My Two Blankets resonates in a special way with people who are

seeking asylum.

It is a story of the pain associated with being dislocated from home

and the familiar. But also of friendship, hope and new beginnings.

The Dari/English edition of this beautiful story is a collaboration between the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

(ASRC) in Melbourne, the Readings Foundation, publisher Hardie

Grant Egmont and the author and illustrator. 

Dari was chosen as a language because it is an important community

language in Australia and among the top three languages spoken

by people seeking asylum who are members of the ASRC.

The translation was created by multi-lingual members of the

ASRC, who worked with a professional translator

in a workshop setting; a process that also assisted their English

language learning, and provided insight into possible career paths

in translating and interpreting.

This new bilingual edition of My Two Blankets will encourage

parents to read with their children by allowing them to draw on

both English and their home language, conferring value on both.

And in that way, support both parents and children towards the

lifelong assets of literacy and multilingualism.