Gabiann Marin, illustrated by Jacqui Grantford,
A True Person
New Frontier, 2007.

Ages 4-8+

Simply told from the perspective of a young girl, A True Person opens up to young children the potentially difficult topics of immigration and integration. Zallah and her mother are being held in an Australian immigration detention centre while their application for admission to the country is being processed. The story only sketches in what Zallah and her mother have left behind but the illustrations are particularly effective here: on page after page, half of Zallah’s face fills the left-hand-side, her tear-filled eye showing that the emotion is so deep that the tears don’t actually fall, as she tries to make sense of what happened before she arrived in Australia. Later on, the picture of her mother talking to two officials, will be a powerful one for young readers, who share Zallah’s perspective on looking up at towering adults. 

By the end of the story, Zallah and her mother are moving on to a less restrictive environment, closer to the “new life” Zallah’s mother has promised her and where she will be able to go to school. Meanwhile, Zallah has made some friends at the detention centre. One, an African called Mwalo, has already been waiting for two years but is steadily confident of the outcome of his application – he is a “true person” because his papers are in order. This logic causes Zallah to worry about her own situation but her mother reassures her that being a true person comes from having “eyes that see you and hearts that love you.” This core message of the story is what young readers will take away with them. It both speaks to them about themselves and calls for tolerance and understanding.

The reality of day-to-day life in an immigration detention centre is not described in detail, but particularly via the illustrations, the difference from normal, everyday life is not forgotten – for example, high, chicken-wire fencing surrounds the centre, and Zallah dreams of flying over it and away to freedom. The illustrations allow young readers to empathise and explore the issues in their own words. A True Person facilitates discussion in and of our increasingly multicultural communities. Children will have plenty to say.

Marjorie Coughlan
May 2007