Children's Literature Association Quarterly 43.4 (Winter 2018): cover

Migration, Refugees, and Diaspora in Children’s Literature (ChLAQ)

Separating children from their parents is a violation of basic human rights and does not deter asylum-seekers. Hostile to facts and compassionate only towards himself, Mr. Trump has pursued this policy with reckless indifference to its consequences. As of the end of last month (over four months after the court-imposed deadline to reunite these families),

proposed Trump logo, satirically created by Sam Kuo

Why Trump Jails Crying Children. How We Resist. (A Twitter Essay)

1. The Trump regime feels threatened by crying children because they – and all refugees – refute the Trumpist/fascist lie that humanity depends upon citizenship. – Philip Nel (@philnel) June 21, 2018 2. As Hannah Arendt wrote of refugees, they “have lost all distinctive political qualities,” “lost all other qualities and relationships–except that they [are]

Francesca Sanna, The Journey (2016)

Refugee Stories for Young Readers: Francesca Sanna’s The Journey (Public Books)

Over on Public Books today, I have a new, short piece on Francesca Sanna’s The Journey, a.k.a. one of the best picture books published last year.  If you have yet to read it, check out “Refugee Stories for Young Readers” (my essay), which includes some images from the book.  In the piece, I observe that As Francesca Sanna’s

Migration, Refugees, and Diaspora in Children’s Literature: Call for Papers (1 Nov. 2017)

A Special Issue of the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly Edited by Philip Nel Deadline: 1 November 2017 In September 2015, photos of three-year-old Alan Kurdi – his corpse washed ashore on a Turkish beach – came to symbolize the urgency of the Syrian refugee crisis. World leaders promised to do more, people debated whether printing the pictures

MLA 2017 Call for Papers! Border Conflicts: Migration, Refugees, and Diaspora in Children’s Literature

In September 2015, photos of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi – his corpse washed ashore on a Turkish beach – came to symbolize the urgency of the Syrian refugee crisis. World leaders promised to do more, people debated whether printing the pictures was appropriate, and charities experienced a surge in donations. In children’s literature, the figure of