This is a book about the children that were put in Detention Centers in Clint, Texas, bordering Mexico. Those kids were separated from their parents. So, obviously this is difficult material to introduce for a children’s book. It is done very well though. The older children help the younger ones and they talk about where they came from.

It is sensitive and the pictures are terrific. Another added bonus is the book is in English and in Spanish so children of that region could read it in their native language. These are stories children need to know. They are also stories adults need to know. This certainly is going to go down in history as a terrible incident that the United States planned. We should all educate ourselves about it.

Money for this book is going to assist these children. The introduction is by Project Amplify which is working to let people know about this crisis and help these children.

Although this is a difficult topic to read about, it is also hopeful. It shows the incredible bravery and resilience of these children to make it through this. That they care about each other is the saving grace. My hope is that these children will all be reunited with their families as quickly as possible.

Thank you NetGalley, Project Amplify, and Workman Publishing for giving me an ARC of this book. I think that is a great service for children.

This was a tough read. But, I think that this is a book that needs to be a tough read. No names were given but the whole book is accounts of children that have been been detained at the Southern Border of the United States. There are illustrations and also testimonials of what children have been going through. This is a book talked about at home with your children. I would highly recommend this book.

This book is difficult to review, in my opinion. I personally found it extremely moving and heartbreaking. However, I'm unsure how it translates to a child reader. While my own children have been introduced to social impact themed books, I don't believe developmentally the would be able to read this and walk away feeling moved to action but instead would be left feeling frightened for their own security. I'm torn because I know it is important for children to know about the horrific treatment of children at the border and it is a privilege to be able to avoid hard emotions, but I'm just not certain this format communicates appropriately to a child audience. I will however, recommend this book to teens and adults wanting to know more about how children are being negatively impacted by this humanitarian crisis.

Thank you to Project Amplify for doing this important work and for Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

This is a heartbreaking but necessary book. The artwork is beautiful and moving, and at times very upsetting. This is emotionally difficult to read but we owe it to the children being held to listen to their story and to shout it from the roof tops.
I hope the need for this book will diminish, however it’s naive to believe the situation is unique.
It’s hard to judge the age range for this text, I think it’s too upsetting for younger children and would be best for children aged twelve and above, but it is equally powerful for adults too.
A moving and powerful book that will leave tears in your eyes.

Hear My Voice/Escucha mi voz is a powerful book sharing the voices of 61 children, ages 5 to 17, detained at the border and featuring the works of 17 Mexican and Mexican American artists. It is compiled by a children's rights scholar and activist. This is a tough read, and as stated in the foreword, "But it's not only a story of adults' cruelty and neglect; at the end of the day, it's also a story of children's strength, courage, and hope." This was an extremely moving and important read. It is definitely a picture book for older kids to read with "thoughtful adults" as the backmatter suggests. I liked that the backmatter empowered children to use their voices to ensure children's rights are observed.

Hear My Voice is a heartbreaking story based on the true accounts of children in migration that have been detained by the US government. Written in both English and Spanish, the story was taken from actual testimonies given by these children. The illustrations in the book were created by several Mexican and Mexican American artists. The illustrations are wonderful illustrations for children connecting the words in the story to the images that can be seen. The illustrations are beautiful and touching. We live in a world where so many people are ignorant to the things that are happening all around them and that is a large part of the reason that these atrocities can continue. Hear My Voice is one step in opening the eyes of those who don't know what's going on. It's a way to bring it to the attention of children at a young age so that they will not grow up in ignorance believing that these things don't really happen. The story was tastefully conveyed in a manner that is suitable for children. I really like that there is a section dedicated to discussion questions on the topic and another section that lists ways that children and their families can help. Overall, it was a really good book and I would recommend it for use with children and in part of a children's library collection.

Powerful and upsetting picture book told using children's actual descriptions. Moving illustrations from a variety of artists.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Hear my voice is a heartbreaking true account told by children who are detained within detention centres in the USA.
This book broke my heart. The inhumane way these children are treated is beyond comprehension. Children are the future and no matter race, religion, nationality, skin colour, place of birth etc we should all be treated with basic human rights - there is no excuse for how these poor children are being treated. They are firstly separated from their families and held in these facilities with no privacy, mixed with boys and girls, little food, no washing facilities (so they are left dirty for weeks), spoken to horrifically, woken during the night for fun, left to sleep on concrete floors and benches huddled together for warmth....the list goes on!
This book tells of all these horrific things from the voices of the children there experiencing this. It is the 21st century and these facilities are no different to concentration camps in the war!
The back of the book tells adults and children ways they can help make a difference and all proceeds from the purchase of this book go towards project amplify which helps and supports children during migration.
Please purchase a copy and help support this very important cause.

Heartbreaking is the word I will use to describe this story.

This is a story about children who have been detained at the borders.

They have to live in almost inhumane conditions.

The story brought chills as it is very well narrated.
The illustrations tug on your heart as well.

The hope that the child has to be reunited with her family is just very heartbreaking.

I wish no child (or even adult!) has to go through such experiences.

A heartbreaking and sometimes gruesome account of the harsh realities the people who are coming to our border are encountering. A collection of experiences from children of all ages and the atrocities they left behind only to be stuck in a purgatory at the border separated from friends and family and anything familiar. Beautiful illustrations that were difficult to absorb as being the truth that many have seen and are still battling.

