Hollis was invited to write about refugees and her book Hello! for UK Refugee Week:
“I show the opening spread of my book, depicting in bright colours a mother and her three young children running away from a bombed or burning village. The young boy carries a backpack. What might he have packed just before they fled? What would you grab on your way out?
Tentatively at first, and then with increasing fervor, the children begin to volunteer ideas. Their hands shoot up. Regardless of age, almost every group mentions bringing a cuddle toy for comfort and company โ and some of them hope that their real pets might fit. Beyond the practical items they add to the list (food, water, phone, clothes, perhaps an extra pair of shoes for all that walking), two other telling categories generally sneak in: reminders of home and something to do.”
Read the complete blog here: