A moving picture book about the journey of a child forced to become a refugee when war destroys everything she has ever known.
Imagine if, on an ordinary day, war came. Imagine it turned your town to rubble. Imagine going on a long and difficult journey – all alone. Imagine finding no welcome at the end of it. Then imagine a child who gives you something small but very, very precious...
This sensitive and hopeful book encourages empathy and understanding around the important topics of war and refugees. With beautiful illustrations by the award-winning Rebecca Cobb, The Day the War Came is essential for every Key Stage 2 classroom, for helping explain world events to young readers.
Originally written as a poem by Welsh Children's Laureate Nicola Davies in response to the UK government refusing to allow 3,000 child refugees to enter the UK in 2016, it started a campaign for which artists contributed drawings of chairs, symbolising a seat in a classroom, education, kindness, the hope of a future. It is a message of compassion and humanity that continues to resonate today.
