Book Description
for Maurice and His Dictionary by Cary Fagan and Enzo Lord Mariano
From The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)
Fourteen-year old Maurice Fajgenaum dreams of attending school to become a lawyer until the Nazi army invades his home country of Belgium. His family flees from country to country, eventually settling in an internment camp in Jamaica. Committed to becoming a lawyer, Maurice acquires an English dictionary as his beacon of hope and finds someone to help him study and earn a high school diploma while in the camp. This graphic narrative, based on Fagan's own family history, tells the story of one refugee family's resilience and of the dictionary that represents their freedom.
Cary Fagan was the 2014 recipient of the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People for his body of work. The author lives in Toronto and the illustrator lives in Montreal, Quebec.
Canada. Originally published in English by Owlkids Books in 2020. Published in the United States by Owlkids Books.
© USBBY, 2022. Used with permission.