World Refugee Day | Until Everyone is Safe (all ages)

World Refugee Day | Until Everyone is Safe

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on 20 June and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.

Updated June 19, 2026
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Greater Victoria Public Library
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Crooked Teeth: A Queer Syrian Refugee Memoir
Ramadan, Danny
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE GOVERNER GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD FOR NON-FICTION FINALIST FOR THE VANCOUVER BOOK AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 EVERGREEN AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE HUBERT EVANS NON-FICTION PRIZE AN AUDIBLE BEST BOOK OF 2024 ...
We are displaced : my journey and stories from refugee girls around the world
Yousafzai, Malala
Paper Book
Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai turns the faceless statistics and endless news stories about displacement into real people, introducing a small fraction of the millions worldwide who have fled home in this powerful...
Slow noodles : a Cambodian memoir of love, loss, and family recipes
Nguon, Chantha
Paper Book
A haunting and beautiful memoir from a Cambodian refugee who lost her country and her family during Pol Pot's genocide in the 1970s but who finds hope by reclaiming the recipes she tasted in her mother's kitchen.  RECIPE: HOW TO CHANGE CLOTH INTO DIAMOND
Eleven words for love : a journey through Arabic expressions of love
Abdel-Fattah, Randa
Paper Book
A lyrical narrative of a Palestinian family in exile explores universal bonds of family, loyalty, and friendship through the lens of eleven Arabic expressions for love. A family has fled their homeland in search of safety in another country, carrying a single suitcase. As their...
A map of future ruins : on borders and belonging
Markham, Lauren
Paper Book
"This stunning meditation on nostalgia, heritage, and compassion asks us to dismantle the stories we've been told--and told ourselves--in order to naturalize the forms of injustice we've come to understand as order." --Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams   When...
Homeland : my father dreams of Palestine
Moushabeck, Hannah
Paper Book
A father and his daughters may not be able to return home . . . but they can celebrate stories of their homeland! As bedtime approaches, three young girls eagerly await the return of their father who tells them stories of a faraway homeland--Palestine....
Fugitive/refuge
Metres, Philip
Paper Book
Dynamically pairing traditional and experimental forms, Philip Metres traces ancient and modern migrations in an investigation of the ever-shifting idea of home. In Fugitive/Refuge, Philip Metres follows the journey of his refugee ancestors--from Lebanon to Mexico to the United States--in...
The Bluest Sky
Gonzalez, Christina Diaz
Paper Book
A boy and his family must decide whether to remain in Cuba under a repressive government or risk everything for the chance of a new beginning. "Heartbreaking yet hopeful" -Alan Gratz, bestselling author of Refugee There are two versions of Hector- the...
Quiet night, my astronaut : the first days (and nights) of the war in Ukraine
Lushchevska, Oksana
Paper Book
The child is scared, but will not be afraid. She believes in a higher power watching over them, keeping them safe--her astronaut. As she narrates, readers get a tender glimpse into a life on the front lines, one filled with love and trauma, fear and hope. A much needed perspective from Ukrainian...
Finding home : words from kids seeking sanctuary
Agna, Gwen
Paper Book
In this photographic picture book, the authors record and transcribe the words of displaced children, raising up their voices--who they are, where they came from, and the many different reasons that they had to leave their home countries. My parents told me we had to leave to stay safe. I...
Unaccompanied : stories of brave teenagers seeking asylum
White, Tracy
Paper Book
One of the 2024 Best Graphic Novels for Teens by the American Library Association Life at home is so unbearable that these kids will risk their lives and face colossal challenges to escape to the United States and find safety.  This book tells the...
Wings in the wild
Engle, Margarita
Paper Book
This gorgeously romantic contemporary novel-in-verse from award-winning author Margarita Engle tells the "inspiring and hopeful" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) love story of two teens fighting for climate action and human rights. Winged beings are meant to be free. And...
Under the broken sky
Nagai, Mariko
Paper Book
"Necessary for all of humankind, Under the Broken Sky is a breathtaking work of literature."--Booklist, starred review A beautifully told middle-grade novel-in-verse about a Japanese orphan's experience in occupied rural Manchuria during World War II. <...
