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The Island
Poignant and chilling, this allegory is an astonishing, powerful, and timely story about refugees, xenophobia, racism, multiculturalism, social politics, and human rights. When the people of an island find a man sitting on their shore, they immediately reject him because he is different. Fearful to the point of delusional paranoia, the islanders lock him in a goat pen, refuse him work, and feed him scraps they would normally feed a pig. As their fears progress into hatred, they force him into the sea. The charcoal illustrations complement the sparse and beautifully understated narrative.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
August 23, 2023
چقدر قشنگ تو یه داستان کوچولو از مشکلات مهاجرت (؟) و ترس از چیز جدید و سر خود تصمیم گیری و یه طرفه به قاضی رفتن و... صحبت کرد.
یه ستاره ای که کم دادم بخاطر مدل نقاشیاش بود؛ صرفا دوست نداشتم.
یه ستاره ای که کم دادم بخاطر مدل نقاشیاش بود؛ صرفا دوست نداشتم.
May 18, 2015
Make no mistake: this is not a picture book for children, it is for adults. This chilling allegory will make you examine your own conscience in how you view Otherness.
May 24, 2017
A bleak, chilling, disturbing, and timely allegory about refugees, xenophobia, and racism. A poignant, powerful tale worthy of contemplation and discussion. Originally published in Germany.
July 24, 2017
Amazing art!
October 15, 2020
Her gün bir yerden göçmek ne iyi de, nereye göçtüğün, kimlerin yanında yer aldığın çok mühim. "Onlardan biri" olamayınca dışarı itilmenin kısa öyküsü.
January 9, 2018
'The Island' is a shocking revelation of an aspect of human nature. When a man is washed up on the Island, the inhabitants decide that he is 'not like' them, and turn him into a threat. The Islanders show extreme xenophobia and racism when deciding what to do with the man, who should care for him and how he will be integrated into the Island. Of course, there is no care, the man is isolated to the goat pen. It is these attitudes that make the book so vital to be used within schools, so that children analyse the behaviour and the ultimate impact on the man.
Although the Islanders take the man 'in', they are unwilling to share their own resources and jobs, making the selfish nature of the people all the more prevalent. This can be seen as drawing a striking parallel with some attitudes shown towards refugees and migrants within the UK. Therefore, this is a critical text that should be used to consolidate a welcoming ethos within schools and towards different cultures and communities, so that they can prevent becoming 'The Island'
There is deep irony within the illustrations of the story. The Islanders are shown to be quite derranged, with bulging eyes and contorted facial expressions, whereas the drawings of the man show him to be quite harmless. Here the roles are reversed, the beliefs that the Islanders have about the man, are actually reflected in themselves. This relationships between the words and the pictures could definitely be dissected by the children.
Although the Islanders take the man 'in', they are unwilling to share their own resources and jobs, making the selfish nature of the people all the more prevalent. This can be seen as drawing a striking parallel with some attitudes shown towards refugees and migrants within the UK. Therefore, this is a critical text that should be used to consolidate a welcoming ethos within schools and towards different cultures and communities, so that they can prevent becoming 'The Island'
There is deep irony within the illustrations of the story. The Islanders are shown to be quite derranged, with bulging eyes and contorted facial expressions, whereas the drawings of the man show him to be quite harmless. Here the roles are reversed, the beliefs that the Islanders have about the man, are actually reflected in themselves. This relationships between the words and the pictures could definitely be dissected by the children.
November 3, 2018
A harrowing tale of the treatment of a refugee and a timely comment on today's society. This picture book is incredibly evocative and the charcoal drawings are unsettling and disturbing, a dark compliment to the refugee's experience. The story focuses on a unnamed man who suddenly appears on an island where the inhabitants grudgingly take him in. Although they allow him to stay on the island they separate him from the community because he is different, which only increases their fear of him. The voice of reason in the community, the fisherman, is punished for supporting the refugee and the conclusion seems to be foreshadowing the future of some societies today. I was quite troubled for some time after reading this so I would be very hesitant to use this book with KS1 and I would only introduce it to KS2 after some preparation and discussion. Despite this, I think it could be a very important resource in exploring modern day attitudes to refugees and marginal people in society. An excellent picture book for upper KS2 and a thought provoking read.
September 29, 2021
An excellent portrayal of how quickly fear of the unknown leads to a mob mentality allowing racism and xenophobia to completely rule a community's behaviour. With stark, gloomy illustrations and a simple but emotionally challenging story this picture book is best suited to pupils aged 11+ It would make a fantastic starting point for discussion on bullying, influence, fear, refugees, human rights and much more. The fact that this was first published almost 20 years ago but is extraordinarily relevant today would also be well worth exploring with older pupils.
