Kende! Kende! Kende!

Toddler Loli and her family live in a small village in Central Africa (imagined as within the DRC). One day, conflict means they have to flee very suddenly, taking them on a journey to sanctuary on foot, by truck and, finally, by plane. A story of refugee and asylum which stands out on several counts. Lolie and her growing family (Mamá has two babies during the course of the book conveying the passage of time) are accorded full humanity in their thoughtful characterisations. The unit conveys strength, dignity and warmth while Lolie herself, at the core of the narrative, charms with her unique take on the exterior world, endlessly fascinated with wheels and mechanics from the wheelbarrow her Papá pushes her in as a toddler right through to her STEM studies in her new school. There is also the unique multilingual formatting of this picture book: the dual language French/English text with its clever shift to English/French with the family’s arrival in N America; the scattering of Lingala words; a QR-Code which offers readings of the story in seven different languages (French, English, Lingala, Swahili, Portuguese, Kinyarwanda and Arabic). All of which honours the many multilingual families of Central Africa. Crucially for a refugee narrative pitched so young, love, hope and reassurance remain central. Shortlisted for the Little Rebels Award 2025 a Reading Guide is available from the award website.