The most beautiful thing I have ever seen
Umadat, Nadia Devi
Paper Book
A little girl sees her mother's fear when war comes to their home. Fear is replaced with hope when they board a huge, shiny airplane. When it lands, they are somewhere new, and slowly, it comes to feel like home. There are many new experiences, like the beautiful, fluffy snow. And the shrill...
The next new Syrian girl
Shukairy, Ream
Paper Book
A Syrian American and Syrian refugee who are at odds must chase a haunting secret that leads them all the way to Jordan in this sharp-witted novel perfect for fans of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.  Khadija Shami is a Syrian American high school...
We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies: A Novel
Lama, Tsering Yangzom
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review Summer Read Pick * A Washington Post Noteworthy Book of the Month * One of Booklist's Top 10 Historical Fiction Debuts * One of Publishers Weekly's Writers to Watch * Named a Most Anticipated Book by The Millions,...
If you see a bluebird
Rahman, Bahram
Paper Book
For young Ali, a former refugee from Afghanistan, "home" is where his family is together. Although his family is safe in their new country, Ali finds himself wishing he could go back to Afghanistan. A day spent picking blackberries with Nana...
Muzoon : a Syrian refugee speaks out
Almellehan, Muzoon
Paper Book
"Muzoon takes readers on her perilous and ultimately hopeful journey from refugee child to advocate for others in need." -Malala Yousafzai, bestselling author and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize When her family had to flee Syria, 14-year-old Muzoon was told to pack only the...
You Don't Know What War Is : The Diary of a Young Girl from Ukraine
Skalietska, Yeva.
Paper Book
An inspiring memoir of resilience by a young survivor of the war in Ukraine, as told through her diary entries--a harrowing and ultimately hopeful survival story. Yeva Skalietska's story begins on her twelfth birthday in Kharkiv, where she has been living with...
Dounia and the magic seeds
Zarif, Marya
Paper Book
When fleeing her war-ravaged home, a young girl brings four magic seeds to help her family on their difficult journey Dounia loves her home in Aleppo, Syria, and all of its wonderful smells, sights, and traditions. But when war breaks out, Dounia and her grandparents must flee their home...
Landbridge : Life in Fragments
Troeung, Y-Dang.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Shortlisted for the Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes * A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year * One of CBC's Best Canadian Nonfiction Books of the Year * The inaugural title from Alchemy by Knopf Canada: A searing account by an exquisite writer who came to...
Alphonso Davies: A New Hope
Devji, Farhan
Paper Book
The inside story of a Canadian soccer superstar, who, by age 20, captured the hearts of a nation and became an inspiration to refugees around the world. Built on years of interviews with friends, family, teachers, coaches, and teammates, the first biography of Alphonso Davies, the new face of...
Salma the Syrian chef
Ramadan, Ahmad Danny
Paper Book
"Sure to become a favorite book about overcoming hardships and helping others. This is truly one story not to be missed." --Provo Library Children's Book Reviews 17 awards, nominations, and distinctions! Newcomer Salma and friends cook up a heartwarming dish to cheer up Mama. ...
Family style : memories of an American from Vietnam
Pham, Thien
Paper Book
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist Eisner Award Winner for Best Graphic MemoirAn NPR Best Books of 2023 A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American...
Escape from Manus Prison: One Man's Daring Quest for Freedom
Ealom, Jaivet
Paper Book
The awe-inspiring story of the only person to successfully escape Australia's notorious offshore detention centre--and his long search for freedom. In 2013 Jaivet Ealom fled Myanmar's brutal regime, where Rohingya like him were being persecuted and killed, and boarded a boat of...
The underground library : a novel
Ryan, Jennifer
Paper Book
When the Blitz imperils the heart of a London neighborhood, three young women must use their fighting spirit to save the community's beloved library in this novel based on true events from the author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. When the new deputy...
Replay : memoir of an uprooted family
Mechner, Jordan
Paper Book
"[A] vibrant, poignant book." --NPR Book Reviews 1914. A teenage romantic heads to the enlistment office when his idyllic life in a Jewish enclave of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is shattered by World War I. 1938. A seven-year-old refugee begins a desperate odyssey...

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