Welcome to the New World

About “Welcome to the New World” the jury wrote, “Following one refugee family’s journey from Syria to the United States as Donald Trump was elected to the White House, this story is both heartbreaking and hopeful. The reader is given a first-hand and personal perspective of the overwhelming sense of change and upheaval a refugee family experiences from leaving their country to becoming settled in the United States. Halpern and Sloan were able to balance the fear and humiliation this family felt with moments of warmth and humor. Halpern’s deep dive into this family’s experience makes it a smart and humanizing piece of journalism while Sloan’s simple, yet evocative illustrations bring that story to life for readers while also leaving space for readers to imagine how the characters’ experiences are not unique to these individuals. If you have never known the challenges, sense of isolation, adventure, and risk of the immigrant experience, this is the perfect place to begin your lesson.”