A truck comes to the refugee camp where ten-year-old Lina lives with her mother and baby brothers on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. From the truck, relief workers throw clothing to the crowd. Lina, who has gone barefoot for two years, is delighted to discovers a yellow sandal adorned with a blue flower. It fits her foot perfectly. Looking up, she sees a girl her age with the other sandal. The two girls work out a comprise: “You wear them both today, and I will wear them tomorrow.” As the young girls take turns with the sandals, they share the stories the brought them both to the camp. Doing the washing, waiting in the water line, and tending to Lina’s brothers, they continue to share their dreams and memories. When Lina finds out that her family is on the list to go to America, the girls find a way to keep their friendship, and the pair of sandals, unbroken in a moving story that brings life in one small corner of the world into fuller relief for readers here. (Ages 7–11)

When relief workers bring used clothing to the refugee camp, everyone scrambles to grab whatever they can. Ten-year-old Lina is thrilled when she finds a sandal that fits her foot perfectly, until she sees that another girl has the matching shoe. But soon Lina and Feroza meet and decide that it is better to share the sandals than for each to wear only one. As the girls go about their routines washing clothes in the river, waiting in long lines for water, and watching for their names to appear on the list to go to America the sandals remind them that frie ndship is what is most important. Four Feet, Two Sandals was inspired by a refugee girl who asked the authors why there were no books about children like her. With warm colors and sensitive brush strokes, this book portrays the strength, courage, and hope of refugees around the world, whose daily existence is marked by uncertainty and fear.