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Faraway Home is a gem. Both the text by Jane Kurtz and the watercolors by E.B. Lewis are exceptional. This picture book was published in 2000 by Gulliver Books, Harcourt, Inc. Faraway Home is a book to be savored by children and adults alike. Both the words and the artwork clearly express the poignancy of being far from home, while at the same time celebrating the home that comes with a loving family.

It all begins with a letter, a letter with brightly colored stamps and a drawing of wild animals on it. The letter comes to America all the way from Ethiopia, and it contains bad news. Desta's grandmother is ill, and her father needs to return to his beloved country to be with her. Desta is fearful about her father's leaving and going to what is, to her, a strange and wild country. It is also so far away. Desta's father loves and misses Ethiopia, and he gently explains to his little girl, "For me, Ethiopia is never far away."

Desta's father spends the evening telling her about his life in Ethiopia when he was her age. It is hard for Desta to visualize the land and the animals, they seem so different from what she is used to. His mother cooked over a fire in a shallow pit in the floor while Desta's mother cooks on a stove. Her father slept on the floor and went to school barefoot. Desta sleeps in a bed and loves wearing her shoes to school.

The author's lyrical use of words beautifully expresses Desta's father's love of the land.

"'In Ethiopia,...hippos yawn from muddy pools and crocodiles arch their backs in the river water. Shepherds pipe songs of longing in the hills, and thousands of flamingos flap in a pink cloud over the Great Rift Valley lakes.'" Desta listens to her father's stories, talks to her friend at school about Ethiopia, learns more about flamingoes, and thinks about how her father must be feeling.

Desta realizes that he misses his homeland very much. She talks to her father about it and asks that he tell her stories about Ethiopia every night until he leaves. He promises, saying, "'And when I come back - and I will come back - I will have new stories to tell.'"

This story succeeds on so many levels: expressing the mixed feelings of Desta and her father, the importance of one's heritage, and the importance of family. I would highly recommend this book. The author, Jane Kurtz, who lives in Kansas, grew up in Ethiopia. E.B. Lewis grew up in Philadelphia and has traveled throughout Ethiopia. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000. ISBN: 9780152000363)

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