Parents' Guide to

Sea Prayer

By Jan Carr, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Powerful, heartrending letter from refugee dad to his son.

Book Khaled Hosseini Picture Book 2018
Sea Prayer Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

Ross S.
Ross S. Parent of 7, 9 and 12-year-old
January 7, 2019
age 7+

Brief insights into war from a child's point of view

This is a beautiful but simple children's book. I wonder if we adults are tempted to withhold the book from younger kids, not because of the book itself but because of what it's about. The poetic language and the gentle watercolors help distance the subject matter from the reader. For me, the page most questionable for children reads, "You [my son] know a bomb crater can be made into a swimming hole. You have learned dark blood is better news than bright." When your curious child asks you, "Why is dark blood better than bright?" If you can imagine a good answer for their age, then I believe the two of you will have a positive reading experience. The author does a wonderful job of focusing adult attention on what was lost, acknowledging little kids won't remember the idyllic past, but seeing how kids can find good and play even in a bomb crater. The book ends with a lie - the author lies to his son that he'll be safe at sea. "These are only words. A father's tricks. It slays your father, your faith in him." But the author's gaze on the good which kids find or do in war reveals a deeper faith. I think a kid would need to be age 9 or more to begin to comprehend such layers of lying and irony. But I believe most younger readers would not be harmed by this book.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

SEA PRAYER opens with a father describing the happy details of his youth in Syria, sharing them with his sleeping son. "But that life, that time, seems like a dream now, even to me, like some long-dissolved rumor." Because when war came, "the skies spitting bombs," the two had to flee. They're now on a "cold and moonlit beach" with other refugees, and while they wait for a boat they hope will deliver them to safety, the father offers up a prayer to the sea to protect his young, vulnerable son.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

This slim, masterful book flows from the heart, mourning a city reduced to rubble and a childhood lost to war, while sending up a prayer that heaving waters will deliver a child to safety. Hosseini is a gorgeous writer, and he's chiseled and polished Sea Prayer like a gem, offering just the right sensory detail to evoke the pleasures of the old life. When he was a boy, he and his brothers spread their mattresses on the roof of their farmhouse, and woke "to the stirrings of olive trees in the breeze, to the bleating of your grandmother’s goat." In contrast, his young son knows "how a bomb crater can be made into a swimming hole." Now they wait in a crowd of other refugees, "the women worrying in tongues we don’t speak." And he reassures his son that "Nothing bad will happen," though the words are just "a father's tricks." The letter format, speaking directly to the son, gives the text a poignant immediacy.

Though the subject matter is adult, and text is written for "all ages," this book is accessible to older kids, and has the pleasures of a picture book. Turning the page provides rhythm; some text is isolated on a page for stronger effect. Illustrator Dan Williams paints the happy memories with light and color, but as they wait on the shore, the moody midnight blues of the sea and sky underscore the uncertainty of their journey.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the refugees in Sea Prayer. Why did they have to flee their homes? Where do you think they're going? If they arrive safely on the boat, what do you think will happen to them?

  • How was the city different before the war? What does the father remember from when he was young? What will the son's memories be?

  • Does the father remind you in any way of your own parent? How might he be similar? How is he trying to care for and protect his son?

Book Details

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