurt. She also remembers her father. She remembers the doll he had given her and the stories he told her. She remembers feeling safe in his arms. Fleeing ConflictAs the boat sails on, Ziba begins to remember how things began to change. The winter was long and bitter cold. Ziba was no longer able to go to school. She remembers hiding in her home. Then gunfire rang through the village. People shouted. Ziba held on to her mother’s hand as they ran through the night to escape the madness. They ran and ran until there was quiet. On the BoatZiba and her mother gained passage on a boat to a new land. They sat together, surrounded by other women and children. Armed with only hope for a new life, they sailed on and on towards the promise of peace and freedom. Stunning and BeautifulZiba’s story is one of countless refuges, past and present. The simplicity of the story, the gentle words, helps the reader and listener see through the eyes of one little girl. There’s heartache at the loss of her loving father and the fear of the unknown land they are traveling to. Ziba and her mother have lost everything but each other and now they sail on towards freedom and a new life. Ziba Came on a Boat is an astonishingly touching story that will stay with you long after you set the book down.
The copyright of the article Ziba Came on a Boat in Picture Books is owned by Elizabeth Yetter. Permission to republish Ziba Came on a Boat in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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