August 10, 2021
Powerful and affecting book for people of all ages.
June 29, 2018
The issue of 'otherness' is very beautifully introduced in this Picturebook. Am indeed that we have such books for children these days! :)
October 17, 2017
Originally published in Germany in 2002, this book is now considered a classic. Powerful and confronting illustration combined with simple prose, The Island is a compelling allegory of our age of mass-migration, refugees and xenophobia. Shortlisted for the Children's Book Council Picture Book of the Year awards, students (and parents) sometimes ask - 'Is this book really suitable for children?' Good question. Debatable. The English teachers out there will find the book on a similar level to Australian classics such as The Rabbits by Marsden and Tan. Plenty of material for visual and textual analysis and a useful subtext to consider.
January 29, 2019
Have I ever read a more politically timely picture book? You may well ask! The answer would be probably not!
“And then they set fire to the fisherman’s boat, because he had made them help the man. Some people agreed with the fisherman but the others were louder. They never again wanted to eat fish from the sea that had brought them the stranger.
And they built a great wall all around the island, with watchtowers from which they could search the sea for signs of rafts, and shoot down passing seagulls and cormorants so that no one would ever find their island again.”
“And then they set fire to the fisherman’s boat, because he had made them help the man. Some people agreed with the fisherman but the others were louder. They never again wanted to eat fish from the sea that had brought them the stranger.
And they built a great wall all around the island, with watchtowers from which they could search the sea for signs of rafts, and shoot down passing seagulls and cormorants so that no one would ever find their island again.”
November 15, 2020
I just scrolled through to find the 1 and 2 star reviews, ready to scream that they are obviously Brexiteering alt right trumpian xenophobes!
Turns out they are children, probably writing a school report, moaning about lack of action and happy endings.
Calm down Henry! Have you learned nothing?
No, it seems.
Turns out they are children, probably writing a school report, moaning about lack of action and happy endings.
Calm down Henry! Have you learned nothing?
No, it seems.
July 29, 2017
Una storia di ordinaria intolleranza, dal finale amaro, narrata in modo asciutto, distaccato, senza esprimere giudizi. Sono i disegni a farlo: i volti deformati, grotteschi degli isolani ne denunciano la brutalità; la corpulenza, l'egoismo; i colori scuri, lividi, la grettezza. Lapidario e potente.
July 15, 2017
This is a disturbing story about refugees and xenophobia that could be used to spark difficult and necessary discussions about how fear can lead us to act in ways we might not expect of ourselves.
April 26, 2023
Incredible
November 12, 2018
The Island is a picture book definitely for older KS2. The themes within the book cover identity, inclusion and acceptance all within some harrowing illustrations. The pictures throughout the book could definitely provoke some deep class discussion as they aren't all nice, but rather creepy. The plot to the text surrounds an 'foreigner' who isn't accepted into society anyway whatsoever. All of the villagers have their reservations on accepting the individual who is different, they are also very prejudice about accepting the differences regarding the stranger. I honestly thought the story would end on a lighter note, however it followed a negative theme throughout the story. There were a few moments when they villagers seemed slightly accepting of the individual and his differences by providing him with opportunities and treating him like a human, but that didn't last long.
Very interesting book to have within a KS2 book corner. May be slightly relatable, hopefully nowhere near to that extent, for those that have immigrated or relocated recently and don't necessarily feel accepted by those around them.
Very interesting book to have within a KS2 book corner. May be slightly relatable, hopefully nowhere near to that extent, for those that have immigrated or relocated recently and don't necessarily feel accepted by those around them.
July 3, 2020
A powerful, astonishing yet chilling picture book about refugees, xenophobia, multiculturalism, social politics, human rights and how we as human beings respond to 'outsiders' in society. Tackling big themes in subtle way - like text and stunning artwork that will provoke discussion for upper KS2 about issues that remain so much a part of our national discourse.
When the people of the Island discover a man and a tattered raft on their beach, they are reluctant to take him in. He doesn't look like them. Gradually the islanders realise that the man needs food and help, but the very thought of it brings out their most established prejudices. Everyone, including the teacher and the priest, finds an excuse not to help him. And so they don't.
