With the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, California, this book is a timely resource to use with children who do not understand what happens when people must flee their homes because of fires. The central character, Simone, a Vietnamese American, is suddenly woken up because a wildfire is quickly approaching her home. This was similar to when her mom in the past had to evacuate her home from floods in Vietnam.
As the wildfire gets close to her neighborhood, Simone abruptly wakes up with her mom shaking her. Her mom hastily urges her to gather up her most important things. Simone puts a few items like books and crayons in her backpack. The fires get close to the neighborhood. They leave right away. Simone and her mom go to an evacuation center at a high school gym where she meets many other children who also fled the wildfires. They all sleep in a huge room waiting out the fires; they become friends there and share dreams and fears.
Many children and their families in the United States and other countries have bravely fled their homes because of wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Viet Thanh Nguyen, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Sympathizer, authored this picture book, Simone, about the evacuation of a young girl and her mother because of dangerous wildfires.
Nguyen is an outstanding writer. His story takes readers quickly across the pages of this picture book explaining how Simone had to suddenly leave her home and how she and her mom boldly survived fast-moving wildfires.
Minnie Phan’s exceptional drawings are warm and tender showing the love of Simone’s mother for Simone, how difficult it was for neighborhood children to leave their homes, the courage of firefighters, and how neighbors helped each other. The bright colors emphasize the compassion that children felt for their homes, friends, and families.