Hear My Voice is an important story of the often forgotten children living in border detention centers. This book is heavy as it tells a story from the actual testimonies of children living at the Flint Center in 2019. I loved being able to see a perspective that is often overlooked. This book helps teach empathy and activism in children. I will be purchasing a physical copy for my classroom. This book could be used in all k-12 grade levels at discretion of teacher for advanced subject matter. Would be an excellent conversation starter.

This was a moving book, full of stories that need to be told.

The book is not an easy read when you look at the subject matter and the ages of the children involved but they are stories that need to be told and I am so glad that the author has chosen to write a book of this nature to help highlight their plights.

It is well written, moving and also heartbreaking and a tragedy to see what some of these children are going through, yet you also see optimism and hope.

It is 5 stars from me for this one, a very moving book and stories that need to be told – very highly recommended

These are heartbreaking stories of children detained at the U.S. border. In their own voices, they share the reasons why they had to leave the countries of their birth, the journey from their country and the dangers involved, and how they were treated once they crossed the wire fence with the sign that said ’Welcome to America,’

It’s shocking that this has continued for years. Years with children living in unsanitary conditions, being given ‘food’ that doesn’t offer proper nourishment for children whose health depends on it. These were the first people who came to my mind when COVID first entered the U.S., so this isn’t the first book I’ve read about this issue, but it is the first that focuses solely on these young children and shares their voices along with beautiful, colourful illustrations, sharing their journeys, their fears, along with their emotions.

’We were kept in a cage. It is very crowded. There is no room to move without stepping over others. There’s not even enough room for the baby to crawl.’

This is an important, if heartbreaking, book - especially important for families with young children. One that will help parents begin a conversation with their children. The children they spoke with range from 4 to 17, and their reasons for needing to come to America vary, but the conditions they are still being kept under are horrifying. Unsanitary. Lack of adequate, healthy food. Most often, lacking love and the caring touch of their parents when they are separated.

Shared by children’s advocates who spoke with these children, listened to their stories, their goal is to reunite these children with their families. Their stories don’t need any embellishment, their stories are moving on their own with nothing more than the simple truth, and the reminder of everything America is supposed to stand for, to cherish, to hold true.

’A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”



Pub Date: 13 Apr 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Workman Publishing Company and Project Amplify

This is a meaningful and powerful book that needs to be read and discussed with middle / high school grades in the USA. As a kindergarten teacher, I have hesitations integrating this into my classroom. I really appreciated the use of different artists to provide the illustrations -- that would be a really cool art integration part of the lesson as well.

17 different Mexican and Mexican-American illustrators contributed to the beautiful artwork in, The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States: Hear My Voice compiled by Warren Binford for Project Amplify. After reading this my first thought was if this was a narrative case study dissertation, it would be an incredible one. The words in the text poetic, supporting their illustration like a balanced ecosystem. Weaving several diverse narratives, voices, and styles, offered me a front row seat to children experiencing immigration detention. A tough hard truth through the portal of the picturebook that will make your heart scream and your spine ache. At the same time, a feeling of power comes form knowing what you learn in this picturebook. Looking closer and revisiting is necessary.

The double spread full-bleed of the children with a different species of a bird as their head (with the bird represented the Country the "child" was from) had me pause for many long moments. Such strong symbolism how the children within the cages were as diverse as the various Countries they represented. An opportunity to think about what we know, don't know, and how we can do better.

After reading Hear My Voice, I thought of the work by Jairo Buitrago and just how powerful children's picturebooks are in terms of current events that are so horrific they feel like they are part of a dark resolved history, not the current unresolved traumas of some humans living in today. These are the books that must be on every school library shelf. The books our teachers of history, current events, and ethics should share and engage in rigorous discourse about.

The incredible strength in children telling the story of a difficult experience lends itself to children's responses that unearth their perceptions and allow them to better understand issues around migration, human rights, and racism. Readers will appreciate some of the suggested questions in the back, such as, "Can you think of reasons why people might leave their home?" or "Do you know what rights are?" as a way to prompt for children's responses to their transaction with this picturebook.

I would recommend building a text set that included Jairo Buitrago #@jjairobuitrago and Rafael Yockteng's books too.

Wow, what a beautiful and heartbreaking book. This book tells the story of the crisis at the US/Mexico border through the perspective of children, in a way that can be easily understood by young readers. A very impactful book that I will definitely be incorporating into my classroom.

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.

I got this on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

This is a REALLY important picture book, and I am so glad I’ve read it. Although I knew most of this beforehand, I still felt my heart ache for all of these children stuck at detention centres in the US, and how inhumane the conditions are! I really think it’s important to raise awareness with books like these, and I love how it’s in both English and Spanish in the same book, and the selection of artists mentioned!

Would recommend this to ANYONE!

This was a powerful and insightful view into what it is like for children who are coming over the boarder as immigrants. The different perspectives and experiences tell the story but at the same time probably don't scratch the surface for what life is like. It gives the reader a lot to think about.

This book is both beautiful and heartbreakingly sad. The illustrations are from several different artists and are all incredible. The text comes directly from the children featured in the book, from interviews about their experiences. These children have experienced (and still are experiencing) huge levels of trauma, both from the countries they've escaped and the situations they find themselves in now, separated from family and kept in cells with other equally traumatised children.

This is a book that needs to be in every school and read by as many people as possible. These children have had everything taken away. Many of us can't help reunite them with family, provide them with decent meals, toiletries, love or care, but we can buy this book and help them to be heard. This book is a start to giving them their voices back.