Story by Lori Morgan
Illustrations by Kathy Kaulbach
Alice Housing
Ages 6–8
If you’ve never been in the situation, it’s almost impossible to understand what it must be like to be a child in an unsafe home, to have to leave because the people who are supposed to care for you can’t or won’t protect you. With this ambitious and important book, author Lori Morgan, who has worked as a youth counsellor at Alice Housing for the last four years, tries to make the experience more relatable. With warmth, empathy and wisdom, she tells the story of Julia, a young girl who, with her mother, leaves an abusive home and begins the healing process. For kids who have experienced domestic violence, the story will be relatable and perhaps show them the light at the end of the tunnel. Kids who haven’t had such experiences will learn to see through the eyes of a kid just like them. This is an important book—a complex topic handled well, and perfectly complemented with Kathy Kaulbach’s evocative illustrations.
