To the Other Side
by Erika Meza; illus. by the author
Primary    Tegen/HarperCollins    40 pp.
3/23    9780063073166    $18.99

“‘The rules of the game are simple,’ my sister said. ‘Avoid the monsters. Don’t get caught. And keep moving.’” What sounds like make-believe play is actually quite a dire situation: two young siblings depart their home, joining a group of other masked figures traveling by foot, bus, raft, and train toward a border wall, all the while being tracked by terrifying, spiky, shadowy creatures. Their identities safely concealed behind brightly colored animal masks, the ­children, for a time, are able to lose themselves in pretend play, with their bold face-coverings making them feel “fast like a rabbit” and “brave like a tiger.” But as the trek drags on, reality starts to set in (“This isn’t a game…is it?”). Meza’s memorable mixed-media illustrations include warm, vivid hues; menacing grays; and lots of white space, which can leave the ­eye-catchingly drawn children vulnerable in otherwise spare scenes. They finally reach the border wall, but their journey is still not over; their emotional twists and turns know no borders. Making a friend finally allows for the narrator’s mask to cautiously be lowered. Meza’s appended note describes the inspiration for this story: “Migrants and refugees are often portrayed as either heroes or villains; and yet, the children I was lucky to meet when working on this book were simply that: children [who deserve to] finally feel safe.”

Pubissue-From the May/June 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.