The Little Refugee By Anh Do

The Little Refugee written by Anh Do & Suzanne Do

The Little Refugee, by Anh Do and Suzanne Do is a children’s literature picture book about the survival of Ahn Do and his family fleeing to Australia. His story is written in the perspective of first person, Ahn Do, and is a factual recount of his journey on an overcrowded boat, facing storms and pirates from Vietnam to Australia. Do (2012) created this book for children to read and understand as his novel based on the same events ‘The Happiest Refugee’, was intended for an adult audience.

Ahn Do is one of Australia’s favourite personalities as a comedian and actor. His comical approach to life can be seen within this book where humour is often conveyed through adversity he faced. Do (2012) also depicts the hardship he faced being a young Vietnamese child living in Australia with little known English.

This book educates children about refugees and opens children’s eyes to the reasons why refugees flee their own countries to come live in Australia. Themes that could be explored within this book are refugees, war and disposition, Vietnamese culture and history and racial and ethnic difference.

The watercolour illustrations suit the tone of each text as the facial expressions accompany the field, this is how the book it brought to live.The illustrations throughout the book change from black, white and grey (to signify/suggest troubles times) to colour towards the end. This suggests the resolution as Anh Do goes to school and becomes the school captain, this is highlighted through the use of colour as a much happier moment within Anh Do’s life. The colour shows how Anh Do’s life is gradually getting better and better as he’s living within Australia as the colours get brighter and brighter.   This book is also about the importance of family, hope and compassion.