When the people of the Island discover a man and a tattered raft on their beach, they are reluctant to take him in. He doesn't look like them. Gradually the islanders realise that the man needs food and help, but the very thought of it brings out their most established prejudices. Everyone, including the teacher and the priest, finds an excuse not to help him. And so they don't.
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August 23, 2018Powerful readaloud, even more powerful when you see it up close. The allusions to famous artwork, the relative size of the islanders and the stranger, the fact that you don't ever see the fisherman, the fact that the title is "the island" and the cover is a picture of a wall, and that ending! Good shit. It's an allegory and it doesn't insult your intelligence.
November 1, 2022
Does this count as a book? Great analogy for racism and discrimination. The people living on the island grew scared of their own imagination, great interpretation of what is going on right now.
January 21, 2022
Very well done, very chilling and very topical.
December 28, 2023
a bleak story with poignantly chilling art! the more creepy for its realism
September 6, 2021
Gorgeous art, but too oppressive and overbearing. Hardly a glimmer of hope here, it's not really my thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLBM8...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLBM8...
September 17, 2010
The Island by Armin Greder: Originally published in 2002 in German, and winner of multiple German and French book awards, Armin Greder's The Island is now available in English. While this picture book might be disturbing for the very young, it is an allegory that can be appreciated by all ages (the publisher indicates 8-18). It only takes a few minutes to read, but leaves you contemplating its implications and greater meanings.
This is the story of an island where some big, angry, racist people live simple, everyday lives, loving the routine and normalcy of it. When a strange looking man arrives in a shoddy raft, the natives see that he is different from them and immediately despise him, trapping him in a goat pen, hiding him away and ignoring him, going back to their lives. Then one day he comes to them, asking for food, and they are shocked and horrified. They think about who should take care of him, but no one wants him, thinking that he will destroy whatever he touches. Eventually he is put back on his shoddy raft and sent out to sea. They build a giant wall around the island, protecting them from the outside world and people who aren't the same, as well as killing any birds that come to the island, so that it will never be discovered by anyone else.
On the surface it is an unusual short story, but it would be little more to an alien who knows nothing of the history of humanity. For all of us who were born on this planet, this story of hate for anyone different is an all too familiar one that has had many horrific chapters in our history. It is also sadly a reality that continues in today's world. With hard, charcoal-colored, sharp-edged images that evoke Edvard Munch's The Scream as well as the music video to Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," The Island is a story that will be read and reread, as a commentary on humanity's failings.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
This is the story of an island where some big, angry, racist people live simple, everyday lives, loving the routine and normalcy of it. When a strange looking man arrives in a shoddy raft, the natives see that he is different from them and immediately despise him, trapping him in a goat pen, hiding him away and ignoring him, going back to their lives. Then one day he comes to them, asking for food, and they are shocked and horrified. They think about who should take care of him, but no one wants him, thinking that he will destroy whatever he touches. Eventually he is put back on his shoddy raft and sent out to sea. They build a giant wall around the island, protecting them from the outside world and people who aren't the same, as well as killing any birds that come to the island, so that it will never be discovered by anyone else.
On the surface it is an unusual short story, but it would be little more to an alien who knows nothing of the history of humanity. For all of us who were born on this planet, this story of hate for anyone different is an all too familiar one that has had many horrific chapters in our history. It is also sadly a reality that continues in today's world. With hard, charcoal-colored, sharp-edged images that evoke Edvard Munch's The Scream as well as the music video to Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," The Island is a story that will be read and reread, as a commentary on humanity's failings.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
May 1, 2022
The message comes across very clearly and obviously, I totally agree with it. But I have an issue with the graphic connotations of the symbols used, particularly the fatness of the inhabitants of the island and the rural/isolated connotations of the title and the inhabitants. Fatphobia when representing wealthy and powerful people is a common strategy. The confluence of rural/non-urban people with more aggressive behavior towards otherness is also a trope that keeps repeating itself. But of course, both fatphobia and urban bias contribute to exclude and to other some people and thus their use here weakens (actually works against) the message of the book. On the other hand, it is very difficult to visually represent otherness without recurring to recognizable tropes or methods of exclusion already in place, and that is why I still give this book 4 stars.
October 24, 2008
This story is really good it shows us how some people can be mean to others just because of what they look like, how they live and what different sizes they come in.The way it shows us this is by it telling us a story about a man who is washed away on the sea shore and is different to the other men in size though they take him in, but treat him as if his an animal that can't take care of himself. In the end they let the man go into the sea alone because there was too much chaos in the land so they built a wall so that nomore intruders could come in again.
