Sunbird: for young refugees from Iran and Afghanistan

The Books Away From Home Foundation is proud to announce its newest book project for refugee children: Sunbird, named after a little bird that makes its home in both Iran and Afghanistan. After the success of our first (and ongoing) project for Ukrainian refugee kids, we now provide a selection of children's books in Persian, for Iranian and Afghan refugee children living in Europe. Most of these children have no books of their own, and it's not easy for them to find books in their native language. (For those who didn't yet know, most Iranian and Afghan children can read Persian, which makes this project particularly beneficial!)

As always, the books are absolutely free to refugee families and shelters. Schools, libraries, refugee organizations, host families, community centers and hospitals are asked to pay the (low) cost price. In all cases, we ask to be reimbursed for the cost of shipping.

Have a look below at the first five Sunbird books: brightly illustrated and sturdy enough for the youngest readers.

Two little stories for children to read, or for their lovely parents to read to them. ❤️ Recommended for ages 3-6.

"My mother loves me very much. I love my mother, too. And I love my blanket." Recommended for ages 3-6.

Do our friends have to be exactly like us? Can we be different? This book tells us more. Recommended for ages 3-6.

For centuries, a land has been ravaged by a demon who blocks the sunlight with his huge hands. Then, one day, the demon meets the sun's daughter. Recommended for ages 6-9.

The story of a boy and a girl, Sohrab and Golali, and an ancient clay bowl with mysterious writing. A book for history lovers. Recommended for ages 6-9.

Our heartfelt thanks to the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University (ACKU), the Gahwara Organization, the Dutch-Afghan foundation KEIHAN, the Institute for Research on the History of Children’s Literature (Iran) and a growing group of enthusiastic readers and specialists, all of whom have been instrumental in realizing this project.

NB: Now that the 5 Afghan books are available, we heartily invite donations for the second phase of the Sunbird project: a wide range of full-color Iranian children's books (at the special low rate of 3 euros per book) to be ordered from TUTI Books in Tehran and distributed from our headquarters in the Netherlands. Thank you for your contribution!