LAST FLIGHT, by Kristen Mai Giang and Dow Phumuruk, Levine Querido, April 4, 2023, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 4-8)
Last Flight, by Kristen Mai Giang and Dow Phumuruk, tells the true story of the author’s escape from Saigon, Vietnam, in 1975.
On April 24, 1975, the last flight out of Saigon, Vietnam, carried more than 400 people to the United States. It was six days before Saigon’s surrender to the North Vietnamese Army.
Kristen Giang was a little girl, on that flight with family, and in this story, she shares all the emotions of the decision to flee from the perspective of someone eight years old; Playing a game of space-explorers to protect herself and her sister’s eyes from tear gas; sneaking a stuffed animal into the family’s overstuffed suitcase for comfort.
This book explores the storm of emotions and the ultimate hopefulness of this true story. —Synopsis provided by Levine Querido
Last Flight captures the fear and tension and all the other emotions the Vietnamese felt leaving their homeland. Author Kristen Mai Giang perfectly captures this experience, in part because she lived it. Last Flight is told from her older sister’s point of view.
Refugee children will immediately relate to Last Flight. And children who have never experienced anything like it will gain a sense of empathy.
Last Flight is a heartfelt picture book that will resonate with all who read it.
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