February 28, 2017
Short-listed for the Children's Book Council award this year, the front cover perfectly delivers the message of the book.
This is a dark, confronting, cautionary story (pertinent for the Howard era) . The island people are closed, xenophobic and even the fisherman (possibly an allusion to Christian charity?) cannot get through to them. The ending is inevitable for the island and a shock for the reader expecting the usual for a picture book.
I'm going to look at this book with the Grade 5/6 literature circle at school. I look forward to their responses.
This is a dark, confronting, cautionary story (pertinent for the Howard era) . The island people are closed, xenophobic and even the fisherman (possibly an allusion to Christian charity?) cannot get through to them. The ending is inevitable for the island and a shock for the reader expecting the usual for a picture book.
I'm going to look at this book with the Grade 5/6 literature circle at school. I look forward to their responses.
June 24, 2022
A picture book for older readers.
This is the story of the criminal treatment of asylum seekers and refugees by our “modern” and “civilized” countries. Told as a simple, moving allegory it challenges all of us to embrace compassion and speak up. Our fears, the author says, are normal. It’s what we do after that which defines our humanity.
Well told, compassionately illustrated.
This is the story of the criminal treatment of asylum seekers and refugees by our “modern” and “civilized” countries. Told as a simple, moving allegory it challenges all of us to embrace compassion and speak up. Our fears, the author says, are normal. It’s what we do after that which defines our humanity.
Well told, compassionately illustrated.
November 10, 2015
A good book about differences in people and that you shouldn't treat someone differently to how you'd want to be treated. Good for teaching morals
April 27, 2021
The Island is a really interesting and thought provoking book about how society deals with anyone that is different from them.
A man, drawn naked and therefore appears to be vulnerable, washes up on the island and the people there are worried. However, they take him in, placing him in a goat pen and neglecting to feed them, yet still think they have done him a kindness. When they realise that they need to provide food for him they are outraged and decide to remove him from the island and punish the fisherman who convinced everyone else to help the man. They then build a wall around the island to prevent outsiders from ever finding them again.
The images in this book are powerful, drawn with either pastel or pencil in a rough manner. The way the man and the islanders are drawn really intrigues me, as when he is drawn alongside the others he is shown to be unclothed, he came into their world naked as a baby comes into the world, vulnerable and reliant on the help of others. And yet on the page which says “Then One morning the man appeared in town” the woman shown is dressed all in black with a terrifying face and later the teacher with an equally terrifying expression, where as the following pages show the man with a soft and harmless face. This shows the difference between the innocent and the guilty, where the man only wants access to basic rights and yet the islanders are unwilling to do this.
This text would be brilliant to explore with UKS2 for looking at reactions to refugees (would link well with The Boy at the Back of the Class) but also about how, as a society, we are still so unwilling to help others and offer the basic human rights just because someone is different to us in some way. It would also be good to explore the role of those who help others, as in this text the fisherman who wants to help is punished for his attempts to help the man. Should all people be punished for trying to help? This could also link to Malala’s Magic Pencil where she dreams of helping others, and is punished for this but still continues to fight for change.
A man, drawn naked and therefore appears to be vulnerable, washes up on the island and the people there are worried. However, they take him in, placing him in a goat pen and neglecting to feed them, yet still think they have done him a kindness. When they realise that they need to provide food for him they are outraged and decide to remove him from the island and punish the fisherman who convinced everyone else to help the man. They then build a wall around the island to prevent outsiders from ever finding them again.
The images in this book are powerful, drawn with either pastel or pencil in a rough manner. The way the man and the islanders are drawn really intrigues me, as when he is drawn alongside the others he is shown to be unclothed, he came into their world naked as a baby comes into the world, vulnerable and reliant on the help of others. And yet on the page which says “Then One morning the man appeared in town” the woman shown is dressed all in black with a terrifying face and later the teacher with an equally terrifying expression, where as the following pages show the man with a soft and harmless face. This shows the difference between the innocent and the guilty, where the man only wants access to basic rights and yet the islanders are unwilling to do this.
This text would be brilliant to explore with UKS2 for looking at reactions to refugees (would link well with The Boy at the Back of the Class) but also about how, as a society, we are still so unwilling to help others and offer the basic human rights just because someone is different to us in some way. It would also be good to explore the role of those who help others, as in this text the fisherman who wants to help is punished for his attempts to help the man. Should all people be punished for trying to help? This could also link to Malala’s Magic Pencil where she dreams of helping others, and is punished for this but still continues to fight for change.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews