How can you rate a children's book that absolutely breaks your heart? We have heard of families being separated at borders, but somewhere the picture we have in our heads is still incomplete. We assume that there is some humanity left in the way those handlers would treat children. This book shatters all such illusions.

"Hear My Voice" is an important picture book, more so for adults. Though it is aimed at provoking a healthy discussion with little readers, the issues it raises will definitely provoke at least some reaction in the hardest of hearts. This book is not recommended for very young children as the subject matter is too emotionally intensive.

I loved the book for its approach. The narratives are straight from the voice of the children affected by border policies. The pain of their testimony is brought to life by the brilliant illustrations of Mexican/American artists. The dual English-Spanish narrative helps in bringing more readers into the loop.

All the proceeds of this book are going to human rights organizations that work with children on the border. If nothing else appeals to you, this itself should be a good enough reason to purchase this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. And a bigger thank you to Project Amplify and Workman Publishing Group for this attempt to improve the circumstances of those children.


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In Spanish and in English, a devastating first-person account of children’s experiences in detention at the southern U.S. border.

The nightmare children have faced while separated from their families at the U.S.–Mexico border in recent years is detailed unsparingly via interview snippets from 61 migrant children ages 5 to 17. The words are interpreted by 17 different Latinx illustrators. While some of the artists build fantasy imagery, depicting the children as caged birds or representing escape from a dangerous country as flight from a terrifying monster, the most affecting double-page spreads simply detail the horrifying living conditions and allow expressions on faces to do the rest. Hunger, overcrowding, verbal abuse, and unsanitary conditions are only part of the horrors. “I have been here without bathing for twenty-one days,” one child says from behind chain-link fencing. “I wish I could get clean.” The Spanish-language version is bound dos-à-dos to the English one, and the children’s words are even more painful in their native language. Additional context on how the stories were captured and the legal issues around child detention is provided in a foreword and backmatter; it reinforces the impossible and cruel situation the migrant children have faced and their misplaced hope in a system that has failed them. It’s the kind of terrifying book that no adult should hand to a child before preparing to explain, with context, that the stories are true and that they must be remembered.

A powerful, critical document only made more heartbreaking in picture-book form. (Picture book. 8-18)

-Kirkus Review

K-Gr 4—More than 60 children at the U.S. border, from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Mexico,
give voice to their dreams, current torturous conditions, and lives, shown in evocative but brutal illustrations by 17
Latinx artists, including Yuyi Morales and Raúl the Third. These untold stories can no longer go ignored.

This book is an incredible resource for starting conversations about immigration and child detention at our southern border. Hear My Voice is beautifully and thoughtfully illustrated, and the supplementary materials offer a great starting point for educating children on such an emotionally challenging subject.

Thank you to NetGalley and Workman Publishing for providing me with a free digital galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

A huge world problem that we are still going through and this is explained so well to the point where children will be able to understand.

One of the most important sections was the truth reality of the kids at the border. The story is bilingual and it has sensitive content but extremely important to read. Would have it for my personal library .

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )

This book contains quotes from real children being held at boarder facilities. There are various illustrators all who come from a Latinx heritage. If you flip the book around there is the same story in Spanish. I would say this book would best be for 5th or middle school based on the sensitive content. This would be a great book to start conversations. ( )

A tragic but beautiful book that illustrates the horrific realities of what parts of our world looks like. ( )

As the BBC reports, the US has a vast system of detention sites scattered across the country, holding more than 20,000 migrant children. In its special investigation, the BBC, through a series of interviews with children and staff, uncovered allegations of cold temperatures, sickness, neglect, lice and filth.

This book for ages 5 and up illuminates those conditions and more, including hunger, overcrowding, and verbal abuse. Warren Binford (born Wendi Warren Binford) is an American attorney, professor, writer, and international children’s rights scholar. She is a Professor of Law and Director of the Clinical Law Program at Willamette University and founded Willamette’s Child and Family Advocacy Clinic to provide pro bono legal support for children and families.

In this book, she seeks to bring to a wider audience the story of what is happening at the border. She writes in the Afterword: “Every word is from a child being held in a US detention facility.” She adds:

“Although this is a children’s book, we recommend that thoughtful adults are on hand to help young readers process what they are learning from these children’s accounts. The book should be viewed as an opportunity to better understand human migration and children’s rights.”

The book is told in English on one side, and then if you turn the book over and upside down, there is a Spanish version. In keeping with its collaborative nature, 17 Mexican and Mexican Americans contribute the artwork for the book.

Each page shows a different unpleasant situation to which the children are subjected. For example, one anecdote reads: “During the night when we’re trying to sleep they come in and wake us up yelling and scaring us. My sisters and I are very scared.”

The text tells of little children trying to comfort even smaller children, even though the comforters need comfort as well. And there are sick kids who are disbelieved and ignored by the guards, and inadequate and lack of nourishing food that never fills them up.

Additional information on how the stories were collected is given in the back matter. There is also a section for “Questions to Ask/Things to Think About” and perhaps most importantly, one titled “Here Are Some Ways You and Your Family Can Help.”

Evaluation: Children need to understand the issues that are roiling the country because they always seem to get wind of them somehow anyway. This presentation from the point of view of kids in their own words will help convey what is going on with much more impact than any adult analysis could. ( )

We should be ashamed of ourselves ( )

This is a collection of testimonials from children who were held in border camps. Particularly the Clinton border camp. They were locked away, split from their family, and made to live in inhumane conditions. We did that. American did it. The President of the US did it. And we can not forget it, and we can not let it happen again!. Everylibrary and every school should have a copy of this book, so this pathetic event in our recent past, NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN! ( )