“This engaging, heartwarming story does everything one can ask of a book, and then some.” – Kirkus Reviews

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future…but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only family member he has left, every day.

See this educator guide to When Stars are Scattered.

I’m excited to tell you about When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamison and Omar Muhammad.  Usually, I’m not as big of a fan of graphic novels, but so many of my students and colleagues love them.  I also appreciate and understand the mastery that it takes to create these sophisticated works.

Heartbreak, hope, and gentle humor exist together in this graphic novel—about a childhood spent waiting, and a young man who is able to create a sense of family and home in the most difficult of settings. It’s an intimate, important, unforgettable look at the day-to-day life of a refugee, as told to author/artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story.

It’s an intimate, important, unforgettable look at the day-to-day life of a refugee, as told to author/artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story. Graphic novels like this one help reluctant readers become more interested in reading. The visual content can help learners avoid reading slumps.

Writing for School Library Journal, Steven Engelfried said, “The writing is intriguing and easy to understand. The graphics are beautiful and really bring the characters to the page. Omar’s story is important, relevant, and relatable.

Graphic novels like this one help make complex subjects more accessible and engaging. Research focused on how the brain processes the combination of images and text indicates that graphic novels are also excellent resources for resources for advanced learners.  This is a must-read about perseverance, love, and real-world problems. If you are a teacher and are looking for a book that will capture your students, consider adding this to your classroom library.