Author Rina Singh met two eight-year-olds in 2018, one from Syria and one from Iraq. Both had been displaced by violence and turmoil in their home countries, and out of their stories came the fictitious character, Abdul, of this book. As Abdul and his mother endure uncertainty and hardship, waiting for the day when they'll "wake up in a place where there is no rubble, no debris," they hold on to hope against all the odds. Although certainly not every refugee's tale ends as happily as Abdul's, the overarching message that everyone deserves to find a safe place in the world shines through.