My friend Sarah Parker Rubio is an editor at Tyndale Publishing house. She is also a children’s author, and I had the privilege of asking her a few questions about her new picture book Far from Home. 

What inspired you to write Far from Home?
I was inspired to write Far from Home by the brave parents who have had to give their precious children the devastating news that home is no longer safe and they need to set out into the unknown. After hearing yet another story of displaced families on the radio one gray January day, I wondered what I could possibly do to help them. I just kept thinking of the international trips I’d taken with my own young children, how stressful it is under the best of circumstances, and how much harder it would be to do that without all the securities and privileges I enjoy, without even knowing what your final destination will be and what will be waiting for you there. Sometimes stories of people who live in different places or different circumstances from us can feel very distant and not relevant to our lives, and I wanted to do one small thing to bring those stories closer.

What is the target audience for your picture book?
The target audience of Far from Home is children ages 4 to 7, though I’ve heard from readers both younger and older. I’ve had the wonderful honor of hearing that it has been enjoyed both by children who have experienced being displaced and by those who have always lived in relative security.

What do you hope your readers will learn or take away from this story?
I hope that children (and parents) who have never been in significant danger or had to leave their homes and familiar environments will get a glimpse into what that means and learn to use their imaginations to spark empathy, compassion, and unity with people whose experiences are different from their own. I hope readers who have experienced displacement will learn that Jesus understands what that feels like and that he cares about what they have gone through. And I hope all readers will learn that God loves them more than they can ever know.

I appreciate Sarah’s heart of compassion as well as her vision to bring awareness to a reality that affects so many families. Far from Home is written from a child’s point of view, which makes the reader connect with it immediately. A sweet and honest story that everyone should read, I give it 5 smiles. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Crystal